Boo or Yay? Here's the Most Popular Candy for Halloween in Your State

It’s no secret that one of the best parts of Halloween is … candy. But the most popular candy at this time of year might surprise you. Is it Halloween’s tried and true, candy corn? Or is it something you just can’t go wrong with, like Snickers? It turns out, the most popular Halloween candy varies quite a bit, and might depend on where you live in the United States.

How Is the Most Popular Candy Determined?

The simplest method for determining the most popular candy is probably just asking a bunch of Kindergarten students. However, you’d risk getting a bunch of answers like, “yay candy!” In order to rank the top candies throughout the country, it’s actually a much more data-driven process. For the last 12 years, CandyStore.com has used its sales data to give us an idea of the states whose residents prefer Twix over Smarties. And it isn’t just the sales data that determines popularity.

It also uses information gathered from its relationships with candy manufacturers and distributors, to come up with this handy interactive map. If you hover over a state on the map, you’ll see which candy is the most popular. Believe it or not, Swedish Fish (over 78,000 pounds!) and Salt Water Taffy (over 225,000 pounds!) rank at the top in certain areas of the United States.

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Source: CandyStore.com.

Alabama

Hershey’s Mini Bars

Alaska

Twix

Arizona

Hot Tamales

Arkansas

Skittles

California

Skittles

Colorado

Twix

Connecticut

Milky Way

Delaware

Skittles

District of Columbia

Tootsie Pops

Florida

Skittles

Georgia

Jolly Ranchers

Hawaii

Skittles

Idaho

Candy Corn

Illinois

Kit Kat

Indiana

Hot Tamales

Iowa

Candy Corn

Kansas

Reese’s Cups

Kentucky

Swedish Fish

Louisiana

Lemonheads

Maine

Sour Patch Kids

Maryland

Reese’s Cups

Massachusetts

Butterfinger

Michigan

Starburst

Minnesota

Skittles

Mississippi

Snickers

Missouri

Milky Way

Montana

Dubble Bubble Gum

Nebraska

Salt Water Taffy

Nevada

Candy Corn

New Hampshire

Starburst

New Jersey

Tootsie Pops

New Mexico

Candy Corn

New York

Hot Tamales

North Carolina

Reese’s Cups

North Dakota

Candy Corn

Ohio

M&Ms

Oklahoma

Dubble Bubble Gum

Oregon

Reese’s Cups

Pennsylvania

Hershey’s Mini Bars

Rhode Island

Twix

South Carolina

Skittles

South Dakota

Starburst

Tennessee

Tootsie Pops

Texas

Reese’s Cups

Utah

Jolly Ranchers

Vermont

M&Ms

Virginia

Hot Tamales

Washington

Salt Water Taffy

West Virginia

Blow Pops

Wisconsin

Starburst

Wyoming

Salt Water Taffy

Top 10 Halloween Candy in the United States

Is your favorite candy the most popular in your state? If not, it could be in the overall top 10 most popular Halloween candies in the country. According to Candy Store, they are:

Reese’s Cups
Snickers
Twix
Kit Kat
M&M’s
Nerds
Butterfinger
Sour Patch Kids
Skittles
Hershey Bar

And, if you want to give trick or treaters a reason NOT to ring your doorbell, you could consider passing out the worst candies. They are:

Candy Corn
Circus Peanuts
Peanut Butter Kisses
Wax Cola Bottles
Necco Wafers
Tootsie Rolls
Smarties
Licorice
Good & Plenty
Bit-O-Honey

It’s interesting that candy corn shows up in the worst list, but still the most popular Halloween candy in various states.

Does your state’s most popular candy surprise you? And, are you #TeamCandyCorn? Let us know in the comments below.

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Christina Majaski

Christina Majaski has more than a decade of media experience, including editing and writing for numerous online and print publications. Her work has appeared in MSN, Investopedia, Forbes, and CBS. In addition to being a recognized personal finance expert, Christina holds a degree from Rasmussen University and is based in central Minnesota, where she lives with her daughter, Chloe and her dog, Monty.