What’s the most popular Valentine’s Day candy in each state? New insights from CandyStore.com uses 14 years of sales data to reveal the answer.
“Some of the results are surprising, and there are a lot of conversation hearts and boxes of chocolate too,” writes Ben George for CandyStore.com. “The underlying trends are also interesting.”
A few Valentine’s Day candies were especially popular. Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates was the favorite in the most states, ranking most popular in 17 states. The second most popular was Conversation Hearts, ranked most popular in 11 states. And then the third most popular was M&M’S, at the top in nine states.
Last year, Covid-19 struck Valentine’s Day hard, George said, citing data from the National Retail Federation. Spending was down more than 20 percent from the previous year’s all-time high. But this year, things are picking back up. The NRF is expecting a near-record breaking year with consumer spending for Valentine’s Day up nearly 10 percent and reaching $23.9 billion.
The number of people buying candy also is expected to be at a new record high with 56 percent of consumers planning to buy candy for Valentine’s Day. Expected candy sales volume is also up and at $2.2 billion, would be runner up only to 2020 ($2.4 billion).
Top Valentine’s Day candy in each state
The list for the most popular Valentine’s Day candy in each state is below. For more detailed data, including the second and third most popular Valentine’s candy in each state as well as an interactive map, visit CandyStore.com.
Alabama: Candy necklaces
Alaska : Conversation Hearts
Arizona: M&M'S
Arkansas: Hershey Kisses
California: Conversation Hearts
Colorado: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Connecticut: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Delaware: Hershey Kisses
Florida: Conversation Hearts
Georgia: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Hawaii: Conversation Hearts
Idaho: Conversation Hearts
Illinois: Conversation Hearts
Indiana: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Iowa: M&M'S
Kansas: M&M'S
Kentucky: Chocolate Roses
Louisiana: Conversation Hearts
Maine: Chocolate Hearts
Maryland: M&M'S
Massachusetts: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Michigan: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Minnesota: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Mississippi: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Missouri: Conversation Hearts
Montana: Chocolate Hearts
Nebraska: Cupid Corn
Nevada: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
New Hampshire: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
New Jersey: M&M'S
New Mexico: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
New York: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
North Carolina: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
North Dakota: M&M'S
Ohio: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Oklahoma: Conversation Hearts
Oregon: M&M'S
Pennsylvania: M&M'S
Rhode Island: Chocolate Hearts
South Carolina: Conversation Hearts
South Dakota: Hershey Kisses
Tennessee: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Texas: Hershey Kisses
Utah: Hershey Kisses
Vermont: M&M'S
Virginia: Conversation Hearts
Washington: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
Washington, D.C.: Heart-shaped box of chocolates
West Virginia: Cupid Corn
Wisconsin: Conversation Hearts
Wyoming: Chocolate Roses
