50 Best American Movies Set in Every US State

In my opinion, the USA is one of the most geographically and culturally diverse, exciting, and cinematic countries on the planet.

Unsurprisingly, the best American movies of all time span all 50 states.

If you’d have asked me three years ago if I had plans to visit every state, I would have said no. I’m British, and unless you could make a great case for Delaware or Nebraska (sorry, guys!), I wouldn’t be fussed.

Cut to meeting my American partner and moving to Utah. Yep.

Now, visiting all 50 states is a major bucket list item of mine. However, it’s a long-term goal that requires time and $$$. For now, I’m content with travelling via the top American movies set in every state!

Some of the best movies of all time set in the US are iconic because of where they’re filmed. Stagecoach (1939) isn’t Stagecoach without Monument Valley.

I cannot imagine The Notebook (2004) taking place anywhere but the Carolinas. When I think of Christmas in New York City, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) immediately springs to mind.

It’s a Herculean task, but I’ve attempted to narrow down the best 50 movies from each of the United States.

This was particularly challenging for states like California, with too many movies and North Dakota, with too few.

Another boring caveat I’d like to add is that this is my list. Naturally, many of my personal favourite movies won out over more deserving films.

However, I do hold a Bachelor’s degree in Film Studies, and I have spent a considerable amount of time in the US over the past few years. So, I’ve given this list much thought and added further recommendations for each state.

If you have any recommendations for me, leave them in the comments!

I’d also like to add that I’ve mostly concentrated on films set in certain states, not filmed there. I know the house in A Christmas Story (1983) is in Cleveland, Ohio. However, the movie is set in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana.

So, let’s hop on an AMTRAK or pop the top on our Mustang convertible and travel around the greatest American films in every state.

1. Alabama – Forrest Gump (1994)

Two reasons why I have rewatched Forrest Gump over ten times are the heart-warming story and the locations. Ron Howard filmed this story about a loveable yet exceptional idiot in California, Monument Valley, Washington, DC and Georgia.

Yes, Savannah stood in for the idyllic scenes set in Gump’s fictional hometown of Greenbow, Alabama. I’ve never visited, but everyone says the moss-draped oak trees, historic squares, and top restaurants in Savannah, Georgia, make it the perfect city break for Southern charm.

2. Alaska – Into the Wild (2007)

A dramatic retelling of a true-life story by Jon Krakauer, Into The Wild follows the young and adventurous Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch). Sean Penn directs this gripping fictional adaptation.

McCandless opts out of his cushy, secure life and begins a new existence, thumbing and bumming his way across the US. The Last Frontier state, Alaska, is where the film reaches its crucial climax.

3. Arizona – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

I could have chosen a movie filmed at the Grand Canyon or set in the Wild West for Arizona, but I didn’t. Martin Scorsese’s melodrama is about a widow and mother who settles in Tucson to follow her dreams of becoming a singer.

There’s a soft spot in my heart for this movie, and I truly think it’s brilliant and underrated. Scorsese shot the movie almost entirely in Arizona, which few movies can claim.

🥁Coming soon: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore Filming Locations Guide

4. Arkansas – Mud (2012)

Criminally underseen, Mud is a cracking drama set in the Arkansas countryside. The cast is also fab! Mud stars the honey-toned Matthew McConaughey as someone hiding out on a boat in the Mississippi River. Reese Witherspoon plays Juniper, the love of his life.

Arkansas is often overlooked as a tourist destination, particularly by international visitors. And though I doubt you’d want to experience how the characters in the film live, Mud does help to shine a light on how this picturesque part of the US.

5. California – La La Land (2016)

There are way too many films set in California to pick just one definitive title, but La La Land is probably the most recent iconic Los Angeles-set film. It’s part musical, part fantasy and part love letter to the City of Angels. It features typical LA locations like Mulholland Drive and the Griffith Observatory.

If La La Land leaves you California dreaming, companies like Bon Voyage offer tailor-made California holidays to explore the same iconic landscapes.

6. Colorado – The Shining (1980)

The quadrilateral state of Colorado is famous for a few things. Banging craft breweries, snowy mountain tops, South Park and legal marijuana to name a few. Sadly, not many filmmakers have set cheery, wanderlust-inspiring films there!

So, you’re stuck with the Stephen King adaptation The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick. It follows Jack Nicholson and his family spending a lonely winter in a spooky hotel.

This supernatural tale set in The Overlook Hotel was actually filmed in Montana, Oregon, and a studio in London. But it was based on King’s experience spending the night in a haunted room at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.

