Every state’s unique grocery shopping habits, according to Instacart

A new map shows which grocery deliveries are most popular in every U.S. state

By Dennis Lee3 min readUpdated March 11, 2024

Instacart recently hit a sales milestone: Since its founding in 2012, the app-based grocery shopping service has delivered over one billion orders. To celebrate, Instacart dove into its sales data for a little bit of insight on which types of goods shoppers in each U.S. state (and Canadian province) are ordering in uniquely high volumes. It’s a fascinating look into our regional grocery preferences — some states like to stock up on booze, others seek comfort food, and one state is intensely focused on... yogurt?

The states ordering the most booze through Instacart

Instacart’s map reveals that some states, like Arizona, apparently love having their booze delivered. Arizona leads the nation in Instacart orders of ice cubes, light lager, flavored vodka, American whiskey, spiced rum, flavored rum, and nonalcoholic wine.

Idaho, meanwhile, leads in the categories of hard seltzer, canned cocktails, flavored malt beverages, hard lemonade, and hard tea, all sent to customers’ doorsteps via Instacart. The Takeout’s home state of Illinois is also apparently a state full of alcohol enthusiasts, but with oddly specific tastes: We prefer deliveries of sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, brandy and cognac, stout, small-batch bourbon, vermouth, Tempranillo, and bitters. And Washington state loves having its vodka, whiskey, gin, and liqueurs delivered via Instacart more than any other state in the country.

Some states live up to their reputations

I don’t know about you, but I associate Colorado with through a hazy cloud of weed smoke, which is why it’s funny finding out that it’s the leader in having dry mouth relief products and frozen burritos delivered.

Apparently, Nevada is — and I imagine Las Vegas is largely responsible for this — the horniest state, leading in deliveries of styling gels and pomades, fresh cut roses, and contraceptives. And maybe it’s because I loved The Sopranos so much, but I’m sort of delighted by the fact that New Jersey residents really do love Italian food. They like having their mozzarella, ricotta, and pecorino romano cheeses delivered more than anywhere else in the United States.

The states with the most unexpected grocery preferences

There’s one thing Kansans like having delivered via Instacart more than anyone else in the country: salsa. Who knew? Massachusetts really likes its Greek yogurt, Icelandic yogurt, and traditional yogurt, while Missouri residents love apples—Golden Delicious, Jonagold, and Koru, to be specific.

And two states stand out for their apparent love of their pets. Alaskans get a lot of dog supplies delivered, including food, treats, and toys, and Maine residents tend to order a lot of cat-related goods for home delivery, including wet and dry food, treats, and litter.

Michigan takes the cake for ordering seemingly the most random categories of goods that aren’t food-related. It leads the way in having ice cream scoopers, kettlebells, headphone accessories, vinyl flooring, and windows (?!) delivered. That’ll be a fun fact to whip out at your next social gathering.

The Instacart data is pretty fascinating and definitely worth a scroll if you have a few minutes. See if your state’s top deliveries align with your expectations.

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