Utah’s favorite Halloween candy isn’t chocolate, candy corn or even saltwater taffy.
It’s Jolly Rancher hard candies, according to the bulk candy dealer Candystore.com.
Utah residents and companies bought 475,221 pounds of the flavored hard candy, according to the retailer.
The results are surprising, as the small, hard candies are feared as a choking hazard by mothers of toddlers and despised by dentists for hardening like concrete on patients’ molars.
“But people from Utah do seem jolly, and there are surely many ranches there, so Jolly Ranchers might be fitting,” the online retailer said of the results.
In Utah, Jolly Rancher topped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, which was Utah’s second-most favorite candy with 298,230 pounds sold. Tootsie Pops came in third at 198,564 pounds.
To get its numbers, the national bulk candy dealer used sales data from 2007 through 2016, focusing attention on sales in the months leading up to Halloween. From those numbers, it determined the top three choices in each state.
The online retailer sells candy to a variety of customers, from individuals to event planners to large businesses.
Here are a few other state-by-state facts:
• Candy corn is the favorite in six states: Idaho, New Mexico, Michigan, Alabama, South Carolina and Rhode Island.
• M&M’s won the top candy spot in California, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
• Almond Joy was the most popular Halloween candy in Connecticut.
• Folks in Montana love Dubble Bubble bubblegum.
Follow @kathystephenson