Here are some spooky facts, fun facts, and some safety notes for Halloween.
Fun Facts:
$9 billion – projected Halloween-related spending in 2018
76% of people will spend $50 or less this Halloween
69% of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween
32% of Americans are throwing/attending a party
45% of Americans plan to carve a pumpkin
50% of Americans plan to decorate their home or yard
21% of Americans plan to visit a haunted house
48% of Americans plan to dress in costumes
Halloween Fashion
$3.2 billion – amount Americans will spend on Halloween costumes in 2018
1.9 million children plan to dress as a witch
2.5 million children will dress as their favorite superhero
3.8 million children will dress as their favorite princess
2.5 million adults will dress as a vampire
4% of Americans age 35+ will dress as President Donald Trump
7.2 million adults will dress as a witch
18% of Americans will dress their pets in costumes
Most popular Halloween costumes for pets: Pumpkin, Hot dog, Bumble bee and Devil
Safety-related Facts:
840 average number of Halloween house fires
36 people on average are hurt by Halloween house fires each year
$11.4 million direct property damage caused by Halloween house fires each year
35% of parents discuss Halloween safety with their kids
77% of parents have Halloween-related fears
83% of parents check their child’s candy for anything dangerous before they eat it
36% of parents think 12 or 13 is old enough for a child to trick-or-treat alone
19% of parents say children should be 14 or 15 years old before solo trick-or-treating
2X more children are killed as pedestrians on Halloween than the average day
44% of Halloween-night motor vehicle deaths involve drunk driving
0 Black cats are placed for adoption by some shelters in October, to protect them from Halloween-related abuse
More Fun Facts:
– 1927year when the phrase “trick or treat” was first used in the U.S.
41 million (or more) potential trick-or-treaters in 2018 (children age 5-14)
120 million potential stops for trick-or-treaters (occupied housing units)
70% of Americans plan to give candy to trick-or-treaters
72% of households will give 2-3 pieces of candy per trick-or-treater
$2.6 billion Halloween candy spending in 2018
30% of American plan to take their children trick-or-treating
72% of parents admit to secretly eating their child’s candy
85% of parents have a plan for helping their children enjoy candy in moderation
68% of Americans say chocolate is their favorite Halloween treat
$300 million annual revenue generated from ticket sales for haunted attractions (avg. price $14)
80% of haunted attractions across America are operated by a charity
$2 million (or more) revenue of a large haunted house during the Halloween season
$50,000 (or more) revenue of a small haunted house during the Halloween season
$1.04 billion U.S. box office earnings for horror movies in 2017
$4.39 average retail price of a pumpkin (down 2.7% from 2017)
2 billion pounds of pumpkins are produced in the U.S. each year
– 1921year of the first citywide Halloween celebration, in Anoka, Minnesota
2 million spectators join 60K costumed participants at New York’s Village Halloween Parade (largest party)
– 7,183 feet, 8.4 inchesrecord for the longest walk-through horror house: Dragon’s House of Horror in Albuquerque, New Mexico
2020 – next year when will be a full moon on Halloween (last was 2001)
30,581 record for the most Jack O’Lanterns lit at once (Keene, NH – Oct. 2013
Special thanks to Jason Davis for the research.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Retail Federation, National Confectioners Association, National Fire Protection Association, Safe Kids Worldwide, Redfin, American Haunts, Nash Information Services, Ag Marketing Resource Center, PumpkinPatchesAndMore.org, Guinness World Records, U.S. Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Transportation, TodayIFoundOut.com
