I almost always carry them on winter hikes but don't always use them. The more popular trails in the White Mountains get packed down within a day after the end of any major snowfall. Often to the point where snowshoes aren't necessary. In back country with limited foot traffic, yeah, you'll almost certainly need 'em.
Impossible to go anywhere in the White Mountains last winter without spikes or crampons. It seemed we had more ice than snow. Many of the trails were just rivers of ice.