7. Connecticut – Mystic Pizza (1988)

Mystic Pizza is one of those films that made a little noise upon its release, but it’s grown into a cult favourite. And for good reason!

The real-life pizzeria in this adorable Connecticut fishing town is a character in its own right alongside the multifaceted female leads (including a young Julia Roberts). Each struggles with their purpose in life (and with men, naturally).

8. Delaware – Empire Records (1995)

Delaware is a pretty small state with an even smaller back catalogue of films set there. Empire Records is a rarity. It takes place over a 24-hour period and follows the lives of grungy 20-somethings who work at the store.

I’m not sure what’s so particularly Delaware-ian about it, but as I said, slim pickings. It fits into the alt-music subgenre of American movies with Dazed and Confused (1993) and SLC Punk! (1998).

10. Georgia – The Color Purple (1985)

Based on the best-selling book, The Color Purple documents a young black girl’s life in early 20th-century rural Georgia. Despite the movie’s period setting and heavy themes (racism, domestic violence and poverty, to name a few), it’s a sweeping, gorgeous and sentimental film.

Steven Spielberg directs an incredible cast, led by Whoopi Goldberg. It’s one of the best African American movies ever, not just set in the US.

11. Hawaii – 50 First Dates (2004)

Do you really need a film to inspire you to travel to Hawaii? Various islands and locales in the 50th state were utilised for the Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler comedy 50 First Dates. 

Barrymore plays a woman with amnesia who lives the same day over and over again, and Sandler is the man trying to win her affections. It might sound silly, but the film is set against an idyllic paradise backdrop and is a modern comedic favourite.

12. Idaho – Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

In my opinion, Napoleon Dynamite is one of the best American movies of the 2000s. Dynamite (Jon Heder) is a love-him-or-hate-him oddball high schooler just trying to survive his rural life in The Potato State (oh, is that not the official nickname?) of Idaho.

I’ve actually visited every Napoleon Dynamite location in Idaho. My ‘Vote For Pedro’ t-shirt is folded in my closet. Suffice to say, I’m a fan, but My Own Private Idaho was a close second.

13. Illinois – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

John Hughes loved to set and shoot his movies in and around the Chicago area. His filmography is a great place to start when looking for films set in Illinois!

One of his greatest is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The titular high schooler (Matthew Broderick) explores the Windy City while bunking off school and gets up to all sorts of shenanigans.

14. Indiana – Hoosiers (1986)

Basketball, baseball, football (or American football to fellow Brits like me) … Many travellers head to the USA just for sports.

Hoosiers is loosely based on a true story about a high school basketball team that overcomes the odds to win the state championship. Gene Hackman stars, and it’s a feel-good family film. Indiana is an otherwise overlooked state, but certainly not for ball fans.

15. Iowa – Field of Dreams (1989)

Rolling with the sports movies, this time we switch to baseball. The uplifting fantasy drama is set on an unassuming farm in Iowa. It’s an unlikely place for a huge baseball field to be built, but build it Kevin Costner did.

I gotta admit, I don’t fully understand Field of Dreams. Something tells me I don’t have to.

16. Kansas – The Wizard of Oz (1939)

C’mon, you knew this had to be my pick for Kansas. Right? Though most of the Hollywood classic takes place in the magical land of Oz, Dorothy’s unremarkable Kansas home is essential to the plot of Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz.

After all, Oregon isn’t known for its tornadoes.

Despite salons that can dye the colour of your eyes and small men that hand you lollypops, there’s no place like small-town America.

17. Kentucky – Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)

Loretta Lynn is a country music legend and one of Kentucky’s most famous daughters. She is to Kentucky what Dolly Parton is to Tennessee.

Her biopic, Coal Miner’s Daughter, begins in her home state. I’ve visited Louisville and loved it. You can learn more about Kentucky’s coal mining heritage during your time there and, of course, drink as much bourbon as you desire.

18. Louisiana – 12 Years a Slave (2013)

I could have focused on New Orleans or the Mississippi River, but I really loved Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. I’ve read the 1853 memoir that it’s based on, and it’s an incredible story mostly set on a plantation in Louisiana.

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup, a free Black man from the north sold into slavery. I’ve read that the movie is really authentic, and it is a haunting watch.

19. Maine – The Cider House Rules (1999)

Thanks to Stephen King’s penchant for setting his books in Maine, many movies based here are his film adaptations! But if stories about a terrifying clown living in a sewer aren’t really what you’d call wanderlust-inspiring, try The Cider House Rules instead.

