Key Highlights:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups continue to be the #1 Halloween candy in America: It’s the top candy nationally for the third year in a row, followed by Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars and M&M’s.
Sour candies are gaining popularity in Halloween buckets, with Airheads and Sour Patch Kids jumping to the top 10 list this year.
Grandma's candy dish is officially cooler than yours, as Circus Peanuts are trending with orders up +350%, Lemonhead +200%, and Bit-O-Honey +180%.
Candy corn and raisins, the treats nobody asks for, are somehow up +30% and +60% this year.
Forget sweet and salty, spicy is having a moment. Takis just dethroned pretzels and Goldfish for the top non-candy treat spot.
Early decorator or last-minute scrambler, Halloween is the one night when candy corn earns a seat at the table, trading chocolates counts as currency, and eating 10 pieces of candy before dinner is judgment free. This year, DoorDash dug into Halloween trends from 2025 for a sneak peek at what could haunt and delight us again this season, and a few numbers were downright spooky (raisins, we're looking at you).
2026's Top Candy, Nationally
Consider the debate over. DoorDash uncovered the definitive top 10 Halloween candy by order volume last Halloween.
Reese's held onto the top spot for a third year in a row, and chocolate still takes four of the top five spots overall, but sour and fruity candy, including Nerds, Skittles and Sour Patch Kids, is fighting back, and Airheads jumped from last year's tenth place to seventh. The biggest shakeup was Haribo, which cracked the top 10 for the first time and knocked Twix out.
But climbing into the top 10 wasn't enough. In the last three months, Haribo has already passed Nerds, the No. 5 candy nationally, in total orders. It's officially the candy to watch this year, adorable, wrapper free, chewy, and dangerously easy to finish a whole bag in one sitting.
The Sweet Tooth of the States
Order volume shows what wins nationally, not what a state loves more than everyone else. So DoorDash looked at which candy each state orders at a higher rate than the rest of the country, and some states clearly have a candy agenda all their own.
Reese's Republic: Reese's isn't just the national leader, it's also the most locally beloved candy in 17 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Washington.
Southern Sweet Spot: Sweet Smiles, the affordable candy assortment with a little bit of everything, is the standout pick across seven Southern states, including Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee.
Taffy Territory: Laffy Taffy was the go-to choice in five states, including Iowa and Wisconsin, while Airheads, another chewy taffy favorite, wins over Florida and Texas.
Sour Southwest: SweeTarts owns a sour corner of the Southwest, leading in four states including Idaho and Oklahoma.
The Licorice Divide: Arizona and California are team Red Vines, while Twizzlers holds its own in two states, Missouri and Wyoming.
A Mixed Bag: New York and Rhode Island prefer Kinder Bueno, Alaska and Hawaii both love Lindt, Maryland and Nevada agree on Snickers, and Connecticut and Illinois share a taste for Sour Patch Kids. Colorado (Haribo), North Carolina (Hershey's Bar) and Minnesota (Mike and Ike) each fly solo.
Grandma's Candy Dish Is Still Cool, Apparently
This is the second year running old-school candy has come back in a big way, and 2026 might be the biggest jump yet. Circus Peanuts leads the pack at +350%, with Bit-O-Honey up +180%, Lemonhead up +200%, and Dum-Dums more than doubling at +100%. Old candy doesn't die. It just waits for its comeback.
The Treats Everyone Loves to Hate
Some of you are proudly team candy corn. That's between you and your diary. Raisins, though? Nobody's excited to find those in a trick-or-treat bag, but the data doesn’t lie. Candy corn orders are up +30% year over year, and raisins are up +60%.
"Raisins have been the most maligned Halloween treat for decades, the one everyone claims to hate, and yet they keep climbing every year without fail,” said Cristen Milliner, Consumer Trends Expert at DoorDash. “At this point, I don't think it's a fluke. There's a real shift toward parents wanting to offer something that still feels like a treat without going all in on sugar, and raisins check that box."
Bigger, Bolder, Spicier
Every year brings headlines about shrinking candy bars. DoorDash's data says otherwise. Full and king size candy's share of orders grew from over 15% to 20%. The bowl is changing in other ways too. Takis just knocked pretzels and Goldfish out of the top non-candy spot, making it the Halloween snack of choice for those who prefer savory.
"Little treat culture has made snacking indulgent every day of the week, whether that's a random Swedish candy haul on a Tuesday or ice cream delivered on a whim. So when a holiday built entirely around candy comes around, it has to bring something bigger,” Milliner added. “Halloween snacking has more range than people give it credit for. Sour candy cracking the top 10 and Takis becoming the go-to non-candy treat both point to the same shift, people are craving bold, intense flavors this year, not just something sweet."
Cutting It Close, All Day Long
Turns out the candy chaos peaks before most people finish their coffee, a morning rush between 7 and 10 a.m. on Halloween that nearly doubles a normal Friday, then climbing again through the afternoon before peaking at 6 p.m., as families realize the bowl's almost empty with more trick-or-treaters still on the way.
When it comes to dinner, pizza has the night to itself. While most dinner categories take a backseat to trick-or-treating, pizza orders jumped +20%, the fast, no-fuss dinner that keeps the night moving without slowing down the candy run.
"Halloween is one of the only nights all year when dinner takes a back seat to everything else going on, and the data backs that up, most dinner categories actually decline on Halloween night,” Milliner explained. “Pizza is the exception. It's fast, it feeds everyone, and it doesn't get in the way of trick-or-treating. When you still need to feed the family and get out the door, pizza is the one dinner that never slows anyone down."
Costumes cut it closer still. Over 60% of costume items were ordered in the final seven days before Halloween, over 40% in the final three, and over 10% arrived on Halloween itself. Costume procrastinators, we see you.
Halloween Gets Rated R After Dark
Halloween isn’t just for kids. Alcohol orders on Halloween night peaked at 7 p.m., right around the time trick or treating starts winding down**. Condom orders ran over +10% above a typical night on Halloween itself, and Plan B orders climbed to roughly 25% above normal over the two days that followed.
Whatever's in your bowl this year, chocolate, gummies, Takis, or unfortunately raisins, or if you're the one partying it up after dark, DoorDash has you covered.
Methodology: Based on DoorDash U.S. ordering data from October 1 - 31 2025, unless otherwise noted.
**21+ Only. Drink responsibly. Alcohol available only in select markets.
