By far the most popular Valentine’s Day candy is also the most traditional — a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Coming in a close second though is Conversation Hearts.
That’s according to CandyStore.com, which used sales data from the last 13 years from it’s online bulk candy store and industry partners to determine the most popular Valentine’s Day candy in each of the 50 U.S. states.
The data showed that “heart-shaped box of chocolates” was the favorite in 19 states, such as Alaska, New Hampshire, and California. While “Conversation Hearts” were the most popular in 13 states, such as Wisconsin and Hawaii. And M&M’S were the third most popular in eight states, such as Arizona and North Dakota.
Conversation Heart Comeback
CandyStore.com says it’s been a rough couple years for Sweethearts conversation hearts candy. After Necco’s brands sent off to various bidders, Sweethearts’ new owner took some time to get the brand going. In fact, they weren’t available in 2019 at all. As the most popular brand of conversation hearts (Brach’s makes them as well), the sales of conversation hearts overall were down over 24 percent.
Then last year in 2020, they were back, but only a limited supply was available.
With Spangler introducing all new sayings on Sweethearts this year, look for conversation hearts to make a heroic comeback in 2021. That’s something we can all root for in 2021.
M&M’s keeps moving up
With conversation hearts down, M&M’S picked up some of the slack last year. They made gains in several states throughout the country, as the most popular in Oregon and North Dakota.
Since introducing the Cupid’s Message M&M’S in 2017, we’ve seen a rise in M&M’S sales for Valentine’s Day. Cupid’s Mix of Valentine’s Day colored M&M’S has also been very popular. The re-introduction of White Cheesecake M&M’S helped boost them as well.
Below is a list of the most popular candy in each state. For a fully interactive map that allows users to scroll over a state for the most popular candy as well as the runners-up, visit CandyStore.com’s Valentine’s Day map page.
And to shop your favorite holiday treats, visit CandyStore.com’s Valentine’s Day candy page.
| State | Most Popular Candy |
| Alabama | Candy Necklaces |
| Alaska | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Arizona | M&M'S |
| Arkansas | Conversation Hearts |
| California | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Colorado | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Connecticut | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Delaware | Hershey Kisses |
| Florida | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Georgia | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Hawaii | Conversation Hearts |
| Idaho | Conversation Hearts |
| Illinois | Conversation Hearts |
| Indiana | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Iowa | M&M's |
| Kansas | M&M'S |
| Kentucky | Chocolates roses |
| Louisiana | Conversation Hearts |
| Maine | Chocolate Hearts |
| Maryland | M&M'S |
| Massachusetts | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Michigan | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Minnesota | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Mississippi | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Missouri | Conversation Hearts |
| Montana | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Nebraska | Chocolate Hearts |
| Nevada | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| New Hampshire | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| New Jersey | M&M'S |
| New Mexico | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| New York | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| North Carolina | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| North Dakota | M&M'S |
| Ohio | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| Oklahoma | Conversation Hearts |
| Oregon | M&M'S |
| Pennsylvania | M&M'S |
| Rhode Island | Chocolate hearts |
| South Carolina | Conversation Hearts |
| South Dakota | Hershey Kisses |
| Tennessee | Conversation Hearts |
| Texas | Hershey Kisses |
| Utah | Hershey Kisses |
| Vermont | Conversation Hearts |
| Virginia | Conversation Hearts |
| Washington | Heart-shaped box of chocolates |
| West Virginia | Conversation Hearts |
| Wisconsin | Conversation Hearts |
| Wyoming | Chocolates Roses |
