iStockphoto / leekris
Halloween is a few short weeks away and the shelves of stores across America are buckling under the weight of popular Halloween candy brands that will soon make their way to trick or treaters.
It is around this time every year there are a bunch of maps that appear on the internet showing the ‘most popular thing’ in every state. 99 out of 100 times those maps were put together with the intent of driving clicks through controversy.
A prime example would be a ‘most popular soda’ by state and showing Pepsi for Georgia instead of Coca-Cola. Georgia’s the Coke state. Everyone knows this. But that kind of map still gets people riled up enough to click, comment, and share.
The Most Popular Halloween Candy In All 50 States
Unlike those other maps, this one actually seems legitimate. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups take the #1 overall spot followed by M&M’s, Hot Tamales, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Hershey Kisses, Candy Corn, Hersey Mini Bars, and Snickers. They lose me a bit there at the end. There’s no planet where candy corn is actually more popular than Snickers. But there is a solid chance that more candy corn is sold/given away on Halloween simply because it’s cheap and sold in bulk.
This map from CandyStore.com breaks it down state by state. There is also an interactive version on their website.
CandyStore
Breaking it down by state
Here is the full list of the most popular candy across all 50 states, in alphabetical order:
Alabama: Skittles
Alaska: Twix
Arizona: Hershey’s Kisses
Arkansas Butterfinger
California: M&M’s
Colorado: Milky Way
Connecticut: Almond Joy
Delaware: Sour Patch Kids
Florida: Reese’s Cups
Georgia: Jolly Ranchers
Hawaii: Hershey’s Mini Bars
Idaho: Snickers
Illinois: Sour Patch Kids
Indiana: Starburst
Iowa: Reese’s Cups
Kansas: M&M’s
Kentucky: Reese’s Cups
Louisiana: Lemonheads
Maine: Sour Patch Kids
Maryland: Hershey’s Kisses
Massachusetts: Butterfinger
Michigan: Starburst
Minnesota: Hot Tamales
Mississippi: 3 Musketeers
Missouri: Almond Joy
Montana: Twix
Nebraska: Sour Patch Kids
Nevada: Hershey’s Mini Bars
New Hampshire: Reese’s Cups
New Jersey: Tootsie Pops
New Mexico: Hot Tamales
New York: Sour Patch Kids
North Carolina: M&M’s
North Dakota: Hot Tamales
Ohio: Blow Pops
Oklahoma: Skittles
Oregon: M&M’s
Pennsylvania: Hershey’s Mini Bars
Rhode Island: M&M’s
South Carolina: Skittles
South Dakota: Starburst
Tennessee: Tootsie Pops
Texas: Sour Patch Kids
Utah: Candy Corn
Vermont: M&M’s
Virginia: Butterfinger
Washington DC: M&M’s
Washington: Tootsie Pops
West Virginia: Hershey’s Mini Bars
Wisconsin: Butterfinger
Wyoming: Reese’s Cups
I find it a bit odd that Twix is the most popular candy in only Montana and Alaska. You could probably stop 100 people on the street and ask them their favorite candy and at least 10 would tell you it’s Twix, right?