The $2 and $3 scratch-offs: what the tiers between $1 and $5 actually pay

Most scratch-off comparisons stop at $1 and pick up again at $5. However, the two tiers in between are also big. There are 428 $2 games and 206 $3 games on sale in the United States right now, more than the 271 $1 games. Figures are from our database as of the first week of September 2026.

Together, the $2 and $3 tiers pay back about 65 cents on every dollar you spend. That is 3.7 points better than the $1 tier and 3.8 points worse than the $5 tier, and the $3 ticket (65.2%) has basically the same payout as the $2 (65.5%) one. Where the two tiers differ is how often you win anything at all.

The $3 tier has the best overall odds of any price under $5, a median of 1 in 3.82. The reason is because of the game format. According to the lotteries' game listings, 120 of the 206 $3 games are crossword, cashword, bingo, or loteria tickets, and puzzle games hand out many small prizes. Only 32 of the 428 $2 games are puzzle formats. The $3 ticket wins more often and pays back the same total, so its wins are smaller on average.

The median top prize is $20,000 at $2 and $30,000 at $3. One $2 game breaks that pattern. Win For Life in New York carries a top prize of $1,000 a week for life with a $1 million guaranteed minimum, and it also pays back 78.8% of sales, more than the average $50 ticket in the country.

The best and worst $2 and $3 tickets

Connecticut's $3 cashword is the top-rated game at either price. It pays 69.6%, wins once per 3.74 tickets, and still has 21 of its $30,000 top prizes out. Louisiana's Lucky 13 Crossword scores nearly as high on a much lower payout because seven of its $50,000 top prizes remain and the game is early in its run.

At the bottom, 777 in Iowa pays 52.9% on a $2 ticket, the lowest of any game at these prices with a published payout. Iowa's $3 Unlock It pays 54.7%. Both sit below the national $1 average.

Where the state matters more than the price

Georgia sells 47 $2 games and 16 $3 games, more than any other state, and they pay 71.4% and 72.2%. Both figures beat the national $5 average of 69.3%. Massachusetts sells 25 $2 games at 72.9% and no $3 games. At the other end, Iowa pays 59.9% at $2 and 61.5% at $3, Louisiana pays 60.9% at $2, and New Mexico pays 58.8%.

Six of the 44 lotteries in our data sell no $3 games. The tier is also thin in New York, where 16 $2 games pay 64.0% and 9 $3 games pay 63.0%, both under the national figure.

The odds of hitting the top prize are long, just like with all lottery tickets. The median $2 game pays its top prize once in 680,000 tickets and the median $3 game once in 524,425. For how the tiers above and below compare, see the $1 tier and the best $5 game in every state.

How we did this. Payout, overall odds, top prize, and remaining top prize counts come from each state lottery's published game data, collected daily. Averages count only games with a published or derived payout figure. Puzzle games were identified by name (crossword, cashword, bingo, loteria). ValueScore™ is our 0 to 100 rating and updates daily. Figures are from our database as of September 2, 2026, and cover US lotteries only.