Map Shows the Most Popular Potato Chip Brands By State

Ever wonder which potato-based snack reigns supreme in the hearts (and online shopping carts) of America? Instacart crunched the numbers to find out which chip brands its shoppers are stocking up on the most. 

1. Each State’s Favorite Chips, Mapped
2. The Most-Ordered Potato Chip Brand in All 50 States

To make the map below, Instacart analyzed potato chip orders made between June 28 and July 4 of 2024. Local potato chip popularity was determined by calculating each brand’s business in a specific state vs. its sales nationwide. The brands with the greatest difference between the order numbers in a given state were deemed uniquely popular there.

Each State’s Favorite Chips, Mapped

Ruffles wins by a landslide, claiming parts of the West, South, and Midwest. The brand boasts 11 varieties, from original to the Flamin’ Hot version. Ruffles got its start when Bernhardt Stahmer filed a patent for “sliced, corrugated potato products“ in 1955. In the patent, he stated that his ridged chips tasted as if they were made with cheese. Stahmer credited the chip’s form, admitting that “slicing the potato product with certain specified dimensions and shape” gave it a distinct flavor.

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Up next is Cape Cod, which is a particularly popular choice in New England states, such as Maine and Vermont. These extra-crunchy chips are prepared differently than their regular, thinner counterparts. According to The Kitchn, kettle chips are cooked in batches at different temperatures to get that crunchier texture. In contrast, regular potato chips are cooked at once at a steady temperature.

Utz ties with Cape Cod as the second-most popular chip brand by state. The Pennsylvania-based company debuted in 1921, when William and Salie Utz began making 50 pounds of chips an hour in their summer kitchen. The couple sold their product (called Hanover Home Brand Potato Chips back then) to small local grocers and markets, and the rest is history. Now, Utz owns a host of smaller brands, including Zapp’s, Dirty Kettle Style, and Boulder Canyon. 

The Most-Ordered Potato Chip Brand in All 50 States

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