Map That Shows The Most Popular Valentine’s Day Candy In Each State Has Us Questioning Alabama

Map Most Popular Valentines Candy State

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Every year the National Retail Federation estimates spending for holidays like Valentine’s Day with categories like jewelry, clothing, and gift certificates. This year for Valentine’s Day they are estimating a slight drop off in spending in all categories. Except one: candy. A whopping $1.7 BILLION will be spent on candy for Valentine’s Day in 2018.

So? What do you think is the most popular Valentine’s Day candy in America? Any ideas? How about just in your state?

Well, CandyStore.com, a leading online bulk candy store, went through over 10 years of candy data and they discovered quite a few interesting things. Here are a few…

— More than 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine’s Day.
— Caramel-flavored chocolates are the most popular in those boxes.
— Chocolate-covered nuts were a close second, according to the NCA.
— Approximately 8.2 billion conversation hearts will be produced this year.
— Conversation heart candy vodka infusions became trendy last year.
— 69% of people prefer chocolate over flowers as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Also, as CandyStore.com was figuring out the the top Valentine’s Day candy overall, an interesting trend revealed itself in the numbers. Those heart-shaped boxes of chocolates that have reigned supreme in our minds as the quintessential Valentine’s Day candy? They aren’t number one anymore.


As you can see from the infographic, conversation hearts have been gaining ground on the heart-shaped boxes and finally overtook them last year. It’s the same trend we observed over the full ten years. Conversation hearts just keep getting more popular. Though we won’t have all the figures in until after February 14th, 2018 is expected to be the same with conversation hearts increasing their lead slightly.

This is a significant deviation from what we expected. The classic heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are so ingrained in our minds as synonymous with Valentine’s Day. Obviously, conversation hearts are popular too, but no one expected them to be more popular.

Okay, but what it you break it down state-by-state? Glad you asked. Here are some of the more interesting findings…

— Alabamians prefer candy necklaces for Valentine’s Day. Seriously.
— Conversation hearts are the number one Valentine’s Day candy in California.
— Georgia purchases over 75,000 pounds of boxes of chocolates on average leading up to Valentine’s Day.
— M&Ms were the most popular candy in Idaho. Followed by conversation hearts and Hershey Kisses.
— Chocolate roses are the most popular candy in Illinois, with people purchasing nearly 53,000 pounds.
— Chocolate hearts took home the gold in Nebraska with heart-shaped boxes of chocolates coming in second.
— Heart-shaped candy boxes win in North Carolina. Followed by cupid corn and conversation hearts.
— Hershey’s Kisses are the number one candy in Utah with nearly 167,000 pounds sold.

Here’s a complete list…


And here’s an interactive map showing the top three favorite Valentine’s Day candies in each state.

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Check out the entire study, including a complete breakdown state-by-state, over at CandyStore.com.

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Douglas Charles headshot avatar BroBible
Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.