From Reese's to candy corn, here are the most popular and hated Halloween treats by state

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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With Halloween around the corner, kids, teenagers and even some adults will be getting their costumes ready in hopes of scoring big with a pillowcase or bucket full of candy from trick-or-treating.

While it may seem exciting to see all the candy piling up, going through all of it after getting back home can be frustrating if you see too much of a candy bar you cannot stand.

After the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dip in candy sales across the country in 2020, Halloween is expected to be somewhat near its pre-pandemic celebration. According to the National Retail Federation's annual 2021 Halloween spending survey, around $3 billion is expected to be spent on candy this year, with $10 billion expected to be spent on all things Halloween.

That may seem like enough money to make sure only the best candy ends up in our hands. If people needed ideas, or were curious, as to which ones to buy, America has spoken when it comes to the most and least popular candy in the country.

From Hot Tamales to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, as well as the ever-lasting debate on candy corn, here is what the country had to say, according to CandyStore.com.

What is the most popular candy?

Candy Store has been delivering and distributing bulk orders of candy across the country since 2007. Using their sales data since then for the time period before Halloween, they determined which candy was the most popular with the winner being: Reese's Cups.

Here are the top 10 candies in America, according to CandyStore.com:

  1. Reese's Cups

  2. Skittles

  3. M&M's

  4. Starburst

  5. Hot Tamales

  6. Sour Patch Kids

  7. Hershey Kisses

  8. Snickers

  9. Tootsie Pops

  10. Candy corn

Which candy won the most states?

Candy Store also used the data to determine the most popular candy in each state.

A total of 19 different candies got the top vote across the country, and while Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is the overall top candy, it didn't win the most states.

That title actually belongs to Starbursts and Sour Patch Kids, each being the top candy of choice for six states. Starburst was the most popular candy in Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, South Dakota and Texas. Sour Patch Kids was the most popular candy in Alaska, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and New York.

In second place was Reese's and M&M's with five states each, followed by Tootsie Pops which was the most popular in four states.

Source: CandyStore.com.

What is the 'best' candy?

This title differs from the most popular candy in that this contest used a voting system. To determine the best and worst candies ever, Candy Store used rankings from multiple websites, as well as surveying over 17,000 people on their favorite candies.

Candy Store then used a point system where a candy voted No. 1 received 10 points, voted No. 2 received nine points and so on. Collectively, the best candy is also the most popular – Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Here are the top 10:

  1. Reese's Cups

  2. M&M's

  3. Skittles

  4. Snickers

  5. Sour Patch Kids

  6. Kit Kat

  7. Twix

  8. Hershey Bar

  9. Butterfinger

  10. Nerds

What is the 'worst' candy?

The war on candy corn rages on.

Despite being the 10th most popular candy in the U.S., candy corn was voted as the worst candy of all time. Here are the rest of the 10 "worst" candies ever:

  1. Candy corn

  2. Circus peanuts

  3. Peanut butter Kisses

  4. Smarties

  5. Necco wafers

  6. Wax Coke bottles

  7. Mary Janes

  8. Tootsie Rolls

  9. Good & Plenty

  10. Black licorice

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Most popular Halloween candy by state and best and worst candies