The Most Popular Jelly Bean Flavors in America, State by State

iStock
iStock / iStock
facebooktwitterreddit

America loves jelly beans. According to the National Confectioners Association, U.S. candy lovers buy about 16 billion jelly beans per year. But which flavors are they buying? Just like every state has its favorite horror movie, dog breed, and comic-book universe, America’s love of certain jelly bean flavors varies by region.

Candystore.com went through more than a decade of its sales data and polled 12,000 candy customers through SurveyMonkey and Facebook to figure out the top jelly bean flavor across the country and in each state, creating an interactive infographic with the results.

Though it sounds like an unusual flavor to us, buttered popcorn is a shockingly popular taste, ranking No. 1 nationally and in 10 states. Black licorice was ranked No. 2 nationally, and was the state-wide favorite in eight states.

Other flavors were not as widely beloved. Coconut was the favorite flavor of just one state, Massachusetts. Chocolate was a popular flavor only in Illinois, ranking first there, but almost at the bottom of the list nationally—21 out of 30 flavors.

Some flavors the survey asked about didn’t even make it on the state list. Pomegranate wasn’t in the running—even when you include data on each state’s first, second, and third-favorite flavors. Nor was raspberry, lime, or other seemingly tasty jelly beans.

Scroll over the infographic to see which flavor each state’s candy lovers chose. See if your state’s candy tastes are accurately represented, then scroll down to see the full list of national rankings.

Source: 10+ years online candy sales data from CandyStore.com.

1. Buttered Popcorn
2. Black Licorice
3. Cinnamon
4. Watermelon
5. Cherry
6. Pear / Juicy Pear
7. Orange
8. Green Apple
9. Toasted Marshmallow
10. Coconut
11. Strawberry
12. Cotton Candy
13. Blueberry
14. Bubblegum
15. Root Beer
16. Peach
17. Coffee
18. Grape
19. Lemon
20. Red Apple
21. Chocolate
22. Banana
23. Lime
24. Sour Jelly Beans
25. Tutti Frutti
26. Maple
27. Vanilla
28. Cream Soda
29. Raspberry
30. Pomegranate