Halloween candies ready for trick-or-treaters
Here are every Southern state's favorite Halloween candies
Every state has different tastes in Halloween candy. You probably wouldn’t guess that in the lead-up to Halloween, residents of the state of Georgia are swimming in Swedish Fish, or that Texas has bought almost 2 million pounds each of two popular candy brands. That, as an analysis by CandyStore.com shows, is exactly the case, and if you think you know which Halloween candy is the biggest seller your Southern state, you might be surprised when you see the actual sales data below.
A national bulk candy dealer, CandyStore.com, sells halloween candy to every state in the U.S., and recently released an interactive map of all 50 states showing which Halloween candies are highest sellers, measured in thousands of pounds. The site used 10 years of its own sales data (from 2007 to 2016) to rank each state’s top three. To keep things scientific, they paid attention to the months leading up to Halloween, and verified their findings with their network of candy distributors and manufacturing partners.
Another interesting fact, according to the story: the National Retail Federation projects that $2.7 billion will be spent on Halloween candy in 2017 alone.
See below which Halloween candy is the biggest seller in each state, and just how much we're buying.
Alabama: Candy Corn
How much: 55,274 pounds
Runners-up: Hershey’s mini bars, Tootsie Pops
Arkansas: Jolly Ranchers
How much: 225,990 pounds
Runners-up: Butterfinger, Hot Tamales
Georgia: Swedish Fish
How much: 130,647 pounds
Runners-up: Hershey Kisses, Jolly Ranchers
Kentucky: Tootsie Pops
How much: 67,829 pounds
Runners-up: 3 Musketeers, Reese’s Cups
Louisiana: Lemonheads
How much: 102,833 pounds
Runners-up: Reese’s Cups, Jolly Ranchers
Mississippi: 3 Musketeers
How much: 109,783 pounds
Runners-up: Snickers, Butterfinger
North Carolina: M&Ms
How much: 96,110 pounds
Runners-up: Reese’s Cups, Candy Corn
Oklahoma: Snickers
How much: 20,938 pounds
Runners-up: Dubble Bubble gum, Butterfinger
Tennessee: Tootsie Pops
How much: 59,837 pounds
Runners-up: Salt Water Taffy, Skittles
South Carolina: Candy Corn
How much: 114,783 pounds
Runners-up: Skittles, Hot Tamales
Texas: Starburst
How much: 1,952,361 pounds
Runners-up: Reese’s Cups, Almond Joy
Virginia: Snickers
How much: 26,783 pounds
Runners-up: Hot Tamales, Candy Corn
West Virginia: Blow Pops
How much: 43,776 pounds
Runners-up: Hershey’s mini bars, Milky Way
Move your mouse around this interactive map to see all the rest of the country's candy rankings.
Mike Jordan is Southern Kitchen's former associate editor. He was also the host of our podcast, Sunday Supper. His work has appeared in a variety of publications including The Huntsville Times, American Way, Upscale, Time Out, NewsOne, Fatherly and Thrillist, where he served as the founding Atlanta editor. He lives in East Point, Ga., with his amazing wife and daughter, and loves writing, playing alto saxophone, cooking, craft beer, and cocktails. He is admittedly much better at these things than basketball, so never choose him for your pickup team.
