Posted on 10/07/2023 9:04:53 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Be ready for trick-or-treaters.
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.
Infomap of the Most Popular Halloween Candies 2023 COURTESY OF CANDYSTORE.COM 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).
A Witch's Tips for the Best Halloween Party Ever 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?
Apparently the cold states like Twix. No votes for Junior Mints or Jujy Fruit.
Milk Duds, Bazooka bubble gum, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, SweetTarts, M & M’s, Kit Kat, Hershey bars, Chinese handcuffs...
TX - Sour Patch??? Must be another stolen vote.
This year at the white house they are giving out bags of
Bitternomics.
What about Junior Mints?
Or Pez?
We’re all getting rocks.
I wonder. I have been unable to find them this year in the fun size boxes to hand out at Halloween. Just the typical, larger boxes.
Is this the real most popular? Or is it the misleading most different from the national average? For (an entirely made up) example, if Milk Duds make up 1% of sales nationally, but 1.5% in Ohio, they are NOT the most popular in Ohio even if the chart says so. Snickers at 20% would be absolutely more popular everywhere, but a map of Snickers in every state is boring.< /stepping off statistical soapbox>
Wisconsin: Butterfinger!
I can live with that! A guilty indulgence from time to time.
When we were kids, Dad demanded all of our ‘O Henry’ candy bars from our stashes. We had to pay the ‘Candy Tax.’ ;)
I can’t speak for the rest of my fellow Michiganders, but I could crush some pink Starburst.
That bag of Kit Kats I have in the fridge appears to have a hole in it.
I’m just thankful that Brach’s Candy Corn is only available to me for a very limited time. I love that stuff.
State flower, bird, motto, flag....halloween candy? Some polling organizations have too much time on their hands.
I give the kids Slim Jims. Something to coat the palate for all that sugar.
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Color me skeptical. They can't have half the country in Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, so they look for any state that has a higher than average sale or preference for a candy, even if that candy isn't the biggest seller or the most popular in the state. Here is another version from 2019.
Something was terribly wrong in a few of those states.
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