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What did SLO County residents Google in 2024? See top searches for music, sports and more

San Luis Obispo is the best place to live in San Luis Obispo County in 2024, according to review site Niche.
San Luis Obispo is the best place to live in San Luis Obispo County in 2024, according to review site Niche. jjohnston@thetribunenews.com

What did San Luis Obispo County residents Google in 2024?

The popular search engine recently released its Year in Search results for the past 12 months, including the top-searched person, actor, movie and television show in the United States for 2024.

Google also revealed trending topics in local markets, clumping together search results for the area that includes San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.

Results showed that the Central Coast was obsessed with rapper Kendrick Lamar and his chart-topping diss tracks aimed at Canadian rapper Drake.

Lamar’s hit song “Not Like Us” was the most searched song in the area, and his song “Euphoria” wasn’t far behind in third place.

According to Google Trends, “Not Like Us” was the No. 1 searched song in all of California in 2024.

Here were some of the other local Google trends for the year:

Voters cast their ballots at the San Luis Obispo County elections office on Nov. 5, 2024.
Voters cast their ballots at the San Luis Obispo County elections office on Nov. 5, 2024. Hannah Poukish hpoukish@thetribunenews.com

What’s trending ‘near me’ in SLO County?

According to Google’s Local Year in Search data, Central Coast residents were clued into elections.

Two of the most popular “near me” searches in the region were related to voting.

These were the top five “near me” searches for the San Luis Obispo-Santa Maria-Santa Barbara area in 2024:

  1. Ballot drop box near me
  2. Where to vote near me
  3. Commissary near me
  4. Delivery food near me
  5. Fire near me today
American gymnast Simone Biles performs in the uneven bars event during the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team Final, part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday at the Bercy Arena in the French capital. / La gimnasta estadounidense Simone Biles en la prueba de Barras Asimétricas durante la final de Gimnasia Artística en Equipos Femenino, parte de los Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024 este martes, en el Bercy Arena de la capital francesa.
American gymnast Simone Biles performs in the uneven bars event during the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team Final, part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday at the Bercy Arena in the French capital. / La gimnasta estadounidense Simone Biles en la prueba de Barras Asimétricas durante la final de Gimnasia Artística en Equipos Femenino, parte de los Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024 este martes, en el Bercy Arena de la capital francesa. Julio Muñoz Agencia EFE

Which Olympic athletes got Googled the most?

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris handed sports fans across the globe a chance to root for their favorite athletes.

Gold medalist Simone Biles, who’s widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, was the most popular Olympian among Central Coast residents based on local Google searches.

One of her fellow Team USA gymnasts, Jordan Chiles, was also a popular search subject, coming in at No. 5 on the list of most-Googled Olympians.

According to the search engine, these were the Olympic athletes that local residents searched for the most in 2024:

  1. Simone Biles

  2. Anthony Edwards

  3. Jannik Sinner

  4. Katie Ledecky

  5. Jordan Chiles

In this Nov. 22, 1986, file photo, Mike Tyson, right, delivers a blow to Trevor Berbick during a boxing bout in Las Vegas.
In this Nov. 22, 1986, file photo, Mike Tyson, right, delivers a blow to Trevor Berbick during a boxing bout in Las Vegas. Douglas C. Pizac AP

What were top ‘versus’ searches on Google?

The Central Coast may lack major professional sports teams, but locals are still interested in exciting match-ups.

This year, two boxing matches dominated local Google searches.

The top search spot went to former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s match against social media influencer Jake Paul.

Boxing fans were also interested in the middleweight title fight featuring Canelo Álvarez and Jaime Munguia. It was the first world title fight between two Mexican-born fighters weighing more than 160 pounds, ESPN reported at the time.

These were the top five trending “versus” searches of the year in the San Luis Obispo-Santa Maria-Santa Barbara area:

  1. Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

  2. Canelo Álvarez vs. Jaime Munguia

  3. Argentina vs. Colombia

  4. Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs

  5. Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers

Kendrick Lamar performs on the American Express stage during Austin City Limits Music Festival on Oct. 13, 2023, at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas.
Kendrick Lamar performs on the American Express stage during Austin City Limits Music Festival on Oct. 13, 2023, at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. Dave Creaney Austin American-Statesman/USA TODAY NETWORK

Which songs did SLO residents search for in 2024?

SLO County residents couldn’t get enough of Kendrick Lamar’s music this year.

“Not Like Us” and “Euphoria” took the No. 1 and No. 3 spots for most Googled songs in the area, respectively.

Pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” was also a hit among locals, landing second on the list.

According to Google, these were the top five trending song searches of the year:

  1. “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

  2. “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter

  3. “Euphoria” by Kendrick Lamar

  4. “Carnival” by ¥$

  5. “Thick Of It” by KSI

How does the Central Coast compare to rest of US?

According to Google, there were similarities between the Central Coast’s top searches in 2024 and those across the United States — and some noticeable differences.

All attention was on who would be the next president of the United States, with the election taking Google’s top spot for trending search this year.

Donald Trump was the No. 1 searched person, according to Google’s Year in Search report.

R&B singer Usher, who headlined the Super Bowl half-time show in February, was the No. 1 trending musician in the nation in 2024.

“Not Like Us” was the top searched song in the United States for the year, Google said, and the “Sweat” tour featuring Charli XCX and Troye Sivan was the music tour with the most searches.

Mike Tyson was the No. 1 trending athlete in the country in 2024.

The top trending sports team was the New York Yankees.

Here are some of the other things U.S. residents were searching for in 2024, according to Google Trends:

  • Top trending movie: “Inside Out 2”
  • Top trending TV show: “Griselda”
  • Top trending actor: Katt Williams
  • Top trending game: Connections
  • Top trending recipe: Olympics chocolate muffins

This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 5:00 AM.

Hannah Poukish
The Tribune
Hannah Poukish covers San Luis Obispo County as The Tribune’s government reporter. She previously reported and produced stories for The Sacramento Bee, CNN, Spectrum News and The Mercury News in San Jose. She graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in journalism. 
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