This Oscar-winning film, set in World War II-era Maine, has sweeping autumnal New England scenes. Charlize Theron and Tobey Maguire are fantastic, too.

21. Massachusetts – Little Women (2019)

My favourite film of 2019! Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic American novel definitely isn’t the first (it’s the seventh!), but, in my opinion, it makes the most of Massachusetts’s famously gorgeous autumn season.

Set in the town of Concord, it follows the lives of four sisters from childhood to womanhood. Gerwig filmed all over the state in the most quaint and well-appointed period houses.

22. Michigan – Somewhere in Time (1980)

I am absolutely desperate to stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Lake Huron, northern Michigan. It’s one of the last Gilded Age hotels and the setting for Somewhere in Time.

Christopher Reeves (yes, Superman) is a Chicago-based playwright who uses self-hypnosis to travel back to 1912. It’s a soppy, romantic period movie about fate and the power of love.

23. Minnesota – The Mighty Ducks (1992)

We’ve got a basketball movie, a baseball movie … We’re skipping over American football and heading straight to ice hockey. It’s not surprising that this is the sport of choice for a cold, snowy state like Minnesota.

The Mighty Ducks stars Emilio Estevez as a lawyer ordered to perform community service, coaching a hopeless Twin Cities youth hockey team. What started as one solo, humble family movie is now a Disney franchise with several films and TV shows.

24. Mississippi – Mississippi Masala (1991)

There’s a wee bit of recency bias here. I watched Mississippi Masala for the first time a few months ago, and I absolutely loved it. Mira Nair directs Denzel Washington as a local young carpet cleaner and Sarita Choudhury, an Indian-Ugandan immigrant, helping her parents run a motel.

It’s something of a Romeo and Juliet-style romance with young lovers from different backgrounds finding love against the odds. And in Mississippi, of all places! So beautiful, so different, and so nineties.

25. Missouri – Winter’s Bone (2010)

Jennifer Lawrence is sensational in one of her breakout roles, in which she also earned her first Oscar nomination. Winter’s Bone wouldn’t be the same set in any other state other than Missouri.

Lawrence’s character, Ree, heads off in search of her missing father in the unforgiving Ozarks. While it isn’t exactly a cheerful film, the scenery is so dramatic and untouched you’ll never overlook Missouri again.

26. Montana – A River Runs Through It (1992)

Who knew a film about flyfishing in Missoula, Montana, would be so heart-wrenching and tear-inducing? A River Runs Through It is one of the best American movies set in the great state of Montana.

Based on Norman Maclean’s story, the movie follows the lives of two brothers (Brad Pitt is one) living here during the Great Depression. I watched the restored version for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival. Robert Redford truly did great work with this movie.

27. Nebraska – Nebraska (2013)

It’s not good to assume, but if a movie is called Nebraska … I think it’s safe to expect at least part of it to be set in Nebraska.

When an ageing Montana resident (Bruce Dern) thinks he’s won on a lottery ticket, he enlists his sceptical son to help him pick up the prize in Nebraska. It’s a road trip movie by Alexander Payne, so expect nice scenery, gas stations and father-son bonding.

28. Nevada – Casino (1995)

Most films set in Las Vegas, Nevada’s biggest city, involve some sort of terrible misfortune or huge financial losses … So, none are very wanderlust-inspiring, unfortunately!

But Casino is an amazing American film (made by Scorsese, after all), and everything takes place inside Sin City casinos. Robert de Niro and Sharon Stone are incredible stars, and they will make you want to pack your bank account and head to the neon paradise in the Nevada desert.

🥁Coming soon: Casino Filming Locations Guide

29. New Hampshire – Jumanji (1995)

Okay, there wasn’t a lot of choice for films set in New Hampshire. Can something amazing happen in New Hampshire so they can make a great movie there, please?!

If you are heading to New Hampshire soon, you can at least watch Jumanji beforehand. This fantasy partly takes place in this New England state, and it’s a fun, light-hearted family movie.

30. New Jersey – Garden State (2004)

In Miss Congeniality (2000), Sandra Bullock’s undercover FBI agent was asked, “Why is New Jersey called the Garden State?” That is the only reason why I know New Jersey’s nickname is the Garden State.

Why is that its nickname? Maybe you’ll find out if you watch Garden State with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. It’s got a bit of a cult following as a cool indie film and was shot almost entirely in New Jersey.

