McDonald’s 85th Birthday: The Most Searched-for Menu Items In All The American States Revealed! 

In connection with the anniversary of the opening of the first McDonald’s, which was opened 85 years ago on May 15, 1940 in San Bernardino, California, VegasInsider created an analysis of the Google search results of the past 12 months to find out what have been the most searched-for McDonald's menu items in all American states (and District of Columbia), looking at both regular menu items as well as discontinued menu items. 

When it comes to regular menu items, according to an analysis of 30+ search terms on Google Trends, the most searched-for menu item in the most states is a Big Mac, the iconic double-decker burger, featuring two all-beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and the signature “special sauce," all layered on a three-part sesame seed bun - it turned out to be the most popular McDonald’s menu item in 47 states. 

In 4 states, the most popular regular menu item turned out to be a Happy Meal, the legendary kid-sized McDonald’s combo with a main item (a hamburger, cheeseburger, or 4-piece Chicken McNuggets), side, drink, and a themed toy: California, Hawaii, New Mexico & Texas.

On average, both Big Mac and Happy Meal were receiving 110,000 monthly searches in the United States in the past 12 months. Other popular items when it comes to average monthly searches in the US were McDonald’s French Fries (74,000 monthly searches), McGriddles (60,500 monthly searches) or McFlurry (49,500 monthly searches). 

When looking at discontinued menu items from McDonald’s, according to an analysis of 40 search terms on Google Trends, the most searched-for menu item in the most states is a Snack Wrap, which turned out to be the most popular discontinued menu item in 48 states. 

On average, in the United States, Snack Wrap was receiving over 33,000 monthly Google searches in the past 12 months. 

Having said that, Delaware, Idaho and Rhode Island are the exceptions, because in Idaho, the most searched-for discontinued menu item was an Arch Deluxe while in Rhode Island and Delaware, the most searched-for discontinued menu item were Chicken Selects. In the whole US, Arch Deluxe was receiving 4,400 monthly searches on Google, while Chicken Selects were receiving 5,400 monthly searches (on average). 

As a reminder, a Snack Wrap was launched in the United States in 2006, and it consisted of chicken breast, lettuce, shredded cheese and sauce, wrapped in a soft flour tortilla - however, it was discontinued in multiple locations in 2016 until it was fully discontinued in 2020. Having said that, a recent tweet by McDonald’s hinted at its return sometime in 2025, generating much excitement among its fans. 

An Arch Deluxe was launched in 1996 with one of the largest marketing campaigns for a food item at the time, however, it was discontinued in 2000. It was a quarter-pound beef patty on a split-top potato flour sesame bun, topped with peppered bacon, leaf lettuce, tomato, American cheese, onions, ketchup, and Dijonnaise.

Lastly, Chicken Selects were chicken strips, seasoned with a blend of spices and herbs - they were first introduced in 1998 for a limited time until becoming a regular menu item in 2004. They were discontinued in 2013, however, it has been reported that they might be coming back in 2025. 

Other discontinued items that were receiving significant monthly searches in the United States over the past 12 months were Big N' Tasty, Fruit 'N Yogurt Parfait or McDLT - on average, each of these items were receiving 8,100 monthly searches. 

You can see the full list of most searched-for menu items, state-by-state, below. 

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METHODOLOGY

• The analysis was conducted in May 2025, utilizing Google Trends data from the past 12 months to find out what have been the most searched-for items from McDonald’s menu in the United States- both regular menu and discontinued menu items
• For the specific amount of average monthly searches, Google Keywords Planner was used
• For the regular menu, 32 search terms were compared, while for the discontinued menu items, 40 search terms were compared 
• In case of items with a name not specific to McDonald’s only (such as Mozzarella Sticks / French Fries), the search term was amended to “menu item” + “McDonald’s” (so for example: “Mozzarella Sticks McDonald’s”) to maintain accuracy  
• When looking at the discontinued menu items, the focus remained on items which were once part of McDonald’s USA menu and that are no longer readily available
• The full list of all the keywords that were part of the analysis can be found here