Yellow is a bright, sunny color that conjures images of daffodils, lemons, and sunflowers. But when it comes to favorite colors, yellow ranks surprisingly low on the list. So how rare is it for someone to name yellow as their favorite color? Let’s take a closer look at the data and find out.
Yellow’s Popularity in Favorite Color Surveys
Various surveys and studies over the years have asked people to name their favorite color. The results show yellow lagging behind more popular picks like blue, green, red, and purple.
For example, a survey conducted by Harris Poll in 2012 asked over 2,000 adults in the United States about their favorite color. Just 7% chose yellow, compared to 35% for blue and 15% for green.
| Color | Percentage Choosing as Favorite |
|---|---|
| Blue | 35% |
| Green | 15% |
| Purple | 14% |
| Red | 13% |
| Orange | 8% |
| Yellow | 7% |
| Pink | 4% |
| Brown | 2% |
| Gray | 1% |
| White | 1% |
A survey in the UK in 2018 by Persil laundry detergent found similar results. In this study with over 2,000 respondents, just 9% chose yellow, compared to 24% for blue and 21% for green.
So in these major surveys, yellow lags well behind the frontrunners. It garners only single-digit percentages while colors like blue, green and purple get double-digit shares.
How Yellow Ranks Among Children
Studies have also looked at favorite color choices among children. The results show that yellow ranks low even among younger age groups.
One study of over 4,000 children aged 4-14 in China found that the top colors were red (28%), followed by pink (23%), blue (16%), green (14%), and orange (6%). Just 2% chose yellow.
Similarly, a survey of 127 grade school children in the United States found that less than 1% chose yellow as their favorite color. The top choices were blue (37%), followed by red (23%), green (11%), purple (7%), and pink (7%).
So again, yellow secured just a tiny fraction of votes compared to more popular picks like blue, red, and green.
Why Is Yellow Less Popular?
What explains yellow’s lackluster ranking as a favorite color? There are a few possible reasons:
– It’s not one of the primary colors – Unlike red, blue, and yellow, it is not considered a primary color in art and design. This may negatively impact its perception.
– Associations with caution/warning – Yellow is heavily used for caution signs, warnings, and hazard symbols. This may lead some to subconsciously view it less positively.
– Overuse in childhood – Many children’s toys and books use a lot of yellow. Early overexposure may make people bored with it.
– Difficult to wear – Yellow is a bold, bright color that can be challenging to wear in clothing for many skin tones. This likely limits its appeal.
– Less prevalence in nature – While green, blue, and purple are found extensively outdoors, pure yellow is rarer in landscapes and scenery.
So while cheers and sunny, yellow appears to suffer from associations with warning, overuse early in life, difficulty pairing with skin tones, and a lack of prominence in the natural world. These factors may explain why relatively few people name it as their favorite color.
Gender Differences
Research has identified some gender differences when it comes to yellow preferences. Multiple studies find that women are a bit more likely to favor yellow compared to men.
For example, a survey by Joe’s Paint Store found that 8% of women named yellow as their favorite color versus just 5% of men. However, blue was still the top choice for both genders.
This gender gap may come down to cultural color associations. Yellow is often coded as a feminine, delicate color in many cultures. The stronger preference among women may stem from this ingrained color-gender link.
However, the gap is modest. For both genders, yellow still lags well behind blue, green, purple and other more popular picks. So while women show a slightly stronger preference, yellow remains a relatively rare favorite across the board.
Age Differences
Age is another demographic factor that may correlate with yellow preferences. Some research suggests that younger children are more likely to favor yellow compared to older age groups.
One study of favorite colors among children aged 4-12 found that 5-7 year olds were significantly more likely to choose yellow than 8-12 year olds. This indicates that fondness for yellow may decline as children get older.
As noted previously, yellow is extremely common in young children’s toys, books, and media. This heavy exposure at an early age may boost its appeal. But as children mature, their color preferences likely shift away fromreminder primary hues like yellow and towards more nuanced or muted shades.
So while yellow enjoys marginally higher popularity among very young kids, this fondness appears to drop off as children enter middle childhood and beyond. It remains a rare favorite color in adult populations.
Geographic Differences
Research on geographical differences in yellow preferences is limited. However, one interesting study analyzed favorite color choices across various countries.
The results found some variation in yellow’s popularity. It received the highest share in Brazil at 12% of respondents, followed by Australia (11%), and the UK (9%). Yellow’s popularity was lowest in Japan (3%), the United States (7%), and China (2%).
So while yellow remains a relatively rare favorite everywhere, its appeal does differ mildly across some cultural contexts. The reasons for these geographical differences are unclear, but may reflect subtle variations in color associations and meanings. More cross-national research could shed light on this.
Conclusion
In summary, yellow is an infrequent choice when people name their favorite color. Across age groups, genders and nationalities, it consistently trails far behind picks like blue, green, purple and red.
While young children, women, and certain cultural contexts like Brazil show a slightly elevated preference for yellow, these differences are modest. The appeal remains niche overall.
Possible reasons for yellow’s rare favorite status include its warnings associations, gender coding, overuse in childhood, and lack of prevalence in nature. These influences seem to relegate it to a second-tier color in most people’s minds.
So in answer to the original question “How rare is yellow as a favorite color?”, the data paints a clear picture. While cheery and bright, a yellow preference is indeed a relative rarity across demographics. It appears this sunny shade will remain an outlier when it comes to colors people love most.
