July Editor's Letter
From Blue Bell to Ben & Jerry’s: State-by-state ice cream preferences across America
Dairy Foods examines ice cream trends during the U.S.’s 250th anniversary
Following the cool spring where I live, summer has finally arrived. Ice cream doesn’t have an offseason anymore, except perhaps for January when consumers are trying to enact New Year’s resolutions. But I really enjoy talking about ice cream in July.
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States this month, let’s change things up and look at state-by-state ice cream trends. What state is most enthusiastic about ice cream?
It is the Garden State, New Jersey, according to Google Trends information reviewed by Innerbody.com, which looked at website search data from April 17, 2025, to April 17, 2026. No. 2 on the most enthusiastic list was Delaware, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Maine, Wyoming and Utah, respectively.
Conversely, Google Tends data reviewed by Innerbody.com concludes that Arkansas is the least enthusiastic about ice cream, followed by North Dakota, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Kansas and Indiana.
According to Innerbody.com, the results are interesting as one would expect ice cream interest to be the highest in warm states. So why are colder states leading in search interest? “Part of the answer may be that in the Northeast, ice cream isn’t just seasonal. It’s historical. Long before refrigeration, New England had a built-in advantage: access to both dairy and stored ice. Winters made it possible to harvest and preserve ice, while local farms supplied the cream, helping to turn ice cream from a novelty into something routine,” Innerbody.com states. “This isn’t a recent pattern, either. In 1987, New Englanders consumed about 51% more ice cream per person than the national average, an early sign of just how embedded it had become. That history may also help explain why brands like Howard Johnson’s, Carvel, Friendly’s, and Ben & Jerry’s all are rooted in the region.”
The data also ranks the top five ice cream dairy processors, with Halo Top “topping” the list, followed by Cold Stone Creamery, Breyers, Talenti and Häagen-Dazs. But this doesn’t tell the entire story. National names like Halo Top and Cold Stone Creamery show up across wide swaths of the country, but many states still lean toward brands with regional roots, Innerbody.com reveals.
“Cold Stone Creamery has the strongest state-by-state footprint, leading in 13 states, especially across the West and Mountain West. Since it was founded in Arizona, perhaps it’s not surprising to see it lead there. Halo Top, meanwhile, ranks as the most-searched brand nationwide and appears across several regions, including the Midwest in states like Michigan and Illinois — a sign that lower-calorie ‘light’ ice cream has gone fully mainstream,” Innerbody.com states.
“But the most interesting results may be the local holdouts:
- Texas sticks with Blue Bell, founded in Brenham in 1907.
- Vermont backs Ben & Jerry’s, born in Burlington in 1978.
- Oregon leans toward Tillamook, which began making ice cream there in 1947.
- Pennsylvania favors Turkey Hill, a Lancaster County staple since 1931.
- Ohio sticks with Graeter’s, a Cincinnati original dating back to 1870.
- Iowa turns to Blue Bunny, founded in Le Mars in 1913.
- Massachusetts opts for Friendly’s, a Springfield-born chain serving ice cream since 1935.
Arkansas [also] follows the hometown pattern, with Walmart’s Great Value brand coming out on top.”
Happy birthday, America. No matter which state is most “enthusiastic” about ice cream, it is beloved in every state thanks to the tremendous work put forth by dairy processors. Here’s to 250 more years of consuming ice cream!
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