Everyone knows that the best part of any road trip is snacks – but the snack chosen apparently varies from state to state.
Travel site Upgraded Points cited Google Trends data to find the most popular foods for each of the 50 states, and found that there was good variation across the country.
New Yorkers’ favorite things to munch on while on the go are surprising in a few ways. Hummus came in as the best food, a healthier choice chosen by two other states (Delaware and Massachusetts).
It was the only food that came on the list of favorite snacks that did not come in a bag or box, and really the only one that does not get eaten by itself (usually paired with pita / pastry / bagel chips, or vegetables).
The New Jerseyans, on the other hand, swapped the salt for something a little sweeter, with Sour Patch Kids. Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee also chose the sour gummy candies. Two other states chose sweet treats: Utah with fruit snacks (if that counts as candy?) And Minnesota, which was the only state that went with a chocolate snack, and chose Snickers.
Connecticut’s flavor went hand in hand with the most popular go-to snack choice in the United States: potato chips. It was the best choice for 10 states, and if you count other similar salty finger foods (like Cheetos, Combos, Cheez-Its, pork rind, Chex Mix, sunflower seeds, nuts, trail mix and popcorn), it was the overwhelming favorite in more than half of all states.
EZ Pass, SunPass, TxTag… our country’s more than 130 different payment authorities across 34 states can not agree on what technology drivers should use to pay tolls – even after Congress passed a law mandating one universal transponder. So why are interstate road trips still such a headache?
Another surprisingly popular favorite: rice cakes, which turned out to be the favorite among seven states.
Overall, in the Northeast, favorite snacks were hummus, rice cakes and sunflower seeds. The Midwest went with potato chips, the South chose Combos and the West chose rice cakes.