American As Apple Pie… Or Should It Be Pumpkin?

When it comes to their Thanksgiving pies, Americans are staunch traditionalists, according to the annual Delta Dental Thanksgiving pie survey. The survey has been tracking this key facet of America’s sweet tooth for the last three years.

The number one spot should be no surprise. Pumpkin pie reigns supreme once again, with 36 percent of American adults saying it’s their favorite (beating out the next pie in line—pecan—by more than double).

ThanksgivingPumpkin pie finds heaviest favoritism among Baby Boomers (41 percent) and, while it’s still tops with the group, finds the lowest support among Gen-Xers (28 percent).

Regionally, pumpkin pie sees the most popularity in the West (44 percent) and the least in the South (31 percent). Its preference percentage rating has varied only slightly since Delta Dental began tracking Thanksgiving pie favorability (2016: 36 percent and 2015: 37 percent). Nonparents (37 percent) report liking the pie a full five percentage points higher than parents (32 percent).

Other survey findings:

  • Pecan pie (17 percent), which again garnered the number two spot, finds waning support from just one group, Millennials (10 percent).
  • The widest favoritism gap between the sexes belongs to apple pie, which snagged the number three spot, with 17 percent of men saying it’s their top pie compared to 11 percent of women.
  • Consistently scraping the bottom of the barrel with all age groups, regions and sexes, is strawberry pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!