Top Candies by State

Some people are chocoholics. Others prefer something fruity or chewy, while some like their candy with a serious dose of sour. Whatever your preference, there’s certainly no shortage of options in the candy aisle.

And Americans buy plenty of it. U.S. confectionery sales reached a record $55 billion in 2025, with virtually every American household (99.8%) purchasing chocolate, candy, gum, or mints at least once.1 Halloween is an especially big season for the industry, accounting for roughly 18.4% of annual confectionery sales as of 2025.2

With Halloween approaching, we wanted to see which candies Americans are searching for most — both throughout the year and as trick-or-treat season draws closer. We analyzed Google Trends data from across the country to find the most popular candies, the states with the biggest sweet tooth, and the candies that stand out from state to state. We also took a closer look at the three weeks leading into Halloween to see how those rankings change as October 31 approaches.

So, which candies came out on top? Here’s what stood out in our analysis.

• Sour Patch Kids takes the national candy crown. It ranks #1 in nationwide search interest over the past 12 months, ahead of Skittles, Snickers, Starburst, and Twix.
• Love it or hate it, America turns to candy corn for Halloween. During the three weeks leading into the holiday, the famously polarizing candy surges to #2 in nationwide search interest — behind only Sour Patch Kids.
• Utah is back on top. After falling to fifth last year, Utah reclaims its spot as America’s most candy-interested state, overtaking 2025 winner Nebraska (which lands at a very respectable second place). Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Ohio also land in the top 10, continuing the Midwest’s strong showing from last year.
• Halloween changes America’s candy cravings. M&M’s climbs from #19 to #11, Milky Way from #29 to #21, and Haribo from #23 to #16 in search interest during the three weeks leading into the holiday. The closer we get to Halloween, the more the rankings start to look like a trick-or-treat bag.
• Coastal states cluster near the bottom. Hawaii ranks last in candy search interest after finishing second-to-last in 2025, while Florida, California, Alaska, Washington, and New York also land in the bottom 10. That puts six coastal states in our bottom 10 — a striking contrast with the Midwest-heavy top of the rankings.
• Some candy favorites have surprising staying power. For the second year in a row, Sour Punch Straws leads in Arizona and Texas, Swedish Fish tops Massachusetts, and M&M’s comes out on top in Nevada.
• New Mexico’s taste for Hot Tamales is more than a passing craving. Hot Tamales comes out on top in New Mexico across the full year and during the three weeks leading into Halloween — continuing a streak from last year, when New Mexico was the only state where it ranked as a favorite.
• Pennsylvania keeps some of its candy interest close to home. Reese’s and Hershey’s Kisses are both tied for the highest search interest in Pennsylvania — fittingly, both candies have roots in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
• Wisconsin has a hometown candy connection of its own. Haribo, best known for its gummy bears, comes out on top in Wisconsin over both the full year and the three weeks leading into Halloween. The connection is fitting: Wisconsin is also home to Haribo’s first North American manufacturing facility.
• The least-favorite of the top candy brands still get considerable love. National candy rankings don't tell the whole story. Though nationally they rank near the bottom of our study, Lemonheads (OK), Hot Tamales (NM), Blow Pop (AL and NC), and York (NH) are all top choices year-round in parts of the country. And even our least popular overall — Dubble Bubble — emerges as a top trending candy in two states as Halloween approaches.

Sour Patch Kids takes the national candy crown, ranking first in search interest over the past 12 months and representing a trend toward sour candies. But it has plenty of competition from both sides of the candy aisle.

The 10 most-searched candies are:

1. Sour Patch Kids
2. Skittles
3. Snickers
4. Starburst
5. Twix
6. KitKat
7. Reese’s
8. Candy Corn
9. Twizzlers
10. Nerds

The top five are almost evenly divided between fruity and chocolate candies. Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, and Starburst give the fruity side a slight edge (whether sour or sweet), while Snickers and Twix represent the chocolate camp. Chocolate catches up quickly, though, with KitKat and Reese’s ranking sixth and seventh.

That strong showing from fruity and sour candies is becoming something of a trend in our annual candy study. Last year, Starburst was the favorite in more states than any other candy, while Sour Patch Kids came in second. This year, both remain near the top, joined by Skittles at #2.

