America's Halloween Candy Rankings Are Out, and the Winner Depends on Who You Ask

America's Halloween Candy Rankings Are Out, and the Winner Depends on Who You Ask

With twenty days to go until Halloween, three major platforms have released their 2026 candy rankings almost simultaneously. Chocolate still rules the top of every list. But the crown itself is contested: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups top both DoorDash's and Instacart's national rankings, while CandyStore.com hands the title to M&M's. Different methods, different winners — yet all three agree on one thing: chocolate owns the top five.

Two champions, two scorecards

DoorDash's report puts Reese's Peanut Butter Cups at No. 1 nationally for the third straight year, followed by Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars and M&M's, with Snickers, Nerds and Airheads rounding out the top tier. Instacart's data backs Reese's too: measured by ounces sold, Reese's is America's best seller and the top candy in 40 states plus Washington, D.C., with Peanut M&M's, Hershey's Milk Chocolate and M&M's in second through fourth.

CandyStore.com disagrees. In its 2026 ranking, M&M's holds the national No. 1 spot for the second consecutive ranking, with Sour Patch Kids closing in at No. 2, Skittles third and Reese's Cups fourth. The company bases its ranking on projected Halloween-season sales drawn from 18 years of its own sales data, weighted toward recent years. It also flags this year's biggest newcomer: NERDS Gummy Clusters, which went from never cracking a state's top three to No. 5 nationally, landing in the top three in seven states.

Reese's takes 15 states; every state has its own favorite

National winners aside, state tastes diverge sharply. DoorDash, ranking by order volume, gives Reese's 15 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Virginia. California and Arizona go for Red Vines; Florida and Texas pick Airheads; New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island back Kinder Bueno; and seven Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee — are led by an affordable mix called Sweet Smiles Candy. Minnesota stands alone for Mike & Ike, while Alaska and Hawaii choose Lindt.

Instacart surfaced some extreme outliers: Montana buys HI-CHEW at 616% above the national share, the largest candy over-index anywhere in the country. The West buys the most candy overall — Utah 67% above the national rate, Idaho 50%, Alaska 47% — and Pacific Northwest cities (Anchorage, Eugene, Tacoma, Vancouver and Spokane) lead all U.S. cities.

The retro comeback: Circus Peanuts up 350%

The biggest surprise on this year's lists isn't who finished first — it's the collective revival of old-school candy. DoorDash reports Circus Peanuts orders up 350%, Lemonhead up 200%, Bit-O-Honey up 180% and Dum-Dums up 100%, with even candy corn climbing 30%. The most unlikely winner is the raisin, Halloween's most maligned treat for decades, up 60%.

Cristen Milliner, DoorDash's consumer trends expert, says the raisin's steady climb is no fluke: more parents want something that still feels like a treat without going all in on sugar, and raisins fit the bill. Nostalgia plus health consciousness are pushing the old candies back onto shelves together.

Retailers stock by state; shoppers just want chocolate

For retailers, the rankings double as a stocking guide: chocolate's top five for national shelves, local favorites filled in state by state. The Mountain West and Pacific Northwest cities are the country's candy hotspots and can take bolder inventory bets. Shoppers keep it simpler: Instacart's top five are all chocolate, and the first non-chocolate candy, Sour Patch Kids, only reaches No. 7.

The National Retail Federation's survey underscores candy's safe-haven status: total Halloween spending is projected at a record $13.5 billion this year, with candy accounting for $4.1 billion and 96% of celebrants planning to buy it.

Twenty days left; the real winner is undecided

Rankings are still predictions. The real answer comes after October 31st, when the registers tell the story. CandyStore.com's model weights recent years more heavily as Halloween nears; DoorDash and Instacart lean on live orders and sales. The Reese's-versus-M&M's title fight will ultimately be settled by how fast each one clears the supermarket shelves.