Picking a paint color is one of the most consequential design decisions you can make, which means there’s a lot of pressure to get it right. This is especially true if you’re going with a bold, non-neutral hue. Seeing what others are doing is a great place to gather some inspiration, and Behr’s latest report offers exactly that.
The retailer examined its top-selling colors across the country year to date—excluding neutrals—and pinpointed two big winners: Hidden Gem (Behr’s 2026 color of the year) and Adirondack Blue.
“Color is back in a meaningful way,” says Kayla Kratz, Behr’s head of color. “In 2025, blue shades led in 64% of states. This year, green has taken over that same share, with Hidden Gem leading more states than any other non-neutral color.”
Along with getting a nice publicity push as color of the year, she speculates that Hidden Gem is so popular because of its beautiful ambiguity.
“It sits somewhere between blue and green, so it feels familiar without feeling expected,” she notes. “Its smoky undertone gives it depth and keeps it from becoming too bright.”
The Top Bold Behr Paint Color in Your State
Not including neutral paint colors, these were the most popular Behr paint colors in each state:
- Hidden Gem: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
- Adirondack Blue: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington
- Canyon Dusk: New Mexico
- Black Evergreen: Tennessee
Color clearly seems incredibly tied to place. In the Northeast, for example, Adirondack Blue leads in eight of the nine states, even as green has gained momentum across much of the country. And outliers like Canyon Dusk in New Mexico and Black Evergreen in Tennessee make perfect geographical sense.
“Adirondack Blue makes sense in the Northeast because it already feels native to the region with the grayness of slate, the depth of weathered shingles, and the coolness of coastal light,” Kratz says. “In the Northeast’s softer, silvery light, it shifts beautifully, feeling crisper on bright days and moodier under gray skies.
Wendy Rose Gould is a lifestyle journalist who routinely contributes to Real Simple, Martha Stewart, Women’s Health, and House Beautiful, among others. She covers home and garden, wellness, and travel, focusing on thoughtful storytelling and detailed reporting. When not writing, you can catch her perusing thrift stores, singing, hitting the gym, and petting any cat or dog that'll allow it.
