I have a checkbox field for a custom_post_type called distributors.

I am using get_posts and meta_query to filter the posts by the region checked. Each post has a value of canada or usa.

In my code I get their session which defines $country as canada or usa and is used in the meta_value field of arguments.

Here is my code:

$args = array (
    'post_type'     => 'distributors',
    'post_status'   => 'publish',
    'numberposts'   => -1,
    'meta_query'    =>  array (
        'key'     => 'region',
        'value'   => $country,
        'compare' => 'LIKE'
    )
);
$distributors = get_posts($args);

It should then only show posts distributors which has a region matching the visitor's session.

In the above case it outputs all distributor posts.

I did a var_dump to find out why it's not matching. In the case of a usa related post, it shows the region stored as:

["ID"]=>
int(13353)
["city"]=>
string(9) "Elizabeth"
["province"]=>
string(10) "New Jersey"
["region"]=>
array(1) {
  [0]=>
  string(3) "usa"
}

In this case, in the database the value looks like:

In the case of a canada related post it shows region as:

["ID"]=>
int(12840)
["city"]=>
string(7) "Concord"
["province"]=>
string(7) "Ontario"
["region"]=>
string(6) "canada"

In the database, the value looks like so:

What can I do to match when some values are NOT serialized and other are? I have a feeling some post data was imported directly and others were added via the wordpress dashboard which might account for some values not being serialized while others are.