And it’s not just our search data pointing in that direction. Non-chocolate candy has grown from about one-third of U.S. confectionery sales in 2015 to 40.9% in 2025.1 Price may be part of the story; cocoa prices soared to record highs in recent years, making chocolate more expensive to produce and ultimately more expensive for shoppers.23

Consumer tastes are changing at the same time. Younger candy buyers have shown particular interest in gummy, chewy, freeze-dried, and other novel candies.1 Nerds offers a pretty striking example. Its Gummy Clusters, introduced in 2020, helped propel the brand from $50 million to more than $869 million in annual retail sales in just five years, and manufacturer Ferrara identified Gummy Clusters as its top-selling product in fiscal 2025.3 21 22

Put it all together, and the increasingly fruity top 10 looks less like a fluke and more like part of a broader shift in the candy aisle.

Then there’s Candy Corn. It manages an eighth-place finish over the full year — and, as we’ll see later, becomes considerably harder to ignore as Halloween approaches.

Now, let’s head to the other end of the rankings.

The 10 least-searched candies are:

1. Dubble Bubble
2. Lemonhead
3. Hot Tamales
4. Blow Pops
5. York
6. Milky Way
7. Life Savers
8. Airheads
9. Salt Water Taffy
10. Sour Punch Straws

The bottom of the rankings has a noticeably different flavor. Several of these candies have a fairly specific calling card, whether it’s York’s peppermint and dark chocolate, Hot Tamales’ cinnamon heat, Lemonhead’s tart citrus flavor, or the bubble gum in Blow Pops and Dubble Bubble. The top 10, by comparison, is dominated by familiar chocolate bars and fruity or sour candies with broader, more varied flavor profiles.

Dubble Bubble’s last-place finish also continues a pattern we saw last year. In our 2025 study, Dubble Bubble registered no measurable search interest in 13 different states. This year, it finishes at the bottom of the national rankings.

Here’s how all 34 candies in our analysis rank based on nationwide search interest over the past 12 months:

Next, we looked at where candy generates the most search interest overall — and found some surprisingly persistent geographic patterns in America’s sweet tooth.

Utah takes the title of America’s most candy-interested state this year, climbing from fifth place in 2025 to the top spot.

Utah’s top ranking comes with more than a century of sweet history. In 1919, Utah had the highest per-capita sugar consumption in the country, with much of that sugar consumed as candy. About 70% of the candy manufactured in Utah that year was consumed within the state.4 Nearly a century later, Hershey sales data once again placed Utah at the top of the country for candy purchasing.5

There are a few possible explanations for Utah’s affinity for sweets. More than one-quarter of the state’s population is under 18 — an age group not exactly known for turning down candy.6 There may also be a cultural component. A Brigham Young University marketing professor has suggested that sweets became a common indulgence at family and church gatherings in a state where many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abstain from alcohol, coffee, and tobacco. Research from Utah State University has similarly described sugar as an unusually prominent part of the state’s food culture.5 7

An analysis of actual candy purchases by Instacart offers some modern support, too, placing Utah first and Nebraska among its top five candy-buying states.8

The Midwest has a serious sweet tooth

What may be most surprising is how little the top of our state rankings has changed. Nebraska drops just one spot after taking first place last year, Iowa holds steady at third, and Kentucky remains fourth. Wisconsin also climbs from seventh to fifth. Add Missouri and Ohio, and five of the 10 most candy-interested states are in the Midwest.

That regional concentration is even more fun when you consider how much candy has been made there over the years. Nebraska’s Gillen & Boney, founded in Lincoln in 1895, grew into one of the city’s largest manufacturers and could produce 35,000 pounds of candy per day.9 Iowa has its own long-running confectioner in Palmer Candy Company, which began making sweets in 1898 and then, in 1923, introduced the Bing candy bar — a chocolate-and-peanut-covered cherry nougat confection still sold today.10

Kentucky sits just outside the Midwest, but its fourth-place finish continues the broader strength we see across the country’s interior. It also has one of the more distinctive candy traditions on our list: the bourbon ball, a bite-sized confection traditionally made with a bourbon-flavored cream center and chocolate coating. Kentucky candymaker Ruth Hanly Booe is credited with inventing it in 1938, nearly two decades after she co-founded Rebecca Ruth Candy in Frankfort.11

Taken together, our rankings point to a pretty clear geographic pattern: America’s candy search interest is especially strong through the Midwest and neighboring interior states. As we’ll see at the other end of the rankings, the coasts tell a rather different story.

