The top Halloween candy in Illinois goes to Sour Patch Kids

Then comes Kit Kats and Starburst. A report released from Candystore.com revealed the top three candies from each state.

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Halloween candy is a big business. According to Candystore.com, Americans are expected to spend $3 billion on candy this season. This is up 20% from 2020 during the pandemic.

And in Chicago this year, Halloween is back in full force with its week-long celebration, Halloweek, starting Saturday, October 23rd. It includes two parades, one in Washington Park on the 23rd and one on State Street on the 30th.

To be sure you get the right candy for your trick-or-treaters, the folks at Candystore compiled 14 years of sales data to come up with the top three Halloween candies by state and overall.

In Illinois, Sour Patch Kids tops the list. Coming in second is Kit Kats, followed by Starburst. Last year, Kit Kats came in first in Illinois.

How did Candystore determine the most popular candies?

They compiled data from candy sold in the months leading up to Halloween. They consulted with candy manufacturers and distributors and then broke it all down by state. You can find complete results for each state here.

What are the top candies overall in the nation?

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup(Evan-Amos, CC0/Wikimedia Commons)

1. Reese's Cups
2. Skittles
3. M&Ms
4. Starburst
5. Hot Tamales
6. Sour Patch Kids
7. Hershey Kisses
8. Snickers
9. Tootsie Pops
10. Candy Corn

How about the rest of the midwest?

• Indiana: Starburst, Hot Tamales, Jolly Ranchers
• Iowa: M&M's, Reese's Cups, Candy Corn
• Kentucky: Reese's Cups, Swedish Fish, Hot Tamales
• Michigan: Starburst, Candy Corn, Skittles
• Missouri: Milky Way, Almond Joy, Hot Tamales
• Minnesota: Tootsie Pops, Skittles, Hot Tamales
• Wisconsin: Butterfinger, Starburst, Hot Tamales

What are the worst candies?

Circus Peanuts(Mark Bonica/Flickr.com)

Now that we know the favorite candies, what are people's least favorite Halloween candy? Candystore compiled data for this too, and here is what they came up with.

The number one least favorite candy in America is Candy Corn. Which happens to be Iowa's third favorite and America's tenth favorite overall. Apparently, you either love Candy Corn, or you hate it. There is no in-between.

It's hard to believe that Candy Corn is more detested than the universally hated Circus Peanuts, but that monstrosity of a candy came in second place.

Top 10 worst American Halloween candies

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

Note that number three, Peanut Butter Kisses, have nothing to do with Hershey Kisses. Those are the generic-looking candies in the orange and black wrappers. The ones that no kid would make a trade with you to get them off your hands when you got stuck with a pile of them.

Stock up on Sour Patch Kids in Illinois

Sour Patch Kids candies(Evan-Amos, CC0/Wikimedia Commons)

You don't want to be the parent handing out Circus Peanuts or those strange candies with the black and orange wrappers. Be sure to get Illinois' kids' favorite candies to hand out this Halloween.

Also, Sour Patch Kids make a great addition to your candy bowl as they are free from the top 8 allergens.

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