Best States for Vending Machine Locations: Top 10 (2026)

California (19 open venues), Ohio (16) and New York (15) have the most open vending machine locations in Pinpoint's inventory as of 7 September 2026, followed by Texas, Georgia and Wisconsin with 8 each. The ranking counts signed venues waiting for a machine, so it shows where Pinpoint has scouted, not where national demand is highest.

How did we rank these states?

We ranked states by the number of open venues in Pinpoint's public inventory snapshot dated 7 September 2026: venues that have signed a host agreement with Pinpoint and do not yet have a machine. The snapshot holds 157 open venues across 34 states, and 20 states have 3 or more.

Ties were broken by the number of machines Pinpoint has already placed in that state, which is why Texas sits above Georgia and Wisconsin at 8 open venues each. Visitor figures are the venue's own annual foot-traffic count where one was recorded; 72 of the 157 venues report one, and the median across those is 50,000 visitors a year.

Three things this ranking is not:

• It is not a measure of how much a machine will earn. Foot traffic is a count of people through the door, and Pinpoint makes no representation about operator income.
• It is not a count of every vending location in a state. It is one company's signed venues, and the export behind it is partial, so treat each count as a floor.
• It is not fixed. Venues are placed and new ones signed every week; the vending locations index is the live version.

For the general method of finding a venue, start with the pillar guide on how to find vending machine locations. This post answers the narrower question of where those venues are.

Which states have the most open vending machine venues?

Ten states account for 97 of the 157 open venues. Each state below links to its inventory page and its permit guide.

1. California: 19 open venues

California leads the count with 19 open venues and 10 machines already placed. The mix is broad rather than deep: 2 general entertainment venues, a family entertainment center, a bowling alley, a mall and an escape room, spread from Livermore in the Bay Area to Palmdale, Valencia and Yucca Valley in the south. Only 4 of the 19 venues report foot traffic, averaging 75,000 visitors a year, so ask for the count on any California venue before you commit.

California is also the state with the most particular vending tax rule, covered below. See the California vending locations page and the California vending permit guide.

2. Ohio: 16 open venues

Ohio has 16 open venues, 5 placed machines, and the clearest venue-type pattern in the inventory: 4 of the 16 are bowling alleys, alongside an arcade, an indoor playground and a gas station. Two are in Columbus, with others in Cincinnati and Sylvania near Toledo. Five venues report traffic, averaging 116,000 visitors a year; the largest reports 360,000.

Ohio's bowling-alley weighting matters for machine choice, because bowling centers run year-round and skew to families and leagues. Compare the Ohio vending locations with the Ohio vending permit guide, which notes that some Ohio cities licence each machine location separately.

3. New York: 15 open venues

New York has 15 open venues and 13 machines placed, the second-highest placed count after Texas. Open venues include 2 indoor playgrounds, a bowling alley, a kids' activity center, a haunted attraction and a retail store, in Jamaica (Queens), Cheektowaga outside Buffalo, Marcellus near Syracuse and Manorville on Long Island. The 3 venues reporting traffic average 27,000 visitors a year, smaller than the Ohio or Texas venues, which is typical of neighbourhood indoor playgrounds.

New York City requires its own food vending permit on top of the state Certificate of Authority, so the New York vending permit guide is worth reading before you look at the New York vending locations.

4. Texas: 8 open venues, 21 placed

Texas has 8 open venues but 21 placed machines, more than any other state, which is why it takes fourth place ahead of Georgia and Wisconsin. The open venues are unusually varied: a gas station, a hotel, an indoor soccer facility and a mall, in Houston, Amarillo, Lubbock and Cedar Hill. Three report traffic, averaging 165,000 visitors a year, with the largest at 350,000.

Texas is the state to read the per-machine permit section for. Start with the Texas vending locations and the Texas vending permit guide.

