The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won is $1.602 billion, drawn August 8, 2023, by a single ticket sold in Florida; the pre-tax cash option was approximately $794 million. That record anchors the complete ranked prize history below — including the $803 million jackpot drawn September 1, 2026, which ranks fourth all-time.
The $803 million jackpot claimed at a Bradenton, Florida Wawa is one of the biggest Mega Millions jackpots ever paid, ranking in the top ten all-time. Since 2002, every jackpot ever won — date, prize amount, lump-sum cash value, winning state, and ticket count — is compiled and ranked in the table below.
How Do the Biggest Mega Millions Jackpots Rank All-Time?
The Bradenton claim places this winner in select company. Three prizes in Mega Millions history have exceeded $1 billion: the $1.602 billion Florida win drawn August 8, 2023; the $1.537 billion South Carolina win drawn October 23, 2018; and the $1.350 billion Maine win drawn January 13, 2023. The $803 million prize surpasses every pre-2017 jackpot on record, including the $656 million three-way split of March 2012 that stood as the all-time record for more than five years.
One number to anchor: the advertised jackpot is always the 29-year annuity total. The lump-sum cash option — selected by the overwhelming majority of jackpot winners — is roughly 50–62 percent of that figure before federal and state withholding. For the $803 million prize, the pre-tax cash option falls in the $440–480 million range based on the historical cash-option percentage.
What Is the Complete Mega Millions Jackpot History by Prize Size?
The table below ranks the largest documented Mega Millions jackpots by advertised prize, drawn from MUSL's official published results. Cash values are pre-tax lump-sum figures as publicly reported by MUSL; where an exact reported figure is unavailable, values are estimated at approximately 55 percent of the advertised jackpot, consistent with the documented historical range. The full chronological dataset of every jackpot-tier win since 2002 — not just the largest — is available at Jackpot Teller's free data tool.
| Draw Date | Advertised Jackpot | Cash Option (pre-tax, approx.) | Winner State(s) | Winning Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2023 | $1.602 billion | ~$794 million | Florida | 1 |
| Oct 23, 2018 | $1.537 billion | ~$776 million | South Carolina | 1 |
| Jan 13, 2023 | $1.350 billion | ~$724 million | Maine | 1 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | $803 million | ~$461 million | Florida | 1 |
| Mar 30, 2012 | $656 million | ~$361 million | Kansas, Illinois, Maryland | 3 |
| Dec 17, 2013 | $648 million | ~$356 million | California, Georgia | 2 |
| Jul 19, 2016 | $536 million | ~$295 million | Indiana | 1 |
| Mar 6, 2007 | $390 million | ~$215 million | Georgia, New Jersey | 2 |
Source: MUSL official draw results. Cash values are pre-tax lump-sum estimates (~55% of advertised jackpot where the exact MUSL-reported figure is unavailable). Table shows the largest prizes on record; the complete Mega Millions jackpot history is at Jackpot Teller.
Are Mega Millions Jackpots Getting Bigger Over Time?
The historical record shows a clear upward trajectory with one structural inflection point: October 2017.
Before that date, Mega Millions used a 5/75 + 1/15 matrix with jackpot odds of approximately 1 in 258.9 million. In October 2017, the game restructured to its current 5/70 + 1/25 format, setting odds at 1 in 302.6 million. Harder odds mean fewer jackpot-winning draws per year, which allows prize pools to compound across more rollovers before a winner emerges.
The effect is stark in the record books. Every jackpot exceeding $1 billion has occurred after October 2017. Before the rule change, the all-time record was $656 million. Since then, the game has produced three prizes more than double that figure. The $803 million Bradenton win is itself a product of this structural post-2017 environment — a jackpot that would have been nearly impossible to accumulate under the prior rules.
Which States Have Won the Most Mega Millions Jackpots?
Raw jackpot-win counts skew toward the most populated states. California, Florida, New York, and Texas generate the highest ticket sales and have each produced multiple jackpot-winning tickets over the game's history. Reviewing the Mega Millions winners list by state, California leads by raw count — partly because California Lottery rules restrict multi-draw subscriptions, concentrating play in high-volume retail purchases rather than online accounts.
A per-capita lens shifts the picture considerably. South Carolina, Maine, and New Hampshire — each with populations under five million — have all produced billion-dollar jackpot winners in recent years. The dominant predictor of where a winning ticket originates is ticket volume, not geography or luck. Five states cannot produce Mega Millions winners at all: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah do not participate in the game.
How Often Is the Mega Millions Jackpot Split Among Multiple Winners?
Solo jackpot wins are the norm. The most notable multi-winner event among large prizes was the March 2012 $656 million draw, split across three tickets — one each in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland. It remains the only three-way split documented among the game's major jackpots.
Two-ticket splits have occurred on several high-profile draws. The December 2013 $648 million prize was shared between winners in California and Georgia; the March 2007 $390 million prize was divided between Georgia and New Jersey. When a jackpot splits, each winner takes an equal share — a two-way split on a $648 million jackpot yields roughly $324 million per ticket before taxes, compared to the full $648 million a solo winner claims.
Splits become more probable at higher prize levels because larger jackpots drive substantially more ticket sales, raising the likelihood that two players independently match all six numbers. Even so, all three of the game's billion-dollar jackpots were claimed by a single ticket each.
Where Does This Data Come From?
- Primary source: Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) official draw results — the authoritative record for all Mega Millions jackpot outcomes since the game's 2002 relaunch.
- Inclusion criteria: Jackpot-tier wins only, defined as matching all five white balls plus the Mega Ball. Lower-tier prizes (Match 5 without Mega Ball, Match 4 + Mega Ball, etc.) are excluded from this dataset.
- Cash value methodology: Pre-tax lump-sum cash option as publicly reported by MUSL at time of draw. Where no exact published figure is available, cash value is estimated at approximately 55 percent of the advertised annuity jackpot, consistent with the documented historical range of 50–62 percent across all draws.
- Completeness note: The table above shows the largest prizes for readability. The full chronological dataset — all jackpot-tier wins since 2002 — is maintained at Jackpot Teller and updated after each winning draw.
Lotteries are random. Past jackpot size, frequency, or state distribution has no predictive value for future draws.
Explore the full Mega Millions jackpot history dataset — every prize since 2002, sortable by size, date, and state — free at jackpotteller.com/w/data. Signup is free; no credit card required.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mega Millions Jackpots
What is the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won?
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was $1.602 billion, drawn on August 8, 2023, and claimed by a single ticket sold in Florida. The pre-tax cash option was approximately $794 million, making it the biggest payout in the game's 24-year history and the largest lottery jackpot paid in the United States at the time.
How many Mega Millions jackpots have been won in total?
Mega Millions has paid out at least 130 jackpots since the game relaunched under its current name in 2002, based on MUSL's published draw-by-draw results. The pace of wins has slowed since the October 2017 odds change, which shifted jackpot probability from 1 in 258.9 million to 1 in 302.6 million. MUSL's official site maintains the complete record.
Which state wins Mega Millions most often?
By raw ticket count, California has produced the most jackpot-winning tickets among all Mega Millions member states, a direct reflection of its large population and high retail ticket volume. On a per-capita basis, smaller states — including South Carolina, Maine, and New Hampshire — have each produced outsized jackpot wins relative to their total player populations.
How long does the average Mega Millions jackpot run before someone wins?
Since the October 2017 odds change, jackpots have regularly run 25 to 40 or more consecutive drawings before a winner emerges — sometimes exceeding 30 weeks. Before 2017, jackpots were typically claimed within 10 to 15 draws. The current 1-in-302.6-million odds structurally favor longer rollovers than earlier game formats produced.