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America’s Favorite Super Bowl Snacks, Ranked by State

by Amy Harris (aharris2) Last Updated 2026-01-20 09:10:09

RotoGrinders’ Super Bowl Snack Index 2026: What the Data Shows

Super Bowl Sunday may be decided on the field, but the experience is shaped around the food.

Based on a nationally representative survey of 3,008 Americans, RotoGrinders’ Super Bowl Snack Index 2026 examines what people serve on Super Bowl Sunday — and how much those choices actually matter. The data shows that snacks influence where fans watch, how long they stay, and, in many cases, how they judge the host.

More importantly, the findings reveal sharp regional differences. Some states treat Super Bowl food as a centerpiece of the day. Others take a lower-stakes, more casual approach. Together, the results show how Super Bowl snacking reflects expectation, effort, and local culture.

Here’s how America really snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, state by state.

Key Findings

Every State’s Favorite Super Bowl Snack

There’s a clear national favorite on Super Bowl Sunday — but how strongly states commit to it varies widely. While buffalo wings dominate most of the country, pizza and chips & dip hold defined regional ground, and a handful of states lean into niche preferences.

The Wing States

Buffalo wings lead nationally and peak in states where game-day food carries real weight. Support is strongest in New Jersey (47%), Georgia (43%), South Carolina (37%), Virginia (36%), Alabama (35%), and Maryland and Missouri (34%). In these markets, wings function less as a snack and more as the main event.

Pizza Strongholds

Pizza ranks first in New York (33%), New Hampshire (32%), Illinois (25%), Iowa (22%), Michigan (21%), Alaska (21%), and Oregon (20%) — signaling a preference for convenience, familiarity, and low-effort hosting.

Chips & Dip Country

Minnesota and Nebraska (28%), Kansas and Utah (25%), Idaho (22%), and Oklahoma and Colorado (21%) favor chips and dip, reflecting a grazing-style approach that prioritizes flexibility over centerpiece food.

Nachos & Comfort Picks

Nachos never rank first in any state but show consistent secondary strength in Washington (19%), Vermont (18%), Kansas (18%), and Oregon (16%), reinforcing the appeal of warm, shareable comfort food.

Regional Wildcards

A few states break from national norms: Vermont over-indexes on shrimp cocktail (11%), Wyoming on jalapeño poppers (9%), Missouri on cheese and charcuterie (9%), Indiana on chili (8%), and Hawaii stands alone with poke bowls (8%).

Bottom line: Buffalo wings may dominate nationally — but at the state level, Super Bowl snacking is highly local.

Every State’s Go-To Super Bowl Dip

Snacks may anchor the table, but dips set the tone. Nationally, there’s a clear favorite — yet dip preferences break sharply by region.

Buffalo Chicken Dip Leads

Buffalo chicken dip ranks first nationally and dominates across the Northeast and Rust Belt, including New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, and Delaware.

Where Queso Wins

Queso tops the list in states where hot, melty dips define the spread — led by Nebraska and Nevada, with several nearby states showing narrow margins at the top.

French Onion Strongholds

French onion dip remains a regional staple, leading in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin — a corridor where classic flavors still carry weight.

Salsa, Ranch & Regional Outliers

A handful of states diverge from national norms: Alaska is the only salsa-first state, Texas and South Dakota favor ranch, and Mississippi stands out as the strongest Rotel market.

A Tighter Field Overall

In many states, top dip choices cluster closely together, suggesting Super Bowl spreads are built around variety rather than a single dominant dip.

Where Super Bowl Snacks Shape the Host’s Reputation

In some states, Super Bowl food carries real social weight. These are the places where fans are most likely to say the snacks affect how they judge the host (strongly + somewhat).

States Where Host Judgment Is Strongest

In these states, snack choices meaningfully influence how hosts are perceived — signaling higher expectations and greater social pressure around the Super Bowl spread.

Where Super Bowl Snacks Carry Less Reputational Weight

Other states place less emphasis on Super Bowl food when forming opinions about the host. While snacks are noticed, they are less likely to shape overall impressions.

States Where Host Judgment Is Lower

In these states, the food still gets noticed — but it carries less social and reputational weight. Showing up matters more than impressing.

Expert Comment

A Rotogrinders analyst says the data shows Super Bowl food carries more social weight than hosts expect.

“Super Bowl snacks aren’t background details — they shape how the day is experienced and, in many cases, how the host is judged. The dominance of familiar staples like wings suggests fans aren’t looking for creativity; they’re looking for execution.”

What the Data Says About Super Bowl Hosting

The data points to a clear reality: Super Bowl food is part of the social contract.

Nearly four in ten fans (38%) say snacks influence their opinion of the host, while another 33% say they notice what’s served even if they don’t actively judge. Only 20% say the food doesn’t matter at all — meaning most fans are paying attention, even when they say they aren’t.

That attention helps explain why familiar options dominate. Buffalo wings lead as the top snack in more states than any other choice, while classic dips like buffalo chicken dip and queso consistently outperform trend-driven alternatives. These aren’t risky picks — they’re reliable ones.

Super Bowl Sunday isn’t about reinvention. It’s about meeting expectations, feeding a crowd, and sustaining the experience for four quarters. The data suggests that when hosts stick to proven favorites, the party holds — regardless of the final score.

How Super Bowl Rituals Extend Beyond the Snack Table

That same attention to detail doesn’t stop with the food. For many fans, Super Bowl Sunday is about more than watching the game — it’s about having a take and checking it.

As kickoff approaches, this shows up in how often fans track odds, refresh probabilities, and compare outcomes. The behavior mirrors the food data: people gravitate toward what feels familiar, proven, and socially validated — whether that’s buffalo wings on the table or consensus picks before kickoff.

For fans following the game through prediction markets, this habit plays out across platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. RotoGrinders also breaks down how these compare in its roundup of the best prediction market apps.

Methodology

This study is based on a nationally representative online survey conducted by Research Without Barriers (RWB) on behalf of RotoGrinders.

The survey was fielded January 9–14, 2026, with a sample of 3,008 U.S. NFL fans aged 18+. Responses were collected across all 50 U.S. states and weighted to ensure national representativeness.

Participants were asked about their favorite Super Bowl snacks, preferred dips, and whether Super Bowl food influences their perception of a host when attending a Super Bowl party. State-level results reflect the most commonly selected responses within each state.

All research was conducted in accordance with the Market Research Society (MRS) Code of Conduct (2023) and the ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines. RWB is registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office and is fully compliant with GDPR and the Data Protection Act (2018).

Sources

About the Author

aharris2
Amy Harris (aharris2)

Amy Harris is part of the RotoGrinders research and analysis team, focusing on how data, behavior, and culture converge in sports. She brings statistical insight and narrative context together to show how numbers shape — and reflect — the stories fans care about most. Her work bridges analytics and storytelling, exploring not only how players perform, but how those performances resonate within the wider culture of competition, fandom, and media.