Forget Coke and Pepsi: This Soda Is America’s Favorite

As I sit here writing these words, I'm nearly done with a bottle of my favorite soda in the world. Diet Mountain Dew. Yes, I realize that drinking a soda or two each morning isn't great, but it is 'diet', and I need the caffeine, so leave me alone. A recent survey asked Americans what their go-to soda is and then broke those results down state-by-state. Any guesses on what the most popular soda in America is?

The Most Popular Soda in Each State

The survey was done by the online shopping site Instacart. They looked at the share of sodas sold on their site in each state, as well as in the United States as a whole. They then determined which soda had the greatest difference between the state and national item share. TheKitchn.com reports that one soda brand dominated as a favorite in 17 states!

Dr. Pepper was the most popular soda in 17 states and was especially popular in the South and West.

Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew were both popular in the Midwest. But neither was the most popular soda in the state of Iowa. That turned out to be Diet Pepsi. Really?

Canva/Instacart

Oregon was the only other state to name Diet Pepsi its favorite soda. Another fun winner was in North Carolina, where Sun Drop was number one.

If I had to guess which soda was tops in most states, I would have said Diet Coke, but only four states voted it their favorite soda.