31. New Mexico – Crazy Heart (2009)

Country music, Jeff Bridges, New Mexico’s arid desert landscapes … Yep, I’m hooked. Bridges stars as “Bad” Blake, an alcoholic musician touring and staying in cheap motels in deserted, literally desert-ed, towns. Falling for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s journalist forces him to confront his habits and demons.

Crazy Heart‘s backdrop of cacti and dusty dirt roads is exactly what I imagine when I think of New Mexico. Plus, Ryan Bingham’s Oscar-winning soundtrack underscores (pun intended) the melancholic themes of Crazy Heart perfectly.

32. New York – When Harry Met Sally (1989)

There are so many movies I could have chosen for New York state, but I personally believe that When Harry Met Sally is one of the best American romance movies. It also happens to be my favourite movie ever.

I know many of you expected a certain Francis Ford Coppola trilogy for this state, but it’s my list. They’re honourable mentions, okay?

Billy Crystal’s Harry and Meg Ryan’s Sally meet up, by chance, over 12 years in this extremely funny (Nora Ephron is a genius) rom-com. Set mostly around autumn and Christmas with a Gershwin-laden soundtrack, When Harry Met Sally is a cable-knit jumper and crunchy leaves in movie form.

🥁Coming soon: When Harry Met Sally Filming Locations Guide

33. North Carolina – Logan Lucky (2017)

It was about time someone made a great American movie about rednecks. Steven Soderbergh’s clever heist comedy is set both on and underneath the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR, ridiculously over-the-top accents and John Denver? There couldn’t possibly be another movie set in North Carolina that could top the joyous Logan Lucky.

34. North Dakota – Fargo (1996)

North Dakota is bloody lucky that Fargo exists because otherwise, Hollywood has completely overlooked this Canadian-bordered state. Steve Buscemi stars as a criminal-for-hire, and Frances McDormand is a heavily pregnant cop.

The Coen Bros’ crime comedy makes great use of the rural, snowy landscape of the Dakotas and neighbouring states to create a truly original and hilarious movie.

35. Ohio – Heathers (1989)

Ohio seems to be one of those states used in American movies when filmmakers want to represent ‘small-town America’. Heathers is no different.

High School cliques, young love and a desire to burn the world to the ground … the setting might be a fictional Ohio school, but you know this school. In a way, we all went to Westerburg High in Sherwood, Ohio.

36. Oklahoma – Twister (1996)

Nothing says “please visit my state” like extreme and devastating weather, am I right? Twister might be a disaster movie, but it’s also one of the best American action movies, too.

The film follows a group of storm chasers as they attempt to discover more about tornadoes during particularly severe storms in Oklahoma. First Kansas, now Oklahoma … Maybe don’t visit America’s Heartland if you don’t want a bad storm to whip you off your feet, okay?

37. Oregon – Wild (2014)

Wild is based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed. She hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from the California-Mexican border to the tippy top of Washington state in the nineties. So, there is beautiful scenery from three states throughout.

But it’s the scenes in Ashland, Oregon, that stand out for me the most. Especially when Cheryl exclaims, “Hello, Oregon cow!” when crossing the state lines and listens to The Grateful Dead.

🥁Coming soon: Wild Filming Locations Guide

38. Pennsylvania – Rocky (1976)

Obviously, my pick for Pennsylvania had to be Rocky. I’ve run (*ahem* fast-walked) those famous steps up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and posed with the nearby statue just like the Philly boxer.

Sylvester Stallone plays a working-class Italian-American who gets the chance to win the world heavyweight championship title. Filmed all over the City of Brotherly Love, this movie shot Stallone to stardom and spawned a decades-long franchise.

39. Rhode Island – Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Whimsical director Wes Anderson’s seventh film was set in the smallest US state and largely shot there, too. Moonrise Kingdom is about a scouting troop enjoying a camping trip when one of their own goes missing, and they must form a search party.

The movie is, of course, very aesthetically pleasing (duh, it’s a Wes Anderson film). The rugged New England coastline and lush green forests are crucial to the overall feel of the movie, and the appearance of lighthouses makes this lighthouse-obsessed woman very happy.

40. South Carolina – The Notebook (2004)

Love it or hate it, The Notebook was a sensation upon its release and made international superstars out of Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. Set mostly on Seabrook Island in 1940s South Carolina, it’s a romantic drama that will make you ugly cry with every rewatch.

The pièce de résistance of The Notebook is the Windsor Plantation, a humble home that us mere mortals could only dream of owning. But let’s face it, that kind of elegant manor would look totally out of place almost anywhere but the Low Country. (If you were wondering, I like the film, but I’m not a huge fan of the book.)