5. Georgia: 8 open venues

Georgia's 8 open venues and 3 placed machines cluster south and north of Atlanta: 2 in Jonesboro, plus Hiram, Clarkesville and Toccoa. Venue types are the family-entertainment core Pinpoint scouts for: a trampoline park, an indoor playground, a family entertainment center and a retail store. Three venues report traffic, averaging 72,000 visitors a year, with the largest at 150,000.

Food vending in Georgia falls under the Department of Agriculture rather than a health department, a wrinkle explained in the Georgia vending permit guide. Venues are on the Georgia vending locations page.

6. Wisconsin: 8 open venues

Wisconsin has 8 open venues and no machines placed yet, so every venue here is a first placement. It has the most complete traffic data of any state, with 6 of 8 venues reporting, averaging 64,000 visitors a year and topping out at 175,000. Venues include 2 bowling alleys, a water park in Wisconsin Dells, a family entertainment center, a trampoline park and an escape room, with 2 in Green Bay and others in New Berlin and Platteville.

The Wisconsin Dells water park is the clearest example in the inventory of a seasonal venue, discussed below. See the Wisconsin vending locations and the Wisconsin vending permit guide.

7. Florida: 7 open venues, 16 placed

Florida has 7 open venues and 16 placed machines, second only to Texas for machines on the ground. The open venues are in Miami, Coral Springs, Boca Raton and Sebring and include an indoor playground, a family entertainment center, a rage room, a deli and an electronics store. Five report traffic, averaging 97,000 visitors a year, with the largest at 280,000.

Florida licenses food vending machines through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or the Department of Agriculture depending on the product, which the Florida vending permit guide walks through. Venues are on the Florida vending locations page.

8. Mississippi: 6 open venues

Mississippi is the surprise on the list: 6 open venues, no machines placed, spread across Hattiesburg, Oxford, Tupelo and Greenville. The venue types are exactly what a cotton candy or ice cream machine wants: 2 indoor playgrounds, a family entertainment center, a trampoline park, a bowling alley and a food-service venue. Four venues report traffic, averaging 47,000 visitors a year, with the largest at 85,000.

Smaller college and regional towns mean less competition for the venue's attention. See the Mississippi vending locations and the Mississippi vending permit guide.

9. Massachusetts: 5 open venues

Massachusetts has 5 open venues and 4 placed machines, in Boston, Revere, Tyngsborough and Swansea. Only 2 venues report traffic, but they are large, averaging 140,000 visitors a year with one at 250,000. Venue types include a bowling alley and an indoor playground.

Massachusetts edges out New Jersey on placed machines, 4 to 3. See the Massachusetts vending locations and the Massachusetts vending permit guide.

10. New Jersey: 5 open venues

New Jersey rounds out the ten with 5 open venues and 3 placed machines, in Elizabeth, Cherry Hill, Burlington and Flanders. Three venues report traffic, averaging 125,000 visitors a year, with the largest at 255,000. Venue types include an arcade, a gymnastics gym and a retail store, and New Jersey requires a business registration certificate before a machine operates.

See the New Jersey vending locations and the New Jersey vending permit guide.

Which states have 3 or more open venues?

Twenty states have at least 3 open venues in the 7 September 2026 snapshot. Average visitors is the mean of the venues in that state that report an annual foot-traffic count; a dash means none did.

Rank	State	Open venues	Machines placed	Venues reporting traffic	Average annual visitors
1	California	19	10	4	75,000
2	Ohio	16	5	5	116,000
3	New York	15	13	3	27,000
4	Texas	8	21	3	165,000
5	Georgia	8	3	3	72,000
6	Wisconsin	8	0	6	64,000
7	Florida	7	16	5	97,000
8	Mississippi	6	0	4	47,000
9	Massachusetts	5	4	2	140,000
10	New Jersey	5	3	3	125,000
11	Kentucky	5	2	4	24,000
12	Pennsylvania	4	3	3	183,000
13	Virginia	4	4	2	155,000
14	Tennessee	4	1	3	122,000
15	Maryland	4	1	3	70,000
16	Michigan	4	2	2	33,000
17	North Carolina	4	3	1	10,000
18	Illinois	3	2	2	55,000
19	Washington	3	1	1	50,000
20	North Dakota	3	0	0	—

Fourteen more states have 1 or 2 open venues each. Pennsylvania is worth a look despite its rank: its 3 reporting venues average 183,000 visitors a year, the highest average in the table, including a 400,000-visitor ice rink outside Pittsburgh.

