Can you guess which candy Michigan loves most on Halloween?

This story was produced by Instacart and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.

These days, Halloween doesn’t wait for October — the season seems to sneak up sooner and sooner. From candy corn to cobwebs, consumers dive into the festivities well before pumpkins take over porches and store aisles. From sweet treats to spooky décor, Instacart data shows that October is one of the most festive times of the year in Michigan, and candy takes center stage.

Candy’s Biggest Day of the Year

Halloween is, unsurprisingly, a big day for candy purchases. On Oct. 31, 2024, the share of orders with candy was 100% higher than the yearly average. Now that’s a sugar high!

Candy hotspots: How does Michigan rank?

Who loads up on candy the most? Since Utah’s first full year on the Instacart platform, Utah has once again decisively claimed the crown, buying candy 50% more often than the national average in October 2024.

The Mountain West and Midwest dominated the leaderboard, with Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho and Nebraska rounding out the top five.

On the flip side, states like Hawai’i, Florida, and California purchased candy at rates well below the national average — proof that America’s sweet tooth isn’t evenly shared.

Michigan’s favorite halloween candy is Twizzlers

While Reese’s, M&M’s and Kit Kat may dominate the national stage, every state has its own quirky candy crush. After comparing each state’s candy purchases against the U.S. overall, here are the sweets that are uniquely beloved in different corners of the country:

• Candy Corn found its biggest fans in the Midwest and South, with Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi and Nebraska all stocking up far more often than the rest of the country.
• Sour Patch Kids dominated in pockets of the Northeast and beyond, winning over states like Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Texas.
• Life Savers made a splash across the East and Southeast, showing up more often in Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
• Now and Later was the runaway favorite in Louisiana, where residents bought the chewy classic at rates far higher than anywhere else.

Halloween decorations: Spooky season arrived earlier

It’s not just candy that marks the start of spooky season — decorations set the tone too. Instacart data shows that in 2024, households began decking out their homes earlier than in years past. While 2022 and 2023 didn’t see a real pickup until the week of Sept. 7, last year, consumers were already adding Halloween decor to their carts by the week of Aug. 24. So if it felt like those inflatable ghosts and giant spiders showed up sooner than usual, you were right.

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