Junk food holds a special place in the hearts (and stomachs) of Americans, no matter their dietary preferences. This blog post explores each state’s favorite snack, according to a study analyzing Google Trends search volume for 45 popular snacks.
1. Alabama’s Ruffles Craze: The Chip That Cheeses Without Cheese
Alabama’s residents reach for Ruffles as their go-to snack. Bernhardt Stahmer, the founder, patented Ruffles in 1956, asserting that the chip’s unique dimensions and shape created a cheesy flavor, despite containing no cheese.
2. Alaska’s Granola Bar Paradox: Healthy or Candy in Disguise?
Alaskans favor granola bars, which may seem like a healthy choice. However, Healthline suggests some granola bars have similar sugar, carbohydrate, and calorie levels to candy bars, so it may not be as healthy as you might think.
3. Arizona’s Cheez-It Devotion: A Colorful History of Cheese Crackers
Arizonians love Cheez-Its. The original Cheez-It packaging featured a green and white design. The box eventually transitioned to the red and yellow-orange colors cherished on Arizona’s grocery store shelves.
4. Arkansas’ Doritos Addiction: A Finger-Licking Route to Poor Health?
Doritos reign supreme in Arkansas. While licking the coating off Doritos-covered fingers might be enjoyable, Arkansans should exercise caution. Doritos contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), salt, and sugar, potentially leading to health issues.
5. California’s Cheetos Obsession: From Crunchy Beginnings to Puffed Perfection
Californians can’t get enough of Cheetos. From 1948 until the early 1970s, Crunchy Cheetos were the only Cheeto variety available, before the introduction of Cheetos Puffs in 1971.
6. Colorado’s Cosmic Brownie Fix: An Out-of-This-World Treat for Kids
Coloradoans reach for Cosmic Brownies. The Little Debbie brand attracts children with its colorful, candy-coated chocolate pieces. Little Debbie describes it as a dessert “that’s out of this world,” because of it’s colorful appearance.
7. Connecticut’s Enduring Oreo Love: A Century of Cookie Consumption
Connecticut’s favorite junk food is Oreos. First introduced in 1912 alongside two other “high-class biscuits,” Oreos are the only one of the original trio still sold today, proving its longevity.
8. Delaware’s Frito Pie Fascination: Unraveling the Mystery of a Greasy Delight
Delawareans indulge in Fritos. Many Delawareans enjoy Frito pie, a dish of Fritos topped with chili, cheese, and onions. The exact origin of the Frito pie, remains a mystery, despite its popularity.
9. Florida’s Mini Doughnut Mania: Filling the Hole in Snack Time
Mini doughnuts are Florida’s top junk food. According to one theory, doughnuts have holes because Hanson Gregory sought a solution for doughnuts with raw centers, ensuring even cooking.
10. Georgia’s Lay’s Loyalty: From Car Trunk to Countless Chip Creations
Lay’s chips are Georgia’s favorite salty snack. Herman W. Lay started by selling chips from his car, and over 200 Lay’s chip flavors have been created since then.
11. Hawaii’s Double Dose of Oreos: A Plural Predicament for Cookie Connoisseurs
Hawaii is the second state to claim Oreo cookies as their favorite snack. The brand seems to promote the plural of Oreo as “Oreo cookies,” so maybe you should too.
12. Idaho’s Clif Bar Conundrum: Energy Boost or Sugar Overload?
Idahoans favor Clif Bars. Medical News Today advises those who are not physically active to avoid Clif Bars, because of their high sugar and carbohydrate content.
13. Illinois’ Skinny Pop Sensation: A Healthier “Junk Food” Contradiction?
Skinny Pop is Illinois’ favorite snack, arguably the healthiest on this list. While low in calories, it contains vegetable oils, which some doctors advise against due to potential negative health effects.
14. Indiana’s Pringles Preference: Challenging Greasy Chip Rivals
Pringles are Indiana’s go-to junk food. Indianans might agree with Pringles’ original marketing, which criticized Lay’s and other potato chip brands for being greasy and stale.
15. Iowa’s Pringles Passion: Engineering the Perfect Non-Crumbling Chip
Iowa shares Indiana’s love for Pringles. The saddle shape, scientifically called a “hyperbolic paraboloid,” prevents Pringles from crumbling before consumers can enjoy them.
16. Kansas’ Nutter Butter Nostalgia: Unearthing the Peanut Butter Cookie’s Past
Kansas’ favorite junk food is Nutter Butter. Nabisco is unclear on who created the cookie’s recipe, though peanut butter cookies have been made in American kitchens since the 1910s.
