The Most Popular Thanksgiving Pie in Your State

Pumpkin is not the favorite everywhere!

Most would agree that Thanksgiving is for friends, family, and—most importantly—food. In other words, it’s the time of year when it’s acceptable to stuff your face with turkey, rolls, green bean casserole, and lots of other goodies. But no matter which way you slice it, nothing says Thanksgiving quite like a good, old-fashioned pie.

Some families prefer a perfect piece of pecan, while others like a satisfying slice of sweet potato. But which pie takes the cake, so to speak? GE set out to find out. They surveyed 1,550 people throughout the continental United States and then created a map infographic revealing which pie holds the biggest piece of people’s hearts in every state. (Sadly, Alaska and Hawaii weren’t part of the survey.)

And the results were, for the most part, what you might expect. Pumpkin, the pie that’s all but synonymous with Thanksgiving, was the overall winner. But, perhaps more surprisingly, the survey found that the results were very split by region. While pumpkin pie dominated the western, central, and midwestern United States, apple pie and pecan pie also made a very strong showing. The New England and mid-Atlantic regions were unified in their love of apple pie (almost—Maryland went with pumpkin!). Find out how apple pie became such an iconic American dessert in the first place.

The South was a little more split, with Texas and its neighbors Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Missouri being all in for pecan pie. Pecan pie was also a hit in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi—but those four states were also enamored with apple, creating a…pie tie! (We had to.) But the southern states on the East Coast—Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia—went with the traditional pumpkin.

If you’re a United States-based Thanksgiving celebrant, do you eat the pie that your region prefers, or are you a rebel? Residents of Alaska and Hawaii, what pie do you prefer? Maybe switch up your pie this year and see how another region’s choice dessert compares.

Or maybe consider something different altogether! In addition to the classic turkey, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole, HelloFresh’s brand new Thanksgiving box gives you the ingredients for an apple ginger crisp with a cinnamon pecan topping. You can order the whole box for one-stop Thanksgiving shopping, or just check out the apple crisp recipe—maybe you’ll find a new favorite post–Thanksgiving dinner indulgence! Also, check out our favorite recipes for a foolproof Thanksgiving feast.

Brooke Nelson Alexander
Brooke is a tech and consumer products writer covering the latest in digital trends, product reviews, security and privacy, and other news and features for Reader's Digest. She's a two-time Emmy-nominated reporter with nearly 10 years of publishing experience, and her work has been recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.