Google's trending 'near me' searches of 2020 show exactly how life changed in the US

A voter votes at the Registrar of Voters on the day of the U.S. Presidential election in San Diego, California, U.S., November 3, 2020.

Reuters/Mike Blake

• Google released the top trending US searches of 2020.
• These queries had the most sustained traffic compared to 2019.
• People searched for protests, voting locations, and COVID-19 testing sites.
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Each year, Google shares a look at what people searched for over the year. They usually give a peek back at what people were thinking about and cared about in the preceding year.

The searches are broken down into several categories, and none better tells the story of 2020 than the "near me" trending stories.  The trending searches are the queries that had the most sustained traffic over 2019. At a glance, they show that people were concerned with voting, stocking up on essential supplies during lockdowns, and maintaining some sense of normalcy with salons and theaters. 

Read more: Target employees claim the chain will wait to arrest shoplifters until thieves steal enough to get felony charges. Experts say it's part of a larger trend to mitigate theft across retail.

Here's what people looked for in this unusual year. 

1. "Covid testing near me"

A college student in Chicago, Illinois gets tested for COVID-19.

Youngrae Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Finding a Covid-19 test has been difficult throughout the pandemic. In October, 22 states told the Government Accountability Office that they expected rapid test shortages in the next two months.

2. "Early voting near me"

A man waits in line outside a polling location in the Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis on November 2, 2020.

Tim Evans/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The 2020 election set a record for early voting, with about 101 million ballots cast before election day.

3. "Fires near me"

Firefighters keep an eye on the Creek Fire along state Highway 168, September 6, 2020, in Shaver Lake, California.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

California had the biggest wildfire season on record in 2020, and they turned skies an apocalyptic orange color.

4. "Voting near me"

Shawna Grevious casts her ballot at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Louisville, Ky.

Associated Press/Darron Cummings

With early voting, voting by mail, and the usual polls on election day, 2020 had the highest voter turnout in US election history.

5. "Protests near me"

Protesters hold signs that says, "Black Lives Matter" a painted portraits of George Floyd with the Pan-African colors of Red, Black and Green behind them as they walk with thousands of protesters from Cadman Plaza to take part in the peaceful protest across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images

Protests erupted across the US and the world following the death of George Floyd after Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

6. "Toilet paper near me"

Kathrin Ziegler/Getty Images

Buyers stocked up for lockdowns in the spring, leading to a huge run on toilet paper. Between March and May, toilet paper sales were up 71% year over year as it became the most purchased item in US grocery stores.

7. "Nail salons open near me"

A woman gets her toenails painted at a nail salon in Austin, Texas on May 8, 2020 following a slow reopening of the Texas economy.

SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images

Nail salon openings have been contentious since California Governor Gavin Newsom said the first case of community spread in the state occurred in a salon, while owners questioned the claim. Some states have allowed nail salons to open while in others they remain closed.

8. "Ballot drop box near me"

A voter casts his early voting ballot at drop box outside of City Hall on October 17, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mark Makela/Getty Images

The third voting-related entry shows that being able to safely vote was on people's minds.

9. "Black owned restaurants near me"

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

People looked for Black-owned restaurants to support as data showed that Black-owned small businesses were nearly twice as likely to close during the pandemic.

10. "Drive in movie theater near me"

People arrive for a movie at the Warwick Drive-In on the first evening that the theater was allowed to re-open on May 15, 2020 in Warwick, New York.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Movie theaters were hit hard across the country, and Regal closed all of its 500 locations indefinitely, while drive in theaters saw a resurgence and Walmart turned some of its parking lots into theaters.

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