17. Kentucky’s Frito Fixation: Embracing the “Fried” Delight
Kentucky joins Delaware in favoring Fritos. “Frito” is the Spanish word for “fried,” which is an accurate way to describe this greasy snack.
18. Louisiana’s PayDay Prize: A Sweet Acquisition of Peanut and Nougat
PayDay is Louisiana’s favorite junk food. Hershey acquired the peanut, nougat, and chocolate candy bar in 1996, though PayDay was founded in 1932.
19. Maine’ Ritz Cracker Rebellion: Banned Ingredients and Salty Satisfaction
Maine deviates from the national trend with Ritz Crackers. Many countries ban Ritz Crackers because of the harmful, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil they contain.
20. Maryland’s Multiplied Oreo Mania: Stuffed Varieties and Creamy Excess
Marylanders love to eat Oreo cookies. Double Stuf and Mega Stuf Oreo cookies contain 1.86 and 2.68 times the amount of cream as the regular variety, respectively, so it is hard to be disappointed.
21. Massachusetts’ Crunch Craving: A Rice-Infused Chocolate Bar Ritual
Massachusetts’ favorite junk food is the Crunch chocolate bar. It takes about 50 minutes to make a Crunch bar, and approximately 420 pieces of rice are embedded in the chocolate.
22. Michigan’s Sour Patch Kids Craze: From Mars Men to Cabbage Patch Craze
Sour Patch Kids are Michigan’s unhealthy snack of choice. The chewy candy was founded in Canada in the 1970s and named Mars Men. When the product hit American shelves in 1985, the company changed its name to play off the popular Cabbage Patch Kids.
23. Minnesota’s Snickers Satisfaction: A Five-Cent Tribute to a Beloved Horse
Minnesotans love Snickers. Allegedly, the Snickers bar was named after a horse and the first Snickers bar cost only five cents, so it has always been a deal.
24. Mississippi’s Twinkie Treasure: A Wartime Vanilla Victory
Twinkies are Mississippi’s favorite guilty pleasure snack. The sweet cake was originally stuffed with a banana filling, but manufacturers switched the filling to vanilla due to WWII food rationing.
25. Missouri’s Grandma’s Cookies: A Frito-Lay Homage to Homemade
Missourians love Grandma’s Cookies. Missourians apparently believe Grandma’s chocolate chip, peanut butter, and other cookie varieties are so good that they don’t need to head to their grandma’s house when their sweet tooth calls.
26. Montana’s Rice Krispy Treat Tradition: Celebrating an Unofficial Holiday
Rice Krispy Treats are the go-to snack for Montanans. The Treasure State knows something, since Rice Krispy Treats Day is an unofficial holiday on September 18th each year.
27. Nebraska’s Frito Flashback: From Ice Cream Companion to Corn Chip King
Nebraska loves Fritos. The chip was born in 1932 when Charles Elmer Doolin sought a snack to accompany the ice cream his customers bought, eventually leading to Fritos.
28. Nevada’s Kit Kat Kick: The “Biggest Little Meal” from London
Nevada’s favorite junk food is the Kit Kat bar. The Kit Kat bar’s first slogan was “The biggest little meal in London.”
29. New Hampshire’s Almond Joy Affinity: A Sweet Second to Mounds
Almond Joy is New Hampshire’s guilty pleasure snack of choice. However, New Hampshirites might be disappointed to learn that Mounds bars were discovered first in 1946, with the Almond Joy not being invented until 26 years later.
30. New Jersey’s Notable Oreo Nuance: Unraveling the Cookie’s Cryptic Name
New Jersey joins the ranks of states that love Oreo cookies. No one knows how the Oreo got its name, but some fans like to theorize that it represents the cookie’s shape.
31. New Mexico’s Beef Jerky Binge: A Sodium-Packed Protein Pleasure
New Mexico’s junk food of choice is beef jerky. While there are arguably unhealthier snacks on this list, beef jerky often contains high amounts of sodium.
32. New York’s Chips Ahoy Allegiance: Celebrating Wins with a Cookie Pile
Chips Ahoy is New York’s junk food of choice. Perhaps the reason for this is that New York Jets coach Todd Bowles once said he enjoys celebrating wins with a pile of Chips Ahoy.
33. North Carolina’s Starburst Supremacy: From Original Flavors to Disco Delights
North Carolinians love Starburst. Starburst’s original flavors were lemon, strawberry, orange, and lime, but nowadays, customers can purchase unique flavors like guava and Disco Berry.
