Be ready for trick-or-treaters.
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Jelisa Castrodale has been a staff writer with Food & Wine since 2019.
Published on October 5, 2023
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If you’ve walked into a supermarket, big box retailer, or almost any other store recently, you’ve probably strolled past the aisles stocked with bags of Halloween candy, ready for you to hide in your desk drawers so you can have a little pumpkin-shaped treat every afternoon until Christmas. Or, uh, so you’re prepared for all the trick-or-treaters who will knock on your door at the end of the month. Either way.
According to online candy retailer CandyStore.com, a whopping 96% of people who celebrate Halloween will buy candy, spending an average of $31.93 each. (The 4% who aren’t buying candy are the ones who undoubtedly drop toothbrushes into underwhelmed kids’ treat bags.) The company cites data from the National Retail Federation, which estimates that overall Halloween candy spending will hit $3.6 billion this year, a 16% jump over last year.
So what are we all buying? CandyStore.com has analyzed its sales data for the past 15 years and has determined that the top 10 Halloween candies are, in order from No. 1 to No. 10, Reese’s Cups, M&M’s, Hot Tamales, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Hershey’s Kisses, Candy Corn, Hershey’s Mini Bars, and Snickers.
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As far as state-by-state numbers go, here is what the site says are the fave candies of all 50 states (and we have to say that we have some serious questions about what’s happening in Louisiana and Utah).
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
The site actually listed the top three candies for each state, and, in one of the biggest surprises, Salt Water Taffy was the runner-up choice in four states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming), only one of which is close to any actual salt water. The other interesting takeaway was that Oregon residents are the most likely to hand out full-sized candy bars, which is good news for any costumed kid heading out later this month.
It’s worth taking these results with a grain of salt because, again, this data is based on the website’s own sales numbers. But still, it’s hard to argue with Reese’s Cups being the overall favorite. Why else would we have so many of them in our desks?
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