Does this list reflect national vending demand?

No. This list reflects where Pinpoint's scouts have signed venues, which follows where operators have asked us to search and which venue types we specialise in, not the size of a state's vending market.

Two effects show that plainly. Texas and Florida have 21 and 16 placed machines but only 8 and 7 open venues, because operators in those states have taken venues as fast as they were signed. Wisconsin, Mississippi and North Dakota have 17 open venues between them and no placed machines, because scouting there ran ahead of operator demand. A state ranking low here can have plenty of vending demand; it means Pinpoint has not scouted it deeply yet.

Across the whole inventory, Pinpoint has scouted 26,311 venues and signed 329, and the open venues skew hard to family entertainment: 18 bowling alleys, 15 indoor playgrounds, 10 family entertainment centers and 7 trampoline parks make up 50 of the 157. Those are the venue types covered in our guide on best places to put a vending machine and, for this machine category specifically, in where to put a cotton candy vending machine.

How does sales tax on vending differ by state?

Vending sales are taxable retail sales in most states, but the way the tax is calculated differs, and California is the clearest example of a state with its own method. Under California Revenue and Taxation Code section 6359.2, 33 percent of the gross receipts from cold food products sold through vending machines is subject to sales tax, whether or not eating facilities are provided; the statute says 33 percent represents the statewide average of vending food sales that would otherwise be taxable (CDTFA, section 6359.2). Hot or prepared items are taxed on the full sale, so whether a cotton candy or ice cream sale counts as cold food is a question to put to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration before you set prices.

Most other states tax the full sale, and some let operators treat the posted price as tax-included and back the tax out, which changes how you set a price on the machine. The practical rule for an operator moving into a new state is the same everywhere: register with the state tax agency before the machine takes its first dollar. Each of Pinpoint's permit guides names that agency, for example the Ohio Department of Taxation on the Ohio vending permit guide and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts on the Texas vending permit guide.

Sales tax is separate from what the venue takes. Under Pinpoint's terms the venue receives 30–40% of machine revenue, after expenses, and the exact figure is shown on every location before you choose it; see the pricing page.

Which states require a permit for each machine?

A handful of states and many cities charge a fee or decal per machine or per location, on top of the state-level sales-tax registration and business licence. Texas is the clearest documented example: the Texas Comptroller charges a $60 occupation tax each year on every coin-operated amusement machine displayed in the state, evidenced by a decal fixed to the machine, plus a general business licence of $200, $400 or $500 a year depending on how many machines you own, with renewals due 30 November (Texas Comptroller, coin-operated machine FAQ). The definition covers machines that dispense music or are operated for skill or pleasure, so a claw, prize or game element pulls a machine in, while a machine that only dispenses a product is a question for the Comptroller rather than an assumption.

Elsewhere the per-machine rule is local rather than state-wide. Some Ohio cities licence each machine location, some Kentucky counties require a per-machine decal, and New York City requires its own food vending permit in addition to the state sales-tax certificate. None of these is large money on its own, but a 10-machine route across 3 counties can carry 30 separate renewals, so record every permit's due date when you place a machine.

Where a machine can legally go is a different question from which permits it needs, and it is covered in can you put a vending machine anywhere. The venue's role is set out in Pinpoint's agreement: the operator holds the licences and carries liability insurance naming Pinpoint as an additional insured, and the venue provides the space and power.

How does seasonality change by state?

