How much more do expensive scratch-offs actually pay back? It depends on the state
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Across the United States, a $1 scratch-off pays back 61.8% of sales and a $20 scratch-off pays back 75.1%. That 13% difference is the reason pricier tickets usually pay more. However, the ladder is not the same everywhere. In some states each increasing price tier buys a lot more payout. In a few it doesn't really make much of a difference. Figures are from our database as of the first week of September 2026, and cover US lotteries only.
Thirty-three states have at least three games on sale at both $1 and $20. The table shows 23 of them, the steepest ladders, the flattest, and the largest lotteries, ordered by how much the percentage gap is for the $20 tier outpaying the $1 tier.
| State | $1 | $5 | $10 | $20 | $30 | $1 to $20 gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 60.9% | 70.2% | 76.3% | 78.3% | 79.7% | 17.4 |
| Maryland | 60.0% | 71.8% | 75.1% | 77.1% | 78.8% | 17.1 |
| Iowa | 57.3% | 64.0% | 74.0% | 74.4% | 75.0% | 17.1 |
| Oklahoma | 58.0% | 69.0% | 74.0% | 75.1% | 75.6% | 17.1 |
| Louisiana | 58.5% | 61.7% | 67.2% | 74.4% | none | 15.9 |
| Arizona | 59.0% | 68.7% | 72.1% | 74.9% | 84.6% | 15.9 |
| Arkansas | 61.9% | 72.2% | 75.6% | 77.6% | none | 15.7 |
| North Carolina | 60.6% | 69.0% | 74.6% | 76.3% | 79.9% | 15.7 |
| Florida | 62.3% | 71.5% | 75.9% | 77.6% | 79.2% | 15.3 |
| Texas | 60.1% | 67.2% | 69.5% | 74.6% | 75.1% | 14.5 |
| Massachusetts | 70.0% | 77.8% | 83.2% | 83.8% | 84.0% | 13.8 |
| California | 64.8% | 69.4% | 74.9% | 78.2% | 79.8% | 13.4 |
| Illinois | 66.4% | 72.1% | 76.5% | 79.6% | 80.4% | 13.2 |
| Pennsylvania | 65.5% | 73.4% | 75.5% | 78.0% | 78.6% | 12.5 |
| Ohio | 62.4% | 70.2% | 73.1% | 74.7% | 81.0% | 12.3 |
| Georgia | 67.2% | 73.1% | 77.0% | 78.7% | 82.1% | 11.5 |
| New Mexico | 58.4% | 60.9% | 62.3% | 69.0% | none | 10.6 |
| New Hampshire | 62.1% | 67.4% | 72.3% | 71.8% | 79.4% | 9.7 |
| Minnesota | 63.1% | 68.0% | 70.0% | 72.1% | none | 9.0 |
| West Virginia | 64.1% | 69.4% | 69.5% | 72.9% | 75.5% | 8.8 |
| New York | 62.9% | 65.5% | 68.9% | 71.6% | 74.9% | 8.7 |
| Rhode Island | 65.4% | 68.6% | 70.2% | 73.6% | 75.8% | 8.2 |
| Montana | 54.2% | 67.1% | 61.2% | 58.3% | 60.6% | 4.1 |
The steep ladders
Michigan, Maryland, Iowa, and Oklahoma all climb about 17 percentage points going from $1 to $20, and they do it the same way, with a cheap tier that pays under 61% and a $20 tier near or above 75%. Iowa's $1 games are among the worst in the country at 57.3%, and its $10 games pay 74.0%. According to the Iowa Lottery's published payouts, its $10 ticket returns 16.7 more cents per dollar than its $1 ticket.
Louisiana climbs 15.9 points, but nearly all of it comes at the top. Its $1 pays 58.5%, its $5 only 61.7%, and its $10 67.2%. The $20 tier at 74.4% is where the state finally reaches the national average. For a Louisiana player, moving from $1 to $5 buys three points, and moving from $10 to $20 buys seven.
The flat and the upside down
Montana is the strange one. Its $1 games pay 54.2%, the lowest $1 figure of any state in the table. Its $5 games pay 67.1%. Then the ladder turns over. The $10 tier pays 61.2%, the $20 tier 58.3%, and the $30 tier 60.6%. In Montana the $5 ticket out-pays each tier above it by six to nine points.
New Hampshire has a smaller kink, with $10 games at 72.3% and $20 games at 71.8%. South Dakota pays 74.8% at $20 and 59.8% at $30. New York climbs steadily but slowly, from 62.9% to 71.6%, so its $20 tier pays less than Michigan's $10 tier.
Massachusetts climbs 13.8 points, near the national figure, but it starts from 70.0% on a $1 ticket. That $1 figure beats the $5 average in 24 of the 33 states. By $10, Massachusetts games pay 83.2%, more than any other state's $30 tier except Arizona's.
The national ladder is a real pattern, and the tier-by-tier national numbers hold in most states. Before paying up for a ticket, though, the question is what the ladder looks like where you are buying. In Michigan the $20 is a clear step up. In Montana it is a step down.
How we did this. Each figure is the average published or derived prize payout percentage of the active games at that price in that state. A state appears only if it has at least three games with a payout figure at both $1 and $20. "None" means the state has no $30 games with a payout figure. States with no payout figures in our data, including Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee, are excluded. Figures are from our database as of September 2, 2026, and cover US lotteries only.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a more expensive scratch-off always pay back more?
Nationally yes, on average. $1 games return 61.8% of sales, $5 games 69.3%, $10 games 73.1%, and $20 games 75.1%. But the size of that step varies a lot by state. In Michigan the gap between $1 and $20 is 17.4 points. In Montana it is 4.1, and Montana’s $5 games out-pay its $20 games.
Which state rewards buying the pricier ticket the most?
Michigan. Its $1 games pay 60.9% and its $20 games 78.3%, a 17.4-point climb. Maryland (60.0% to 77.1%), Iowa (57.3% to 74.4%), and Oklahoma (58.0% to 75.1%) each climb 17.1 points. Louisiana and Arizona climb 15.9.
Where does price make the least difference?
Montana, where $1 games pay 54.2% and $20 games 58.3%. Rhode Island (65.4% to 73.6%), New York (62.9% to 71.6%), West Virginia (64.1% to 72.9%), and Minnesota (63.1% to 72.1%) all climb less than 9 points from the $1 tier to the $20 tier.
Phil Nageotte is a writer covering scratch-off odds, expected value, prize data, and more. He joined ScratchCheck in 2026 after years of tracking lottery payouts in spreadsheets of his own.
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