Halloween is over, the costumes are back in the closet, and there's a bowl of leftover candy in your kitchen calling your name.
And here's a bonus: daylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. this morning, so you got an extra hour this weekend. That's 60 more minutes to dig through the fun-size bars.
So let's settle the big question. What candy does America actually buy? CandyStore.com put out its 2026 rankings, built from 18 years of Halloween sales data and measured in pounds sold. Strictly speaking it's a projection based on past sales, not a count of this year's receipts. It's still a great excuse to argue about candy.
One big trend this year: rising cocoa prices have people trading chocolate for fruity and sour candy. Let's count it down.
10. Butterfinger
Butterfinger hung on to the last spot, but it had a rough year. It lost four states, including South Carolina, and only picked up Hawaii.
Still, it wins three states outright. Not bad for a candy bar that sticks to your teeth like it pays rent there.
9. Hershey's Mini Bars
The classic chocolate bar is especially big in North Carolina. Hershey's Mini Bars finished third in the Tar Heel State on CandyStore's map, and Instacart says nobody buys the full-size Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar more than North Carolina and Virginia.
8. Candy Corn
Love it or hate it, candy corn keeps selling. It dropped one spot but still wins three whole states: Maryland, North Dakota and Utah.
Here's the twist: in CandyStore's separate survey of 3,200 customers, candy corn was also voted the worst Halloween candy of 2026. So a lot of people are apparently buying it and just not admitting it.
7. Starburst
Juicy, chewy, and always good for an argument about whether pink is better than red. Starburst stayed in the top 10, though it lost Indiana to a newcomer you'll meet in a minute.
6. Hot Tamales
That cinnamon kick still has a loyal following. Hot Tamales is one of the few candies that wins more states than Butterfinger on the sales map, which earns it a spot in the middle of the pack.
5. NERDS Gummy Clusters
Here's the breakout star of 2026. NERDS Gummy Clusters had never placed in a single state on CandyStore's map before. This year they debuted at No. 5 nationally, won Indiana outright, and finished second in North Carolina and Georgia.
They also landed at No. 3 on CandyStore's survey of the best Halloween candy. Not bad for a rookie.
4. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Okay, this is the upset. Reese's dropped two spots to No. 4, and in CandyStore's best-candy survey it lost the top spot for the first time since that survey started in 2014.
But don't cry for Reese's just yet. In Instacart's 2026 report it was No. 1 nationwide by ounces sold and topped the list in 40 states. And DoorDash named it its top Halloween candy for the third year in a row. So depending on who's counting, Reese's is still king.
3. Skittles
Skittles moved up from No. 4. Florida even swapped Reese's for Skittles as its favorite this year, and Instacart found Georgia buys more Skittles than average too. The South is clearly tasting the rainbow.
2. Sour Patch Kids
Sour Patch Kids climbed from No. 3 and now wins 10 states, tying M&M's. One of its new states is South Carolina, where it knocked off Butterfinger for the No. 1 spot.
Myrtle Beach, you've officially gone sour, then sweet.
1. M&M's
The champ holds on. M&M's are America's most popular Halloween candy for 2026, keeping the No. 1 spot from CandyStore's last ranking. They win 10 states, North Carolina included.
And if you're wondering which candy people say they like best? That honor went to Snickers in CandyStore's best and worst survey.
Austin's Take
Reese's sliding to No. 4 feels wrong to me. Peanut butter and chocolate is basically a perfect food pairing, and I'm not changing my mind because a pie chart said so. Good thing Instacart and DoorDash still have its back.
But I respect the NERDS Gummy Clusters glow-up. Going from nowhere to the top five in one year? That's the kind of comeback story radio was made for. And candy corn, whatever you're doing, keep doing it. People complain about you and then buy you anyway.
So now it's your turn. What's the first candy you grab out of the leftover bowl, and what's the one that's still sitting there at Thanksgiving? Tell me in the comments!
Image by eismannhans from Pixabay
