What’s the Most Popular Grocery Store in Your State? Here’s What Your Neighbors Have to Say

Where do you shop for groceries? Do you ever argue with your friends in other states about why your grocery store is better than their grocery store? Yeah, maybe it’s weird, but people can get heated about their supermarket of choice.

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But surely there’s something approaching a consensus among people in every state about which grocery store is doing things right—right? So what do your fellow Californians (or Coloradans or Montanans or New Yorkers or Connecticuters…) have to say on the matter? Well, The Kitchn recently set out to (non-scientifically) discover which grocery store is the most popular grocery store in every state, by asking the locals themselves. They did this by analyzing data from a number of sources including the top Google searches, Yelp’s own metrics, and polling their Instagram followers and staff to make sure all voices were heard. Here’s the rundown of the chains that made the list and what states they found the most love in.

Does this ring true to you? Feel free to yell at us in the comments—it’s a heated subject, we get it.

Albertsons: Idaho, Montana, Nevada & Wyoming

With over 2,000 stores, Albertsons is the second largest supermarket chain in North America and its reach shows.

Aldi: Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska & North Dakota

Aldi is a no-frills but high-value chain that really delivers an experience (and products) that you’ll fall in love with.

Dillons: Kansas

Dillons is a hometown hero. Known and loved by the ones that got them started.

Food City: Tennessee

Food City’s parent company owns a distribution center, a bottled water producer, and a chain of liquor stores. At this point, they might have won favor because half of this state is employed by them.

Foodland: Hawaii

Foodland is Hawaii’s largest locally owned and operated grocery retailer and it’s been celebrated as such. Voted as Hawaii’s best grocery store for nine years, it’s no surprise that this topped the charts in this state.

Food Lion: North Carolina & South Carolina

The Carolinas did what the Dakotas couldn’t do: They agreed on which grocery store chain was the best in their region. We DEFINITELY thought this one would go to Harris Teeter. (Fun fact: Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart’s first job was at Food Lion!)

Fred Meyer: Oregon

Fred Meyer was one of the first stores in the country to promote one-stop shopping. These days, it’s owned by Kroger.

Hannaford: Vermont

Hannaford is Maine’s largest grocery chain—beloved for sourcing great produce and lots of local products—but Vermonters are getting in on that action, too. (Maine’s favorite store is further down the list…keep scrollin’.)

H-E-B: Texas (duh)

The powerhouse Texan grocery store that we’re familiar with, even being all the way on the West Coast.

Homeland: Oklahoma

Homeland started as the Oklahoma division, of Safeway so it’s no surprise which state ranked them first.

Hy-Vee: Iowa, Missouri & South Dakota

Founded in Iowa and favored by the residents to this day, its two Iowa neighbors are getting in on the action, too. Bring back the cold and hot bars, dammit!

King Soopers: Colorado & Wyoming

King Soopers’ stores are mostly in Colorado, but the one store in Wyoming seems to have made an impression.

Kroger: Arkansas, Mississippi & West Virginia

Though Kroger has a lot of subsidiaries on this list, but the namesake store still eked out a win in three states.

Market Basket: Massachusetts & Rhode Island

Phew, if you want to go on a wild ride, read the Wikipedia page for Market Basket.

Martin’s Super Market: Indiana

Martin’s Super Market covers Indiana and Michigan, but in the latter state it’s sharing turf with Meijer, so Martin’s only won the top spot in one state.

Meijer: Michigan

Meijer is credited with pioneering the modern supercenter concept, which is just one of many reasons the residents of its birthplace love it so much.

PCC Community Markets: Washington

PCC Community Markets is the largest consumer co-op in the country and is deeply rooted in Seattle.

Pick ‘n Save: Wisconsin

Pick ‘n Save is a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Kroger that only services one market that loves it back.

Piggly Wiggly: Alabama & Georgia

Though founded in Tennessee, Piggly Wiggly and its cute mascot are making an impression in Alabama and Georgia.

Publix: Florida

If there’s one thing you think of when you think of Florida, it’s Florida Man. The second thing is probably Disney or Universal. But the third? Well, that’s Publix! Several members of the Sporked team have roots in Florida, so they’ve covered the beloved store “where shopping is a pleasure” quite a bit.

Redner’s: Pennsylvania

Redner’s is headquartered in Pennsylvania and is still owned by the founding family and the employees of the company so this comes as no surprise.

Rouses: Louisiana

A regional chain that peeks its head out between two behemoths, H-E-B and Kroger.

Safeway: Alaska, Maryland & Virginia

Safeway managed to spread their love across time and space. Well, they wooed Alaska, Maryland, and Virginia. That’s a feat that’s truly impressive in its own right.

Save a Lot Food Stores: Ohio & Kentucky

A small chain that dishes out big savings. Save a Lot Food Stores sells national and private label brands at a discounted price.

Shaw’s: Maine & New Hampshire

Shaw’s and its sister chain Star Market make up the largest coverage for grocery stores operating solely in New England.

ShopRite: New Jersey

ShopRite has been the largest food retailer in New Jersey for close to 70 years, so I don’t think this one’s being beaten anytime soon.

Smith’s: New Mexico & Utah

Smith’s is a regional chain founded in Utah that prides itself on fresh meat and produce—although a dirty soda bar wouldn’t hurt. And yep, this is another Kroger-owned store now.

Stew Leonard’s: Connecticut

Y’all. If you haven’t watched a tour of one of Stew Leonard’s eight stores, then you need to do so now. This place is bonkers, this place is wacky and it was named “The World’s Largest Dairy Store” by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Trader Joe’s: Arizona & California

Known for its vast frozen foods section, eccentric snacks, and overall cool West Coast vibe, TJ’s is a Cali original.

Wegmans: New York

Okay, New Yorkers. We get it. You love Wegmans and there really was no competition.