Which Candy to Buy, and Skip, in Illinois This Halloween

Halloween season has arrived in Illinois, and the holiday isn’t just about costumes, pumpkins, and spooky decorations, it’s about the candy... and some candies should be on every home's no-fly list.

Rules for Buying Halloween Candy

One of my kids' favorite things to do on Halloween, besides trick-or-treating, is to come home, dump out their buckets, and begin the great candy trade off.

I have one daughter who will trade everything for all the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey bars, while the other kid is all about the Skittles and Sour Patch Kids.

My method for choosing Halloween candy to buy is simple: I get a couple bags of chocolate candies like M&Ms, Snickers, Kit Kats, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and a couple bags of the sweet candies like Skittles and Starbursts.

Illinois Favorite Halloween Candy 2025

If you're going to base your candy buying simply on what the experts say this year, I must warn you, you'll get mixed reviews.

Several reports say M&Ms and Sour Patch Kids are bought most in Illinois. Then Instacart publishes findings that Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds is Illinois' favorite candy in 2025.

It may be hard to truly pinpoint which Halloween candy is Illinois' favorite for 2025, but I can tell you what candies should never be given out on Halloween.

Worst Halloween Candies to Buy

Every person has their own opinion on what's the worst Halloween candy to buy. For me it's Peanut Butter Kisses or Bazooka Bubble Gum, but dentists say these four candies are actually the worst:

1. Chewy Candies - Chewy candies stay in your mouth longer than chocolate, and the bacteria in your mouth turns sugar into acid which is horrible for your teeth.

2. Caramel - Caramel candies are very sticky and can be a nightmare to get off teeth, braces, retainers, etc.

3. Sour Candies - Candies with a sour outer shell and chewy middle are a double punch of bad for your teeth.

4. Hard Candy - Suckers and lollipops take longer to eat, and the longer sugar stays in your mouth, the worse it is for your teeth.

I understand that seeing how bad those four types of candy can be for your teeth is a big bummer, but are you ready for some good news? Dentists say chocolate is actually one of the best kinds of candy to buy because it doesn't stay in your mouth long and is easy to brush off! Hooray!