"What are the most common winning lottery numbers?" is one of the most-searched lottery questions in America, and it's easy to see why — if some numbers come up more often, why not play them? Below are the numbers that have appeared most (and least) often in the Powerball and Mega Millions draw data we track. But read past the lists, because the most important part of this post is the part that explains why these numbers won't help you win.
Most-drawn Powerball numbers
From the Powerball draws in our tracking dataset, the white-ball numbers that have come up most often are:
- 45, 31, 5, 9, 33, 64, and 69 lead the pack as the most frequently drawn.
- 21, 27, and 39 round out the top ten.
And the numbers that have shown up least often: 65, 17, 20, 28, 41, and 49.
Most-drawn Mega Millions numbers
For Mega Millions, the most frequently drawn main numbers in our data are:
- 66, 3, 10, 22, 26, and 19 at the top.
- 61, 5, 33, and 42 close behind.
The least frequent: 7, 4, 9, 25, 41, and 48.
Why the "most common numbers" can't predict the next draw
Here's the part the listicles leave out. A lottery draw has no memory. Each draw is an independent event — the balls don't know what happened last week, last year, or ever. The probability that any specific number comes up is the same on every single draw, no matter how often it has or hasn't appeared before.
That a number has been drawn more often in a sample of past draws is exactly what you'd expect from randomness. Flip a fair coin 100 times and you won't get exactly 50 heads — some outcomes lead, some lag, purely by chance. Over a small window of draws, some lottery numbers will inevitably appear more than others. It tells you nothing about the next draw. Statisticians call the belief that it does the gambler's fallacy, and it's one of the most reliable ways to lose money with confidence.
We go deeper on this in Hot, Cold, and Due Numbers: What They Really Mean.
The one number strategy that actually does something
Picking "lucky" numbers won't raise your odds of winning — but it can change how much you'd keep if you win. Here's the logic: a huge share of players pick numbers based on birthdays, which caps them at 1–31. If your numbers land in a jackpot and they're all under 32, you're statistically more likely to be sharing that jackpot with other birthday-players.
- Including numbers above 31 doesn't make you more likely to win, but it makes a split jackpot less likely.
- Avoiding obvious patterns (1-2-3-4-5, diagonal lines on the slip, popular sequences like 7-14-21-28-35) does the same.
So the honest takeaway: there's no number that wins more often, but there are numbers that share less often. That's the only edge the data supports — and it only matters in the vanishingly rare event you hit the jackpot at all.
A note on our data
These frequencies reflect the draws in Lottery Atlas's tracked dataset, not the entire multi-decade history of each game, and they shift as new draws come in. We refresh them continuously. They're here because people ask — not because we think they'll help you pick a winner. If a site promises you a "winning system" based on frequency charts, that's a marketing claim, not a mathematical one.
Want the live numbers instead?
Frequency trivia is fun; tonight's actual results matter more. See the latest Powerball and Mega Millions winning numbers — and your state's games — on our homepage, updated the moment draws are posted.
For entertainment only. Every combination has equal odds. Play responsibly — 1-800-GAMBLER.