Few food arguments in America generate as much genuine regional pride as the question of whether chili should contain beans — and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on which tradition you're asking about, because there isn't one authoritative version.
Texas: no beans, and it's not a preference, it's a rule
Texas-style chili, sometimes called "chili con carne" in its purest form, is built entirely around meat and chile peppers, with beans considered a filler that doesn't belong in the dish at all. This isn't a loose regional preference — it's treated as close to a defining rule by chili purists in Texas, and cook-off competitions in the state have historically enforced no-bean standards in their traditional categories.
Cincinnati: a completely different animal
Cincinnati chili barely resembles what most of the country thinks of as chili at all — it's a thinner, warmly spiced meat sauce (often including cinnamon and other sweet spices unusual in American savory cooking) served over spaghetti, not in a bowl on its own. It's typically ordered by number: "three-way" (chili, spaghetti, cheese), "four-way" (add onions or beans), "five-way" (add both). It's arguably a completely separate dish that happens to share a name with the rest of the country's chili.
Midwest home-style chili: beans are standard
In much of the Midwest and broader home-cooking tradition across the US, beans are simply expected — kidney beans especially — and a beanless chili would be the unusual choice rather than the default. This is the version most familiar to people who grew up outside Texas or Cincinnati specifically.
Why the debate persists
Chili doesn't have a single point of origin the way some regional dishes do — it developed somewhat independently across different communities, which is part of why there's no universally "correct" answer, only strongly held regional and personal traditions.
A practical tip for travelers
If you're in Texas or Cincinnati specifically, it's worth ordering the local style rather than assuming your home version is universal — both regions treat their chili tradition as a point of real local identity, not just a recipe variation.