The Potato Chip Brand 17 States Love More Than Lay's

When you think of potato chip brands, your mind may immediately picture a classic bag of Lay's, with those shatteringly crisp chips that bring out only the pure flavors of salt and spud. But according to an Instacart study (via HuffPost), it turns out that Lay's (which are my personal favorite) isn't exactly the chip of choice for many states. Although preferences tended to vary by region, one textured potato chip brand was the preferred in 17 states — and that would be none other than Ruffles.

States that love Ruffles include Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Only four states reported preferring Lay's over all others, while some states simply enjoyed their home's specialty brands, like the way Pennsylvania loves its Herr's brand of chips. Three states preferred the dehydrated potato flake Pringles (really?), while Kettle Brand, Old Dutch, Zapp's, Utz, and more made it onto the smaller, more regional list of preferences. Hometown love means people put their money where their mouths are. But as much as I love my Lay's, I secretly know that Ruffles are the better dipping chip thanks to the fact that they're sturdier, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Before we get to thinking there's some unspoken rivalry in all of this, there is one winner: Frito-Lay. Although Ruffles and Lay's might seem like competing brands (which they are, to an extent, thanks to personal preferences), they're both owned by the snack giant. That means all the money flows to the same place. That's not to mention the fact that Frito-Lay also owns non-potato chip brands like Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos, and Tostitos, all of which I cherry-picked because their names obviously rhyme. The illusion of choice all comes down to sweet old capitalism, I guess.

So those states that enjoy the fruits of their own labor by embracing their homegrown brands are also helping to strengthen their own economies. Plus, it's always good to take pride in your roots. Interestingly enough, in our own ranking of potato chips, neither Lay's nor Ruffles was the winner — we preferred the hefty crunch of Kettle Brand chips. But no matter what your potato chip preference is, I think we can all agree that they make for one of the best salty snacks in existence.