Everyone (or at least nearly everyone) loves a bagel. But just how much does the tri-state love the breakfast staple?
It’s no surprise that bagels are incredibly popular in New York and New Jersey, but a new survey sheds light on just how much it is loved, by looking at how many bagels the average resident eats each year.
The results? The survey, conducted by Betway, found the average New Yorker eats 111 bagels each year, while the average New Jerseyan consumes 82 bagels annually.
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That may sound like a lot (or a little, depending on your tastes), but in a surprise, neither state was even in the top five for the most bagels eaten. New York was sixth on the list.
The state that ate the most was Hawaii, followed by Kansas and Maryland, according to Betway.
Nearly a third of respondents (29%) from the Garden State admitted that they enjoy as many as three bagels a week. Somewhat unsurprisingly, plain was the most popular choice, with 44% saying that was their top pick. That was followed closely by everything (41%) and cinnamon raisin (27%). No other option got more than 20%.
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In terms of what goes on said bagels, the far-and-away leader was cream cheese — but it gets interesting when the flavor of cream cheese is involved. Plain was the frontrunner at just under 40%, but nationwide, more than a third of respondents (34.5%) said their pick would be strawberry cream cheese.
In New Jersey, the other leading fillings were varieties of egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, with sausage just edging out bacon as the favorite, 31% to 29%. Interestingly, Taylor Ham (or pork roll) — New Jersey’s pride and joy when it comes to breakfast meats — finished a distant 4th, with less than one in five opting for it.
Across the country, nearly 80% admitted to having a bagel at least once a month, if not more often. The age group most likely to have a bagel? That belongs to the 25-34 demographic, who were found to eat an average of 102 bagels each year. Men were also found to enjoy bagels more often, according to the survey, eating 40% more bagels than women.