Seasonality is a venue-type question first and a state question second. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that amusement parks and arcades employment ranged from 199,700 in January 2024 to 271,500 in July 2024, reaching its maximum each summer and its minimum in winter (BLS, July 2025). That is a 36 percent swing, and it is a fair proxy for the visitor curve at an outdoor park.

In Pinpoint's inventory the outdoor, summer-peaking venues are a minority: 2 water parks (Wisconsin Dells and Tennessee), 2 amusement parks (Tennessee and Virginia) and a campground. The core venue types, bowling alleys, indoor playgrounds, family entertainment centers and trampoline parks, run year-round and tend to fill up in the months when the weather keeps families indoors. That is why the northern states on this list, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York and Massachusetts, are weighted toward indoor venues, and why a winter placement in Ohio can be busier than a winter placement at a Florida water park.

Two rules follow. If you take a seasonal venue, ask for the monthly visitor curve, not the annual total, and plan restocking around it. If you operate in a state with a real winter, favour the indoor venue types; the guide to family entertainment centers covers how those venues run through the year.

Which state should you choose?

Choose the state you can service, then the venue with the visitor count you want. A machine two states away costs more in restocking trips than it ever gives back in extra foot traffic, which is why Pinpoint's availability checker searches by driving time from your city rather than by state line. On the site, a 2-hour radius means the state you are in, 3 hours adds the nearest neighbouring state, and 4 hours adds every neighbour.

Your situation	Where to look first
You live in California, Ohio or New York	Your own state; 15 to 19 open venues each
You live in Texas or Florida	Your own state, but move quickly; 21 and 16 machines already placed against 8 and 7 open
You want a first placement with no competing operators nearby	Wisconsin, Mississippi or North Dakota; 17 open venues, 0 placed
You want the largest venues by visitor count	Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Massachusetts; reporting venues average 140,000 to 183,000
You want year-round indoor traffic	Ohio and Wisconsin bowling alleys, New York and Mississippi indoor playgrounds
Your state is not in the table	Check the vending locations index; 14 more states have 1 or 2 open venues

Whichever state you pick, the terms are the same: a $1,000 refundable deposit, back in full if Pinpoint does not place you within 6 months or after 12 months placed; up to 2 qualified locations to choose from; and a $100 a month licence fee that starts only when the machine is installed and earning. Details are on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Which state is best for vending machine locations? There is no single best state. In Pinpoint's inventory California, Ohio and New York have the most open venues, but Texas and Florida have the most machines already placed, and the right state for you is the one where a qualified venue exists within your service radius.

Which states have the most vending machine demand? Venue demand tracks population and family-entertainment density, so California, Texas, Florida, New York and Ohio show up at the top of most lists. Pinpoint's own count of signed, unplaced venues puts California (19), Ohio (16) and New York (15) first as of September 2026.

Do I need a different vending permit in each state? Yes. Sales-tax registration, business licences and food-service permits are issued state by state, and some cities and counties licence each machine or location on top. Each state's requirements are set out in Pinpoint's vending permit guides.

Is sales tax charged on vending machine sales? In most states, yes, but the method differs. California taxes only 33 percent of cold-food vending receipts under Revenue and Taxation Code section 6359.2, while other states tax the full sale. Register with the state tax agency before the machine takes its first dollar.

How do I find vending machine locations near me by state? Pinpoint's vending locations index lists every state with signed venues, with a page per state showing open venues by city and venue type. Enter your city on the availability checker to see venues within a two, three or four hour drive.

What to do next?

Pick your state from the table, open its locations page, and check which venues sit within your driving radius. When one fits, the pricing page sets out the deposit, the venue share and the guarantees before you commit to anything.

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Zach Downey runs Pinpoint Vending, a Sweet Robo company that scouts and negotiates venues for vending machine operators. Figures in this post come from Pinpoint's public inventory snapshot of 7 September 2026 and from the sources linked inline. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the author. About Pinpoint.