COUNTY LIFE

Best and worst Halloween candy

Published

5 years ago

10/21/2021

Preferences are changing all the time. Kid’s these days like all kinds of things we’ll never understand. Did you know TikTok is almost bigger than YouTube now? Gen Z is growing up fast. How’s a grown-up supposed to keep up with the latest trends in Halloween candy?

And I don’t know about you, but decision fatigue is real for me in 2021. Trying to see the signal through the noise of delta variants, masks, vaccines, back to school, politics. If you too are over trying to piece together what is reality, we’re here to at least make Halloween candy decisions easier.

Ellie Kemper: “Tastes like medicine” …ouch

Here’s how we help you avoid disaster.

With so many candy ranking lists out there, it’s tough to get a handle on what’s what. So we took some age-old advice. Compile as much data as you can and methodically establish a ranking system to elucidate a mountain of data. You know that old saying, right? 😉

Twelve lists of best and worst candies were published on reputable websites. We grabbed the data there, added in our own CandyStore.com customer survey data (over 20,000 surveyed!) and mashed them all together into the ultimate list.

Next, we surveyed over 17,000 of our own customers. Then, we put the best and worst candies into a spreadsheet. In Column A we had a number value. We weighted each list, so a candy that got listed as the worst gets 10 points, while one that ranks 10th worst gets one point. Same idea goes for the best list. We then tallied up the points and created our list.

Got it? Good. Let’s go.

Oh and please keep in mind, the opinions expressed here are not those of CandyStore.com. They are inferred from the data by a mere candy blog writer.

Last year was a weird year for Halloween and trick-or-treating. No one was vaccinated and there was a fall surge in covid. The uncertainty was even greater then than now. But we do feel like this year Halloween will reach and maybe eclipse it’s former pre-pandemic peak.

Disclaimer: We at CandyStore.com recommend you monitor your local situation and follow health guidelines if you plan to trick-or-treat. Pay attention to local trends and do your own research.

Candy buying on the rise

According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween candy spending should hit a whopping $3Billion this year! That’s a 20% increase over last year and 10% over the previous all time high. That’s a big deal.

Overall Halloween spending is predicted to be over $10Billion. That’s up 26% over last year. Bring on Halloween!

The map above reveals the results of our annual data mining, the top 3 most popular Halloween candies in each state. Hover over your state to see the goods. (Apologies, it’s not interactive on mobile devices).

Last year we had a cyberpunk future theme, and this year we went a bit more topical with our prediction of the future. In honor of the simultaneous rise of ~~Terminators from Cyberdine~~ humanoid robots from Tesla and Bitcoin this year, our 2021 map design is something we think HAL 9000 would appreciate.

So, please enjoy the results in the fun map above. Do your state’s choices surprise you? The top Halloween candy in your state are not always what you think they were. Salt water taffy and Hot Tamales performed much better than some expected, for example.

For over 14 years, we’ve been delivering bulk candy around the country. As bulk candy retailers and distributors, we’ve got a lot of candy sales data to comb through. Including some we shipped to New York in recent years…

We have seen a lot of surprising favorites and least favorites over the years. That’s why working with unbiased data is so much fun. We looked at 14 years of sales data (2007-2021), looking in particular at the months leading up to Halloween. We sell nationwide (and to Canada) so we broke down our sales by state. We also have relationships with major candy manufacturers and distributors – all of whom contributed and helped us reach our conclusions.

Then we charted the best sellers in every state for Halloween. And we present it to you in the above futuristic interactive map of the most popular Halloween candy. If you’d like to see the nationwide winners, we made a graphic for that too:

COUNTY LIFE

Adoption, foster care resource fair on Nov. 14 in Bowie

Published

2 days ago

11/12/2026

bowienews

In recognition of National Adoption Awareness Month this November, Texas Community Counseling and the Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas are partnering to bring resources to Montague County families.
The two organizations will host an adoption, foster care and kinship care resource fair on Nov. 14 at the United Presbyterian Church of Montague County Fellowship Hall, located at 300 W. Nelson St. in Bowie.
The resource fair will run from 10 a.m. to noon, bringing together local agencies and service providers to answer questions and share information about support available within the county.

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.

COUNTY LIFE

Rolling bus tour to visit southwest corner of the county

Published

2 days ago

11/12/2026

bowienews

Members of the Montague County Historical Commission invite the community to join them on Nov. 14 for a Rolling Bus Tour.
This tour will cover the cemeteries in the south west corner of Montague County. You will have the opportunity to stroll through some of the cemeteries, others the bus will stop and Commission member Calvin Durham will tell the history of the cemetery.
The bus tour will meet at the Old Jail in Montague at 9 a.m. and return at approximately 3 p.m. The tour will include a sack lunch, a brochure of each cemetery visited and a book “This Soil will Grow Grapes” written by Melvin Fenoglio.
The cost of the tour is $20 for adults. There is no charge for children under 12. The commission members strive to preserve the history of the county and to share as much of it as possible with our citizens. You can RSVP by calling 940-841-2674 or 940-872-1007. Please leave a message with your name if there is no answer.

COUNTY LIFE

Nationwide emergency alert system test on Nov. 17

Published

2 days ago

11/12/2026

bowienews

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System at 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 17.
FEMA’s emergency alert system is a national public warning system made up of thousands of radio, TV, cable and satellite and wireline video providers. Through the EAS, the President can address the American people or share life-saving information with the public during a national emergency.
FEMA is required by law to conduct a nationwide test of the public alert and warning system at least once every three years. These tests allow FEMA to identify technical or operational issues before the system is needed during an actual emergency.
FEMA and the FCC are sharing the test date in advance because it is important the public understands what to expect on the day of the test.
At approximately 1:20 p.m. (Central time), on Nov. 17, all the electronics providers will interrupt normal programming to relay a test message.
This message will state: This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency management Agency, covering the United States from 1:20 to 1:50 p.m. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
When the test is concluded, normal programming will resume.
FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with stakeholders, including participating communications providers as well as federal, state, tribal and territorial agencies to prepare for and conduct the test.