States With Most Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a chronic mental health condition characterized by an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others, leading to significant distress and impaired daily functioning. According to Mental Health America, approximately 7% of U.S. adults—equivalent to 15 million people annually—are affected by this disorder, making it one of the most prevalent anxiety conditions nationwide.
State-level analysis reveals substantial geographical disparities in both public awareness and treatment accessibility. For example, New Mexico recorded the highest Google search interest score of 100 in 2024, indicating heightened treatment demand and public awareness. In contrast, Colorado and Virginia consistently demonstrated the lowest search interest scores (16), signaling possible gaps in public engagement or awareness regarding SAD treatment resources.
Prescription fill rates further illustrate state-specific trends. Between 2019 and 2022, New York experienced the largest increase in anxiety medication fills (+16.6%), followed by Rhode Island (12.7%) and South Dakota (12.4%). High prescription rates often reflect better access to mental health care infrastructure and proactive treatment-seeking behaviors. Notably, New Hampshire and Iowa exhibited the highest prescription rates in 2022 at 14.2%, signifying robust healthcare responsiveness for anxiety-related conditions.
Missouri demonstrated remarkable volatility with a 124% surge in search interest for “social anxiety disorder treatment,” rising from 37 in 2023 to 83 in 2024. This rapid change underscores a sudden increase in either public awareness or perceived need for treatment services.
“Rising search interest is often an early indicator of changing community mental health needs,” notes Dr Michael Olla, a licensed Psychiatrist and Medical Director of Valley Spring Recovery Center “States with growing awareness must match this demand with adequate clinical resources and trained mental health professionals to ensure effective treatment outcomes.“
Trends in Social Anxiety Disorder Searches
- Post-Lockdown “Anxiety” Search Record: In 2021, Google searches for “anxiety” hit their highest level on record across the U.S. as Americans emerged from COVID isolation. (Google Trends)
- Pandemic Fear of People Spiked: At the height of lockdowns, fear of social interaction surged dramatically. “Anthropophobia” (fear of other people) made up 22% of all phobia-related searches in 2020, a fivefold increase from the year prior.
- Surge in Social Anxiety Help Queries: Americans are urgently seeking remedies for social anxiety online. In the past few years, searches for “social anxiety disorder therapies” soared over 2,000% (2019–2023 according to SEMrush.
- “How to Meet People” at All-Time High: There’s a flip side to social anxiety – loneliness. Google searches for phrases like “how to meet people” and “where to make friends” are at or near an all-time high as of the past year.
- States Googling Social Fears: Certain states stand out for their social anxiety-related searches. A recent trends analysis found “fear of people” was the #1 phobia search in California and New York (as well as New Jersey – even North Dakota). Notably, California also has one of the nation’s highest anxiety rates (20.2% of adults).
- Social Anxiety Goes Viral on TikTok: Conversations about anxiety are exploding on social media. On TikTok, the hashtag #anxiety has amassed roughly 11 billion views according to the LA times. (with #mentalhealth content exceeding 20 billion) as young people share experiences and coping tips. This massive engagement shows how relatable and widespread social anxiety has become.
- Niche Anxiety Trend – 180M Views: Even more specific anxiety topics are resonating online. For example, the hashtag #HighFunctioningAnxiety has nearly 180 million views on TikTok– reflecting a huge interest in the “hidden” side of anxiety (appearing outwardly fine while struggling internally).
Trends in Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment Searches
States With the Highest Search Interest in 2024
We began our analysis by looking for the states with the highest search interest in the term “social anxiety disorder treatment” between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025.
Here are the results:
- New Mexico led the nation with a perfect 100 search interest score. This suggests a sharp rise in mental health awareness and increased demand for treatment in the state, particularly since it was not in the top five before 2024.
- Utah, Kansas, and Missouri all share the second-highest score of 83. These states were also among the highest scores in 2024, showing a continued trend of high social anxiety treatment interest.
- Iowa rounds out the top five with a score of 66, maintaining its strong presence from the previous year.
States With the Lowest Search Interest in 2024
Next, we looked at which states expressed the lowest search interest in social anxiety disorder treatment between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025.
Here’s what the data shows:
- Colorado and Virginia recorded the lowest search interest scores at 16. This indicates significantly low public concern or awareness about social anxiety disorder treatment in these states. Colorado dropped from a score of 25 in 2024, while Virginia remained consistently low.
- Florida, Oregon, and Texas each had a score of 33, suggesting moderate but comparatively lower engagement in searching for treatment options.
States With the Highest Increase in Search Interest From 2024 to 2025
Next, we examined which states experienced the biggest increases in search interest for “social anxiety disorder treatment” between January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025. Identifying these trends helps highlight regions where awareness and concern about social anxiety treatment are growing.
Here’s what we found:
- Missouri saw the largest increase in search interest, jumping from 37 in 2023 to 83 in 2024. This marks a 124% increase, the highest for any state.
- Utah and Kansas both saw a 66% increase, rising from 50 to 83.
New Jersey and Arkansas experienced a 78% rise, climbing from 37 to 66. - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, California, and Michigan all saw a 25-point increase, doubling their previous year’s interest levels from 25 to 50.
| State | Search interest score 2024 | Search interest score 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 83 | 37 | +46 |
| Utah | 83 | 50 | +33 |
| Kansas | 83 | 50 | +33 |
| New Jersey | 66 | 37 | +29 |
| Arkansas | 66 | 37 | +29 |
| Ohio | 50 | 25 | +25 |
| Pennsylvania | 50 | 25 | +25 |
| Alabama | 50 | 25 | +25 |
| California | 50 | 25 | +25 |
| Michigan | 50 | 25 | +25 |
States With the Lowest Increase in Search Interest From 2024 to 2025
Interestingly, no state showed a decline in search interest for social anxiety disorder treatment.
