As a recent analysis of Google search queries may indicate, Coloradans seek ‘tattoo regret’-related advice more frequently than residents of any other American state.

In order to determine what Americans have the most ‘tattoo regret,’ a tattoo artist-focused scheduling company called Goldie analyzed how many people in each state punched queriers of ‘laser tattoo removal’ and ‘tattoo cover-up ideas’ into Google each month. This was then compared to the state’s population to come up with a number representing how many people regret their tattoos in each state per 100,000 residents.

Once the numbers were crunched, Colorado topped the ranking – by a long shot. Per Goldie, 121.87 Coloradans per 100,000 residents search one of the aforementioned terms on average each month (2nd-place was Oregon at a rate of 112.83 per 100,000). Given that Colorado’s population is just over 6 million, that’s about 7,328 ‘tattoo regret’-themed Google searches each month.

Anyone familiar with Colorado culture probably isn’t too surprised that local tattoo regret is high – after all, Coloradans have some of the highest interest in getting tattoos nationwide, thus more tattoos means more opportunity for regret. A 2023 report put Colorado as having the 2nd-highest tattoo interest nationwide, behind only Hawaii. Per that report, 1,200 searches for terms like ‘tattoo shops near me’ took place monthly per 100,000 Hawaiian residents. In Colorado, that number was about 989 searches per 100,000 residents.

In other words, around 59,500 searches for ‘tattoo shops near me’ were taking place in Colorado on a monthly basis when that report was published. The number of searches related to tattoo regret is roughly 12.3 percent of that number.

Also showing off the high-level in local interest in tattoos is the number of local tattoo shops. Per Goldie, there are about 780 tattoo studios around the state of Colorado.

While an analysis of Google search queries isn’t quite a definitive indicator in regard to exactly how many people are getting tattoos and how many people are regretting them, it does provide some insight into general trends.

Next time you’re out in public in Colorado, take a look around – it will quickly become clear that tattoo culture is alive and while in the Centennial State. From micro tattoos to full sleeves to larger pieces, all styles of tattoo art seem to be embraced in the Mile High City and beyond.

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