The 10 least candy-interested parts of the country this year

While the Midwest dominates the top of our rankings, coastal states are unusually well represented at the bottom. Hawaii, Florida, California, Alaska, Washington, and New York all land in the bottom 10. There’s some staying power here, too: Hawaii ranked second-to-last in 2025 and falls to the bottom this year, while D.C., California, Washington, and New York also make repeat appearances in the bottom 10.

Hawaii’s last-place finish comes with an interesting caveat. The state has a distinctive candy culture that includes plenty of treats outside the mostly mainstream candies in our analysis. Halloween bags in Hawaii can include White Rabbit candy, Japanese whistle candy, rice candies, and li hing mui treats alongside familiar favorites like Snickers and M&M’s.12 Li hing mui — a dried plum with a salty, sweet, and sour flavor — is particularly popular across the islands and shows up in everything from gummies to lollipops. So Hawaii may not have less of a sweet tooth so much as one that our more mainstream list doesn’t fully capture.

And low search interest certainly doesn’t mean these places are candy deserts. California and Florida both rank among our bottom five, yet each is home to a supersized candy store. Jack’s Candy in Los Angeles spans 42,000 square feet and carries roughly 10,000 items, while Sweet Pete’s occupies a roughly 22,000-square-foot space in downtown Jacksonville and offers thousands of varieties of candy.13 14

Here’s how all 50 states and Washington, D.C., rank based on overall candy search interest:

Of course, how much a state searches for candy is only half the story. What happens when we look at which candy each state searches for most? That's where some of the more surprising results start to emerge.

The state-by-state results produce some unexpected winners. No candy demonstrates that better than 3 Musketeers. It ranks just #14 in nationwide search interest, yet comes out on top in seven states — Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming — more than any other candy in our analysis. And those states are scattered across the country, so this isn't simply one region carrying the candy to victory.

Kinder chocolate pulls off a similar surprise. Despite ranking #20 nationally, it takes the top spot in five states: California, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Four of those five are along the East Coast, including a small Mid-Atlantic/Northeast cluster stretching from Maryland through New Jersey and New York. By comparison, national champion Sour Patch Kids also wins five states — Connecticut, Michigan, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Some states stick with their favorites

Our annual candy study is also starting to reveal a few remarkably consistent state preferences. Sour Punch Straws remain the favorite in both Arizona and Texas for the second year running, while Massachusetts sticks with Swedish Fish and Nevada with M&M’s.

Nevada's choice feels particularly appropriate. The state is home to M&M's World Las Vegas, a 28,000-square-foot, four-level monument to M&M's on the Strip — and, fittingly, the first M&M's store ever.15 We can't say that's why Nevadans keep searching for M&M's, of course, but the brand certainly has a bigger-than-average presence in the state.

New Mexico may be even more committed to its candy of choice. Hot Tamales ranks just #32 nationally this year, yet it once again comes out on top in the Land of Enchantment. Last year, New Mexico was the only state in our study where Hot Tamales ranked as a favorite. Apparently, New Mexico knows what it likes.

Snickers finds a home in the Upper Midwest

There aren't many obvious regional blocs on this year's map, but Snickers manages to carve out one of the clearest. It comes out on top in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, giving the chocolate bar three neighboring states. North Dakota breaks ranks with its neighbors and opts for Twix instead.

And there's a fun bit of candy geography just next door. Mars moved its candy operation to Chicago in 1929 and launched Snickers the following year.16 More than 95 years later, Snickers is still winning over much of the surrounding Upper Midwest — just not Illinois itself. So much for home-field advantage.

Elsewhere, some states seem determined to do their own thing. West Virginia is the only state where Candy Corn leads over the full year, while a few other states have distinctive favorites of their own: Lemonhead in Oklahoma, Tootsie Roll in Maine, and York in New Hampshire.

Sometimes the hometown connection is hard to miss

A couple of results are almost too fitting. In Pennsylvania, Reese’s and Hershey’s Kisses are tied for the highest search interest — and both belong to a company whose roots run deep in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Hershey Chocolate Factory has been located there since construction began in 1903, and Hershey's Kisses followed in 1907.17

Wisconsin has a much newer candy connection. Haribo comes out on top there, and the German candymaker began production at its first North American manufacturing facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in 2023.18 The factory produces Goldbears — Haribo’s signature gummy bears and the product that helped make the company famous worldwide. In other words, Wisconsin isn't just searching for Haribo; it's making one of the brand's most iconic candies, too.

