Budget PartiesNo. 4546 · The 2026 edition
Halloween spending to reach $9 Billion
Get ready to shell out: Halloween spending set to hit record $9 billion!
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at web.archive.org.
This Halloween, Americans are expected to spend a staggering $9 billion on costumes, candy, and decorations, marking a new high for the spooky holiday.
About this
An NRF/Prosper Insights & Analytics report on U.S. Halloween spending, projected at $9 billion, the second-highest total in the survey's 14-year history. It breaks down per-category spending on costumes, decorations, candy and greeting cards, participation rates for activities like handing out candy and carving pumpkins, where people find costume inspiration and where they shop. It also ranks the most popular children's, adults' and pets' costumes by share of celebrants.
The list
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01
Princess
Most popular children's costume, chosen by 7.6%; about 3.8 million kids
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02
Superhero
Children's costume, 4.9%; about 2.5 million kids
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03
Batman
Children's costume, 4.3%; about 2.2 million kids
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04
Star Wars character
Children's costume, 3.7%; about 1.9 million kids
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05
Witch
Children's costume, 3.6%; about 1.9 million kids
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06
Spider-Man
Children's costume, 3.5%
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07
Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man)
Children's costume, 3.2%
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08
Ghost
Children's costume, 2.9%
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09
Pirate
Children's costume, 2.0%
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10
Frozen (Elsa, Anna)
Children's costume, 1.7%
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01
Witch
Top adults' costume, 10.7%; more than 7.2 million adults
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02
Vampire
Adults' costume, 3.7%; about 2.5 million adults
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03
Zombie
Adults' costume, 3.1%; about 2.1 million adults
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04
Pirate
Adults' costume, 2.9%; about 1.9 million adults
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05
Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man)
Adults' costume, 2.0%; about 1.3 million adults (e.g. Iron Man, Black Panther)
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06
Batman
Adults' costume, 2.0%
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07
Star Wars character
Adults' costume, 1.9%
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08
Ghost
Adults' costume, 1.8%
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09
Super hero
Adults' costume, 1.8%
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10
Clown
Adults' costume, 1.6%
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11
Wonder Woman
Adults' costume, 1.5%
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01
Pumpkin
Top pet costume, 11.2%
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02
Hot dog
Pet costume, 7.4%
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03
Bumble bee
Pet costume, 4.9%
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04
Devil
Pet costume, 3.2%
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05
Cat
Pet costume, 3.1%
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06
Dog
Pet costume, 3.1%
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07
Lion
Pet costume, 2.9%
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08
Star Wars character
Pet costume, 2.8%
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09
Super hero
Pet costume, 2.7%
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10
Ghost
Pet costume, 2.5%
Facts from the original
- Total Halloween spending is expected to reach $9 billion, the second highest in the survey's 14-year history.
- The figure is about the same as last year's previous record of $9.1 billion.
- Celebrants plan to spend an average of $86.79, up from $86.13 last year.
- More than 175 million Americans plan to take part in Halloween festivities.
- Consumers plan to spend $3.2 billion on costumes, purchased by 68 percent of Halloween shoppers.
- Consumers plan to spend $2.7 billion on decorations, purchased by 74 percent of shoppers.
- Consumers plan to spend $2.6 billion on candy, purchased by 95 percent of shoppers.
- Consumers plan to spend $400 million on greeting cards, purchased by 35 percent of shoppers.
- 70 percent of celebrants plan to hand out candy.
- 50 percent will decorate their home or yard.
- 48 percent will wear costumes.
- 45 percent will carve a pumpkin.
- 32 percent will throw or attend a party.
- 30 percent will take their children trick-or-treating.
- 21 percent will visit a haunted house.
- 18 percent will dress pets in costumes.
- Nearly 20 percent of celebrants plan to dress their pets in costumes this year, up from 16 percent last year.
- 31.3 million Americans plan to dress their pets in costumes.
- Millennials aged 25-34 are the most likely to dress their pets in costumes.
