The most popular type of french fries in the U.S. are Waffle Fries and Cheese Fries, with each being the favorite of 12 states respectively.
The average American consumes a whopping 30 pounds of french fries per year.
In total, Americans consume an estimated 4.5 billion pounds of french fries per year.
Approximently 25% of all vegetables consumed by Americans are french fries.
French fries are America’s favorite potato.
However, as any fry connoisseur knows, there is more than one way to make french fries. In fact, there are over a dozen delicious possible fry formations, although some are far more popular than others.
In honor of French fries (And of course all the jobs from growing, manufacturing, and serving them), we set out to find each state’s favorite type of fry. Plus, we already found each state’s favorite dipping sauce, so this was the next obvious step.
The results? People want more than a basic fry.
Other Interesting Findings
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An impressive 7 states know tater tots are the bomb– which despite being a fried potato somehow feels like the wrong choice.
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Only New Mexico likes chili cheese fries best.
- 5 states favor whimpy shoestring fries.
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Another 5 states prefer sweet potato fries (Maybe so they can kid themselves they’re being healthy?)
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Curly fries are criminally underrated, favored by only 3 states.
How We Figured This Out
Using Google Trends, we determined what type of fry each state eats a disproportionate amount of. We looked at nearly a dozen different types of fries. From there, we determined what type of fry is searched for a disproportionately high amount in each state.
For example, while New Mexico eats all the types of fries, the search interest in “chili cheese fries” is disproportionately higher than the remaining states- making “chili cheese fries” more popular in New Mexico than anywhere else.
Some controversial decisions were made, including excluding those smiley fries that come in a freezer bag from our list. We didn’t want to encourage such deviant fry behavior. Similarly, we left off onion rings because they aren’t made from a potato.
There’s a reason Burger King asks if you want fries OR onion rings. It’s because onion rings are dirty fry posers.
However, perhaps most controversially we also counted tater tots as a fry, since they are fried and made from potatoes.
We looked at a full year of search data, giving every state the opportunity to demonstrate its love of fry.
Is there a wrong way to enjoy fries?
Aside from those smiley-shaped, frozen french fry wannabees and not french fry onion rings, it’s hard to go wrong with fries.
So go ahead and order whatever fry rocks your boat on that next work Happy Hour. Shoot, go ahead and make a fry-coterie tray and have all your favorites present.
Can you really have too many fries? Absolutely not. Especially when they’re covered in cheese.
Each State’s Favorite Type Of Fry
| State | Type |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Cheese fries |
| California | Cheese fries |
| Colorado | Cheese fries |
| Georgia | Cheese fries |
| Louisiana | Cheese fries |
| Mississippi | Cheese fries |
| Nevada | Cheese fries |
| North Carolina | Cheese fries |
| Oklahoma | Cheese fries |
| Rhode Island | Cheese fries |
| South Carolina | Cheese fries |
| Texas | Cheese fries |
| New Mexico | Chili Cheese Fries |
| Kentucky | Crinkle fries |
| Michigan | Crinkle fries |
| Arizona | Curly fries |
| Hawaii | Curly fries |
| Wisconsin | Curly fries |
| New Jersey | Shoestring fries |
| New York | Shoestring fries |
| Pennsylvania | Shoestring fries |
| Virginia | Shoestring fries |
| Washington | Shoestring fries |
| Arkansas | Steak fries |
| Illinois | Steak fries |
| Indiana | Steak fries |
| Oregon | Steak fries |
| Connecticut | Sweet potato fries |
| Delaware | Sweet potato fries |
| District of Columbia | Sweet potato fries |
| Massachusetts | Sweet potato fries |
| Vermont | Sweet potato fries |
| Alaska | Tater tots |
| Idaho | Tater tots |
| Maine | Tater tots |
| Montana | Tater tots |
| North Dakota | Tater tots |
| South Dakota | Tater tots |
| Wyoming | Tater tots |
| Florida | Waffle fries |
| Iowa | Waffle fries |
| Kansas | Waffle fries |
| Maryland | Waffle fries |
| Minnesota | Waffle fries |
| Missouri | Waffle fries |
| Nebraska | Waffle fries |
| New Hampshire | Waffle fries |
| Ohio | Waffle fries |
| Tennessee | Waffle fries |
| Utah | Waffle fries |
| West Virginia | Waffle fries |
Author
Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.