Taken together, the map shows just how much gets lost in a national ranking. America may broadly agree on candies like Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, and Snickers, but zoom in far enough and local tastes get a lot more interesting.

Halloween and candy are practically inseparable today, but that wasn't always the case. When trick-or-treating began taking off in the U.S. during the 1930s and early 1940s, kids might come home with homemade cookies, cake, fruit, nuts, coins, or toys. Candy manufacturers began actively promoting their products for Halloween in the 1950s, and by the 1970s, individually wrapped, factory-made candy had largely displaced those homemade and unpackaged treats.19

Concerns about tampering helped accelerate that shift, as parents increasingly favored treats that were store-bought and sealed. More than half a century later, packaged candy remains a Halloween staple — and our search data suggests the holiday can noticeably reshape the candy landscape.

Candy Corn makes its move

Love it or hate it, America turns to Candy Corn as Halloween approaches. It may be one of the candy aisle’s more divisive treats, but apparently Halloween just wouldn’t be Halloween without it. During the three weeks leading into this study, Candy Corn ranks #2 in nationwide search interest, behind only Sour Patch Kids. It also comes out on top in four states — Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wyoming — tying Snickers, Twix, and KitKat for the most states of any candy during this period.

Candy Corn's connection to fall goes back much further. The tri-colored candy dates to the 1880s and was originally associated with autumn and the harvest rather than Halloween specifically. As trick-or-treating became increasingly popular in the U.S. during the 1950s, Candy Corn became more closely tied to Halloween.20 More than a century after its invention, that seasonal connection is hard to miss in our data.

The Halloween map still has plenty of surprises

Candy Corn may have the most obvious connection to the holiday, but it certainly doesn't own the map. Snickers, Twix, and KitKat each come out on top in four states as well, while a remarkably broad assortment of candies claims at least one state.

And some national underdogs still manage to find pockets of serious interest. Dubble Bubble ranks only #30 nationally during our three-week window but comes out on top in two states. Lemonhead does the same despite ranking #34 nationally. Salt Water Taffy, Hot Tamales, Trolli, York, and Haribo each claim a state of their own.

In other words, even with Halloween right around the corner, there isn't one candy — or even one kind of candy — that takes over the country. The trick-or-treat bag remains a pretty mixed one.

America’s most-searched candies heading into Halloween

Zoom out from the state map, however, and a clearer national picture emerges.

The most-searched candies during the three weeks leading into Halloween are:

Sour Patch Kids holds onto the national crown, but below it, several candies make noticeable gains compared with our full-year rankings. Candy Corn climbs from #8 to #2, M&M’s from #19 to #11, Milky Way from #29 to #21, and Haribo from #23 to #16.

These shifts don’t necessarily mean Americans lose interest in these candies after Halloween. Rather, our three-week snapshot shows which candies attract more search interest when Halloween is right around the corner — a time when Americans are shopping for, handing out, and thinking about candy more than usual.

Still, one thing is pretty clear from our data: the closer we get to October 31, the more America's candy searches start to resemble the contents of a trick-or-treat bag.

To identify America’s most popular candies this year, we analyzed Google Trends search data across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., alongside national search volume data.

We began by identifying a broad and diverse list of the most popular candies in the country based on national search volumes over the past 12 months and by performing disambiguation for any brands whose name could be involved in unrelated search intent. We further examined that list using a year’s worth of Google Trends data to identify the 34 most prominent candies in the nation.

To capture not only regional breadth and intensity of candy interest but also significance of that interest, we applied a proportional weighting to the candy-related search phrases based on cumulative search volumes.

The end result was a set of search interest index scores awarded to each individual candy and a search interest index score awarded to each state. In doing so, we established our rankings of the favorite prominent candies nationally and by state as well as the states with the greatest interest in candy.

Innerbody Research is committed to providing objective, data-driven insights that help readers better understand health, lifestyle, and consumer trends. We created this report to explore America’s candy preferences and highlight the national and regional patterns shaping which candies generate the most interest.

You’re welcome to reference or share these findings for editorial, educational, or noncommercial purposes. We simply ask that you credit Innerbody.com and include a link back to this page.