FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – How do you pick your lottery numbers? Some people use certain numbers they feel are lucky, like birthdays, anniversaries, phone numbers, hoping their cherished numbers will bring a big win.
But have you ever wondered which numbers actually have a proven record of winning?
We took a look at the statistics for the Mega Millions and Powerball via USA Mega to see which have been the most-drawn numbers. The numbers are based on the last 100 drawings. We’ve limited the numbers to the top five on the list.
Mega Millions
First Five Numbers:
- 7 – drawn 16 times, 16% of drawings and 3.2% of draws
- 38 – drawn 13 times, 13% of drawings and 2.6% of draws
- 64 – drawn 12 times, 12% of drawings and 2.4% of draws
- 3 – drawn 11 times, 11% of drawings and 2.2% of draws
- 40 – drawn 11 times, 11% of drawings and 2.2% of draws
Mega Ball Number:
- 24 – drawn 8 times, 8% of drawings
- 18 – drawn 7 times, 7% of drawings
- 4 – drawn 6 times, 6% of drawings
- 17 – drawn 6 times, 6% of drawings
- 1 – drawn 5 times, 5% of drawings
Powerball
First Five Numbers:
- 39 – drawn 15 times, 15% of drawings, and 3% of draws
- 37 – drawn 14 times, 14% of drawings, and 2.8% of draws
- 63 – drawn 14 times, 14% of drawings, and 2.8% of draws
- 36 – drawn 13 times, 13% of drawings, and 2.6% of draws
- 61 – drawn 13 times, 13% of drawings, and 2.6% of draws
Powerball Number:
- 18 – drawn 7 times, 7% of drawings
- 4 – drawn 6 times, 6% of drawings
- 26 – drawn 6 times, 6% of drawings
- 5 – drawn 5 times, 5% of drawings
- 7 – drawn 5 times, 5% of drawings
While it may be exciting to know some of the stats on these lottery numbers, it is important to note that your odds of winning the lottery are statistically 1 in 302,575,350. You can increase those odds by buying multiple tickets.
For perspective, according to the CDC, any given year you have the odds of one in a million of getting struck by lightning. So you are about 300 times more likely to get struck by lightning than win the lottery.
Despite these odds, about half of adult Americans buy lottery tickets according to CNN Money, meaning that there are many people out there hoping to one day pick the right numbers and change their lives forever.