10 States Where Shoppers Love to Get Cash Back

Residents in three Sun Belt states could teach the rest of us a thing or two about getting cash back from purchases.

Florida, Texas and California shoppers have earned more cash back using the rebate app Ibotta over the past five years than residents in other states, according to a new study from Ibotta itself.

Of course, it’s also true that these three states all have large populations. So, it stands to reason that these places would earn a bit more cash back as a group than states with smaller populations.

But a state’s population size doesn’t completely explain the numbers. For example, North Carolina has a much smaller population than New York, but residents of the Tar Heel State earn more cash back as a group than New Yorkers.

According to Ibotta, the states where shoppers have earned the most cash back using the app over the past five years are:

1. Florida — $72,666,574
2. Texas — $70,823,896
3. California — $58,568,887
4. Ohio — $43,095,785
5. Pennsylvania — $39,537,895
6. North Carolina –$35,268,274
7. Georgia — $34,659,409
8. Illinois — $33,749,148
9. New York — $33,091,948
10. Michigan — $30,619,987

Ibotta estimates that in most states, about 15% of the adult population uses the app. But the numbers are higher in some places. For example, 18% of Florida adults use Ibotta.

In some states, Ibotta users are particularly active. Here are the three states where each user, on average, has saved the most money:

1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. South Dakota

What is Ibotta?

Ibotta is a free app available for Android and Apple devices. To get started using it, simply sign up for an account and download the app.

The rebate app helps you get cash back on in-store and online purchases from all kinds of retailers. As Ibotta’s website put it:

“Ibotta is a free cash back rewards and payments app that gives you real cash for everyday purchases when you shop and pay through the app. Ibotta provides thousands of ways for consumers to earn cash on their purchases by partnering with more than 1,500 brands and retailers. Whether you’re buying groceries, clothing, electronics, or wine and beer, Ibotta will pay you cash for your purchases.”

There are two ways to save with Ibotta:

• Make purchases from online retailers by going through Ibotta.
• Use Ibotta’s browser extension for Chrome and Firefox.

Other ways to earn cash back

Ibotta is hardly the only way to get cash back on your purchases.

Cash-back portals like Rakuten make it easy to earn cash rebates on online purchases, especially if you don’t want to download an app or browser extension. While Rakuten offers a mobile app and browser extension, you don’t have to use it. You can go right to Rakuten’s website, log into your account and start shopping from there.

To learn more about cash-back portals, check out “3 Websites That Pay You for Shopping.”

You also can boost your cash back by paying with a cash-back credit card, provided that you are paying off your balance in full each month to avoid interest.