The typical scratch-off top prize is 20 times the second prize

Most scratch-offs have a steep drop after the top prize. Across 2,817 state lottery games on sale with at least two cash prize levels, the median top prize is 20 times the second prize. On a $1 million game, that typically means a $50,000 second prize.

The $1 tickets have the smallest typical gap, 10 times, and about a third of them put their top prize within five times of the second. Overall, 553 games, about one in five, have a top prize at least 100 times the next one, and 164, about 6%, have a second prize at least half the size of the top.

The biggest gaps come from games that put almost everything into one headline prize. Several $20 California games, including 100X The Cash, pair a $5 million top prize with a $2,500 second prize, a 2,000-fold drop. Arizona's $20 Loaded Cash Explosion goes from $2.5 million to $1,000.

At the narrow end, Massachusetts' $20 $2,000,000 Stacked has a $1 million second prize, half the top. Games that pay only a few fixed amounts, like Kansas' $30 "$150, $300 or $500," also land here since their top and second prizes are close by construction.

A narrow gap gives a player more than one shot at a life-changing amount, but it usually comes with fewer second prizes or a smaller top. Neither shape changes the payout much on its own. How a game spreads its money across the rest of the tiers is covered in our look at top-heavy and spread-out prize pools.