34. North Dakota’s Sunflower Seed Surprise: A Homegrown Healthy Habit
North Dakota’s favorite food is sunflower seeds. Given that about 75% of sunflowers cultivated in the US come from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, this food of choice makes sense.
35. Ohio’s Starburst Streak: A British Candy’s American Transformation
Starbursts reign supreme in Ohio. The original name for Starburst was Opal Fruits, and it didn’t undergo a name change until arriving in the US from Britain.
36. Oklahoma’s Sour Patch Preference: Seeking Freshness in Every Bite
Oklahoma loves Sour Patch Kids. For the best-textured candy, purchase Sour Patch Kids in high-traffic places like movie theaters and avoid bulk purchases where they’re more likely to be stale.
37. Oregon’s Kettle Chip Craving: Air-Fried Goodness with a Healthier Twist
Kettle chips are Oregon’s favorite junk food. Kettle Foods sells many different varieties of air-fried chips, ranging from classic to jalapeño, and some chips even have 30% less fat.
38. Pennsylvania’s Hershey’s Haven: A Chocolate Theme Park Temptation
Hershey’s is Pennsylvania’s junk food of choice. Given that Pennsylvania is home to Hersheypark, it’s reasonable to assume there are many tourists in Pennsylvania Googling how to get their hands on some Hershey’s chocolate.
39. Rhode Island’s Repetitive Ritz Craving: A Sea Captain’s Biscuit Legacy
Rhode Island joins Maine in having the Ritz Cracker be its favorite snack. A retired sea captain invented the first biscuit recipe in 1801, which underwent several changes to make the Ritz Cracker the taste and texture we know it to be today.
40. South Carolina’s Salt and Vinegar Victory: A Chip Flavor Phenomenon
Salt and vinegar chips are South Carolina’s favorite. 48 million Americans say that salt and vinegar is their go-to chip flavor, so it appears South Carolinians are in good company.
41. South Dakota’s Milky Way Memory: Mimicking Malted Milkshakes
Milky Way bars are South Dakota’s favorite junk food. The founders of the Milky Way bar created it to mimic the taste of malted milkshakes, and the Milky Way continues to be the oldest Mars chocolate bar still selling on store shelves.
42. Tennessee’s Baby Ruth Reverence: Inspired by a President’s Daughter
Tennessee’s favorite guilty pleasure snack is the Baby Ruth bar. The Baby Ruth’s name was inspired by President Grover Cleveland’s daughter, Ruth Cleveland.
43. Texas’s Funyuns Fanaticism: An Onion Ring Revolution Since 1969
Funyuns are Texas’ favorite junk food. Funyuns first touched American tastebuds in 1969, when Frito-Lay engineer George Binger created what came to be the beloved onion ring product, and the recipe hasn’t changed since.
44. Utah’s 3 Musketeers Magic: A Fluffy Treat on Candy Shelves
Utah’s favorite snack is the 3 Musketeers bar. The candy brand says they’re proud to still be the “fluffiest treat on the shelves”.
45. Vermont’s Muffin Mania: A Cafe Staple Without a National Chain
Vermont’s favorite snack is muffins. While muffins are plentiful at cafes in the Green Mountain State, there isn’t a national muffin chain in the US.
46. Virginia’s Voracious Oreo Venture: “Oh! Oh! Oreo” Echoes Through Time
Virginians love their Oreo cookies. The Oreo’s first slogan was “Oh! Oh! Oreo”.
47. Washington’s Winning Cheez-It Wave: A Century-Old Snack Sensation
Washingtonians love Cheez-Its. The Cheez-It is over 100 years old and has a shelf life of 11 months.
48. West Virginia’s Lay’s Legacy: A Regional Chip Road Trip
Lay’s are West Virginia’s favorite junk food. If you want to try all of Lays’ chip flavors, you’ll need to embark on a road trip, since the company makes different flavored chips targeting separate regions of the US.
49. Wisconsin’s Wonderful Twix Temptation: A Sibling Saga in Caramel and Chocolate
Wisconsin’s favorite unhealthy snack is the Twix bar. Two perfectionist brothers invented the chocolate caramel candy and eventually decided to split the Twix bar into two, which some suggest represents their falling out before they made amends.
50. Wyoming’s Wildcard Sunflower Seed: An Anticlimactic Equality State Treat
Wyoming loves sunflower seeds. It takes anywhere from just under two months to four full months for sunflowers to produce ready-to-harvest seeds.
Alicia Richards