41. South Dakota – Calamity Jane (1953)

While she ends up with Wild Bill at the end, I believe Calamity Jane is one of the earliest, best examples of LGBTQ+ representation in a Hollywood movie. Plus, it’s an incredible musical and one of my favourites set in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory (now South Dakota).

Doris Day plays Calamity: a gun-toting, spit-hocking 1800s American folk hero. When tasked with bringing a famous actress back to Deadwood from The Windy City, affairs of the heart and mistaken identity bolster this comedic western.

42. Tennessee – The Thing Called Love (1993)

It’s not the most well-known film set in Tennessee, but I watched The Thing Called Love a lot as a teenager. I think it’s a great country music film with an incredible cast.

Specifically set in Music City (Nashville), a young singer-songwriter from New York wants to become a country star. It features the real-life Bluebird Café, several country music stars, like Trisha Yearwood, and Hollywood stars River Phoenix and Sandra Bullock.

43. Texas – Giant (1956)

It was especially tough to choose a film that encompasses a huge state like Texas. In the end, no film accomplishes what Giant does.

This true epic focuses on the lives of wealthy cattle ranchers, the culture clashes with his East Coast wife, the racist treatment of Mexican-Americans and a working-class hero who strikes oil. Giant was also shot on location in Marfa, Texas and features James Dean’s third and last cinematic performance.

44. Utah – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

The way I changed my mind four times when choosing the movie to represent my adopted home state … I wanted to choose a John Ford film like The Searchers. He’s filmed many movies in Monument Valley, but I don’t know how many are actually set in Utah.

So, I had to settle for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Paul Newman and Robert Redford respectively star in this funny, buddy western set in the early 1900s. The canyon landscapes around Zion National Park are unbeatable.

45. Vermont – Dead Poets Society (1987)

Vermont is not only the birthplace of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, but it’s also the setting of Dead Poets Society. Robin Williams plays an inspirational English teacher at a Vermont-based boarding school who changes the lives of his students forever.

You know what, I think you should watch Dead Poets Society and book a trip to Vermont right away. Carpe Diem! Seize the day!

46. Virginia – Loving (2016)

Loving has a poignant, beautiful story set in a beautiful part of Virginia. Based on the true lives of Richard and Mildred Loving (yes, that really was their last name), an interracial married couple who were arrested for violating Virginia’s laws against interracial marriage.

One of the best American movies of the last ten years, in my opinion, and really underrated!

47. Washington – Captain Fantastic (2016)

Captain Fantastic was my favourite film of 2016. It fulfilled my fantasy of living off-grid in the woods and raising children who are astute, outdoorsy and well-read. All of those seem unlikely to happen, but a girl can dream.

Much of the film is shot in California and New Mexico, but the idyllic opening scenes where the family live off the land are set and shot in Washington’s state forests. I challenge anyone to watch this film and not be sucked in by this romanticised perspective of simple living.

48. West Virginia – October Sky (1999)

If I know anything about West Virginia (which I really don’t, lol), it’s that coal mining is a huge part of its heritage. October Sky is a biopic about a West Virginia native and coal miner’s son who, against the odds, grows up to work for NASA.

Though I don’t envy the life of a coal miner, the mountainous landscapes are something else. Anywhere in the Appalachia region is firmly on my to-visit list!

49. Wisconsin – Wayne’s World (1992)

Though cable-access performers (and wannabe rock stars) Wayne and Garth live in Aurora, Illinois, attending an Alice Cooper concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, turns their lives upside down. 

Wayne’s World shines a light on a less-visited state by international tourists, but maybe it might inspire you to check out The Good Land one day.

BONUS: Washington, DC – All the President’s Men (1976)

Despite not being an actual state, I had to dedicate a section to Washington, DC. There are just too many great films set in the Nation’s capital!

One of the most renowned and popular American movies of all time set in DC is All the President’s Men, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. They play journalists investigating the real-life Watergate scandal, which occurred just four years before the movie’s release.

That’s a Wrap!

No matter which US state you’re visiting (in person or via the medium of film!), you’ll find a great recommendation on this list, if I do say so myself.

You can find them on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and other streaming platforms.

Want to chat with other film fans about the best American movies?

Join the Filming Locations Fan Club Facebook Group!

Or, stay on Offscreen Tourist and read one of my related guides:

• Best Summer Camp Movies & TV Shows Set in the USA
• Top Grand Canyon Movies To Watch Before Your Trip