Most Common US Powerball Numbers

Updated after every draw, last draw on 31 October 2026

Which US Powerball numbers come up the most? Are some numbers "hot", and are others "due"? We counted every number drawn in all 1,427 draws since 7 October 2015, when the current numbers started. And then we checked whether any of it actually means something. Let's find out!

1. The most and least common numbers
2. The most common Powerball numbers
3. Hot and cold numbers
4. The most common pairs
5. Does any of this mean anything?
6. The numbers that can make a difference

The most and least common numbers

In US Powerball, 5 numbers are drawn from 69. So over 1,427 draws, each number should have come up around 103 times. Here's how they actually did.

Number 21 leads the way with 128 draws, while number 13 has only come up 79 times. That's quite a gap! But before you rush to play 21, hold that thought: we'll see why in a moment.

The most common Powerball numbers

The Powerball is drawn from a separate barrel of 26 numbers. Over 1,427 draws, each should have come up around 55 times.

The most common Powerball is 14, drawn 68 times, and the least common is 16, with 40.

Hot and cold numbers

"Hot" numbers are the ones that have come up the most lately, and "cold" numbers are the ones that haven't been drawn for a while. Some players swear by them, either riding the hot streak or betting that a cold number is due.

Here's the thing though: the balls have no memory. A number that came up three times last month is no more likely to come up tonight, and a number that hasn't been drawn in 49 draws isn't any closer to being "due". Every draw starts from scratch.

The most common pairs

Which two numbers have come up together the most?

With 2,346 possible pairs, a few were always going to come up together more often than the rest. Just like the numbers on their own, it's chance at work.

Does any of this mean anything?

Probably not, and we can check! Even with perfectly random balls, some numbers come up more than others. Flip a coin 100 times and you'll rarely get exactly 50 heads. The real question is whether the gaps are bigger than chance alone would produce.

Statisticians answer that with a chi-square test. For the 1,427 draws above, it tells us that perfectly random balls would give a spread at least this uneven 12% of the time. In other words, nothing out of the ordinary: the numbers are just as random as they should be.

The same goes for the Powerball numbers: a spread at least this uneven would happen 49% of the time.

So the most common numbers aren't any more likely to be drawn next, and the least common ones aren't due either. Every combination has exactly the same chance. Want to put that to the test? Play your favourite numbers thousands of times in our US Powerball simulator, for free.

The numbers that can make a difference

If every number is just as likely to be drawn, does it matter which ones you pick? It does, a little, because of the other players. When you win, you share the prize with everyone else who picked the same numbers. Pick numbers that few other people play, and you would share less. In the US, the smaller prizes are fixed amounts, so it's only the Jackpot you would share. But that's the one that counts!

We can tell which numbers are popular from the winners: when a popular number is drawn, more tickets win. From 1,089 draws, here's what other US Powerball players pick, and avoid. We explain how this works in should you pick birthday numbers?

It won't change your odds of winning, only how much you would win. But if you're going to pick numbers anyway, it's the one thing the data says can actually help!