Find out if your tastes, however high-end or casual, align with those of your neighbors
Here’s the Dish Americans in Each State Would Choose for Their Last Meal
Published on Jun. 25, 2025
People love to speculate, to play games of “what if” and “would you rather,” and some of the most fun versions of that game involve food. Would you rather eat only spicy food or only sweet food for every meal? If you could eat only one thing for breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be? And, of course, the ever-popular one: If you could choose your last meal on Earth, what would it be?
Well, the folks at Choice Mutual, an insurance agency specializing in burial insurance, wanted to know, so they asked Americans in each state what they would choose for their last meal. For our part, Reader’s Digest also recently featured Americans’ favorite comfort foods in each state (along with recipes), some of which appear on this list.
Here are the foods that Americans in each state would choose for their last meal.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more food, fun facts, humor, travel, tech and cleaning all week long.
How did the study determine Americans’ favorite last meals?
To find out what Americans would like to eat as their last meal, Choice Mutual surveyed Americans in every state and asked what they would want to eat if they knew they would never eat again. From there, they analyzed the responses and organized them into groups based on the type of food, main ingredient and meal of the day, then ranked the responses accordingly. Five states—Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming—were not included because not enough people responded to the survey to create a representative group.
Which foods ranked highest overall?
When ranking the most popular foods that Americans would want for their last meal, the surveyors combined specific responses into more general categories. Here are the top five foods that Americans would request for their last meal, along with some examples of the specific responses that people gave.
- Steak, such as a filet mignon, wagyu or ribeye
- Potatoes, such as loaded baked potatoes or roasted potatoes with garlic
- Pasta or noodles, such as chicken alfredo or ramen
- Pizza, such as pepperoni or pineapple
- Vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus or green beans
Which food ranked highest in each state?
When choosing their last meal, the majority of Americans (37%) also said that it wasn’t important to them who cooked their last meal as long as it was delicious, while a slightly lower number (29%) wanted a family member or loved one at the stove. So what did they pick? Here are the most popular picks for last meal by state:
- Alabama: Steak
- Arizona: Pasta/noodles or potatoes
- Arkansas: Steak
- California: Steak
- Colorado: Pasta/noodles
- Connecticut: Pasta/noodles
- Delaware: Potatoes
- Florida: Steak
- Georgia: Steak
- Hawaii: Pasta/noodles
- Idaho: Potatoes
- Illinois: Steak
- Indiana: Potatoes or pizza
- Iowa: Steak
- Kansas: Steak
- Kentucky: Steak
- Louisiana: Potatoes or pizza
- Maine: Potatoes, pizza or a burger
- Maryland: Potatoes or vegetables
- Massachusetts: Steak
- Michigan: Steak
- Minnesota: Steak
- Mississippi: Potatoes, pizza or steak
- Missouri: Potatoes
- Nebraska: Steak
- Nevada: Steak
- New Hampshire: Pasta/noodles
- New Jersey: Pasta/noodles
- New Mexico: Steak
- New York: Steak or pasta/noodles
- North Carolina: Steak
- Ohio: Pasta/noodles
- Oklahoma: Steak
- Oregon: Steak
- Pennsylvania: Pasta/noodles
- Rhode Island: Steak
- South Carolina: Steak
- South Dakota: Steak
- Tennessee: Potatoes
- Texas: Steak
- Utah: Steak
- Virginia: Pasta/noodles
- Washington: Steak
- West Virginia: Steak
- Wisconsin: Steak or pizza
RELATED:
- The Most Popular McDonald’s Food in Each State
- The 10 Most Expensive U.S. Cities for a Burger, Fries and Soda
- Here’s Why Pasta Always Tastes Better at Restaurants
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Source:
- Choice Mutual: “Study Unveils Americans’ Choices for Their Last Meal”
