America has become a country of snackers. Between working long hours and eating on the run, it’s no wonder Americans spend more on snack foods than they do on actual meals. According to new Nielsen data, snacking is popular in every corner of the country, but gender, generation, income and geography can shape some of your preferences. Salty snacks still reign supreme, with chips, popcorn and meat snacks generating more than $27 billion for retailers. Candy comes in a close second with $20 billion in sales, followed by cheese snacks generating more than $17 billion in sales. Cookies sales top $7 billion. Crackers ($6.65 billion), ice cream ($6.63 billion) and nuts ($6.17 billion) also rank among America’s favorites. In a recent Harris Poll EquiTrend study, released by Nielsen, U.S. consumers identified the snacks they use to commonly curb cravings out of 275 common snacking brands. While candy and chocolate ranked high regardless of region, some snacks did better in…