However, some states experienced little to no growth in search interest compared to others. This could suggest stable awareness levels, less urgency in seeking treatment, or alternative sources of information in these regions.
Here’s what the numbers say:
- Virginia and Colorado had the smallest increases of four points, meaning that search interest has remained relatively stable in these states.
- Iowa also saw only a four-point rise, maintaining a high score but showing a lower increase in interest than other states.
- Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and North Carolina saw no change, indicating steady awareness or low public engagement with the topic.
- Florida, Texas, and Oregon had eight-point increases, also among the lowest growth rates in the dataset.
| State | Search interest score 2024 | Search interest score 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 50 | 50 | 00 |
| Kentucky | 50 | 50 | 00 |
| Louisiana | 50 | 50 | 00 |
| North Carolina | 50 | 50 | 00 |
| Virginia | 12 | 16 | +4 |
| Colorado | 12 | 16 | +4 |
| Iowa | 62 | 66 | +4 |
| Florida | 25 | 33 | +8 |
| Texas | 25 | 33 | +8 |
| Oregon | 25 | 33 | +8 |
What Do These Trends Mean?
The data shows a growing national interest in social anxiety disorder treatment, with no state experiencing a decline in search interest. However, the rate of increase varied significantly across different regions.
Missouri saw the most dramatic rise, suggesting a sharp increase in awareness and demand for treatment resources. Similarly, states like Utah, Kansas, and New Jersey showed significant growth, possibly reflecting expanding mental health initiatives or a shifting public focus on anxiety disorders.
In contrast, some states, including Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, saw no increase in interest at all, while Virginia and Colorado had minimal increases. One explanation for this is that awareness levels have stabilized in these areas or that individuals are seeking information through alternative channels.
Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders in the U.S. — What the Numbers Say
Unfortunately, there is very little information about the prevalence or treatment of social anxiety disorder at the state level, despite a clearly high demand for treatment in many states.
In light of this, we examined states that have a high rate of treatment or prevalence for anxiety disorders — which include social anxiety disorders — to identify patterns.
Here’s what we found:
- According to research conducted by GoodRX:
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- Between 2019 and 2022, many states in the U.S. saw an increase in the number of anxiety medication prescriptions filled each year. New York had the highest increase, at 16.6%. However, Google Search trends did not identify New York as a state with high interest in anxiety treatment.
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- Despite ranking among the five states with the lowest Google search interest in social anxiety disorder treatment in 2024, Colorado saw an 11.8% increase in anxiety medication prescriptions between 2019 and 2022. However, its search interest score did rise by 4% from 2023 to 2024, meaning that awareness or demand for social anxiety treatment might be gradually rising in the state.
- Iowa ranked among the top five states in Google search interest for social anxiety treatment, with a high score of 66. Other data supports this — anxiety medication prescriptions in the state rose by 11.3% between 2019 and 2022.
- Kansas ranked the third highest in search interest for social anxiety treatment, with a score of 83. It also saw a 10.9% increase in anxiety prescriptions from 2019 to 2022.
- In 2022, New Hampshire and Iowa had the highest percentage of anxiety prescriptions filled, both at 14.2%.
Access to Healthcare vs. Treatment Search Interest — Do They Align?
We also analyzed whether a state’s overall healthcare system ranking reflected how often its residents searched for social anxiety disorder treatment.
Using data from the “2023 Scorecard on State Health System Performance” by The Commonwealth Fund, we compared access to care with search demand.
Here’s what we found:
| Health system performance rank (top 10) | State |
|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts |
| 2 | Hawaii |
| 3 | New Hampshire |
| 4 | Rhode Island |
| 5 | Vermont |
| 6 | Connecticut |
| 7 | Washington |
| 8 | Maryland |
| 9 | New York |
| 10 | Pennsylvania |
| Health system performance rank (bottom 10) | State |
|---|---|
| 51 | Mississippi |
| 49 | West Virginia |
| 48 | Oklahoma |
| 47 | Texas |
| 46 | Arkansas |
| 45 | Tennessee |
| 44 | Georgia |
| 43 | Wyoming |
| 42 | Louisiana |
| 41 | Alabama |
What does this data mean? Some states with top-tier healthcare showed low interest in social anxiety treatment, while others with limited access had some of the highest search volumes. Here are some trends we noticed:
- Despite being the worst ranked (51) in health system performance, Mississippi does not appear in the search trends.
- West Virginia is also one of the worst-ranked states (50) but does not show high search interest in treatment, implying a gap in mental health outreach.
- Texas is ranked poorly in healthcare performance (48) but also has low search interest (33) and minimal increase (+8).
- Arkansas has one of the worst healthcare rankings (47) but saw a significant increase in search interest (+29). This reflects increased demand for mental health care in a system that’s not performing well.
- Alabama was ranked significantly low in healthcare performance (42). This might be one reason why it showed a major a rise in search interest (+25) as people scrambled to look for treatment resources.
- New Mexico leads in search interest (100) but is absent from the top healthcare performance states. This may suggest a great unmet need for treatment in the state.
Methodology
This review uses Google Trends data to analyze search interest in the term “social anxiety disorder treatment” across all 50 U.S. states between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025.
Google Trends assigns a search interest score between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the peak level of search activity for a given period.
States with high scores indicate a growing demand for mental health resources and treatment. High scores also reflect increased awareness or a rise in social anxiety cases.
We also identified which states experienced the most significant increases or the least change in public interest.