Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend $13.5 billion on it. That tops last year’s record of $13.1 billion. The average person who celebrates plans to spend $115.14, up from $114.45 in 2025.
The increase per person is 69 cents. More people are joining in: 74% of consumers plan to celebrate, up from 73% last year and 68% in 2019. The numbers come from a survey of 7,889 consumers taken Sept. 1 to 9, before October’s shopping began, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 points.
Three bills of nearly the same size
The federation’s annual Halloween survey, run with Prosper Insights & Analytics, breaks the total into four parts. Costumes lead at about $4.4 billion, with 71% of celebrants planning to buy one. Decorations follow at $4.3 billion, with 78% buying. Candy comes to $4.1 billion, and 96% plan to buy it. Greeting cards add about $0.8 billion, with 42% buying, up from 38%.
The candy share stands out because almost everyone buys it, with 96% of celebrants planning a purchase. Costumes reach fewer people, 71%, but the category is still the biggest of the four.
That raises the question a household faces on the last weekend of October. How much is Halloween costing a typical family this year? For a two-adult household that follows the survey’s per-person average, the arithmetic comes to about $230, and a house with trick-or-treaters and a pet in costume will run higher. Anyone on a fixed income can set the ceiling before the weekend rather than at the register.
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Where the costume money goes
Children’s costumes account for about $1.5 billion, adults’ for about $2 billion and pets’ for about $0.92 billion. For children, the top choices are Spider-Man at 4.6 million costumes, a generic superhero at 2.3 million and a princess at 2.2 million. For adults the leader is a witch, at 4.8 million, followed by a vampire at 4.2 million.
Pet costumes are the smallest of the three, yet they approach a billion dollars on their own, as the CPA Practice Advisor summary of the survey notes. Pumpkin is the favorite pet outfit at 11.6%, ahead of a hot dog at 5.9%.
Allison Zeller, the federation’s vice president of industry and consumer insights, says consumers “continue to make Halloween a spending priority.” She also says shoppers are thoughtful about value, which shows in what they say they will do when prices are higher than expected.
Online searches remain the top source of costume ideas at 32%, but that share is down from 37% last year and is the lowest in a decade. Retail stores and costume shops are second at 26% for costumes, and first for decorations at 31%.
How shoppers plan to stretch the budget
If prices come in above what they expected, 34% say they would buy items they can reuse or repurpose, the most common answer. Another 31% would comparison shop, and 26% would look for coupons or sales. Early buying is a related tactic. About 49% plan to start in September or earlier. Their reasons: 42% enjoy fall, 34% call Halloween a favorite holiday, 23% want to spread out the budget and 21% cite good prices or promotions.
The stores they pick matter as well. Discount stores draw 39% of shoppers, specialty Halloween and costume stores 32% and online 27%. Local and small businesses draw 13%, nearly double the 7% from a decade ago.
Phil Rist, Prosper’s executive vice president of strategy, says AI is becoming an increasingly common part of the shopping journey. In the survey, 47% use AI tools for Halloween shopping, mainly for brainstorming ideas at 34% and product recommendations at 32%.
Greeting cards are the small line that grew. Some 42% plan to buy Halloween cards, up from 38% a year ago, for about $0.8 billion in all.
Who is at the door
The Census Bureau’s Halloween facts page puts the trick-or-treat population at about 72.0 million children under 18 as of July 2025. It counts roughly 132.7 million occupied housing units in 2024, each a possible stop on the route. About 56.6 million of those homes had steps that trick-or-treaters had to climb, per the 2023 American Housing Survey.
Handing out candy is the top activity in the survey, at 61% of celebrants. Dressing in a costume follows at 50%, then decorating the home or yard, carving pumpkins and watching scary movies, each at 42%.
A record that is mostly the same budget
NRF itself calls this year’s total roughly flat with last year’s. The record is real, but the distance to it is small: $13.5 billion against $13.1 billion, and 69 cents more per person. For a household, the useful number is the per-person figure and the categories above it.
The last thing to settle is the one the survey cannot: which of the four bills a household will actually pay. Someone who plans to hand out candy, skip the costume and reuse last year’s decorations has a Halloween that costs a fraction of $115.14, and a store receipt on Oct. 31 will show it.
Will $115.14 for Halloween strain a Social Security month?
Halloween adds an average of $115.14 per person to a month that already carries heating and grocery bills. For people on a fixed income, small seasonal bills like this are where a month’s budget slips.
The Benefits Checklist is built for the larger bills behind them. It scans eleven benefit programs retirees most often miss, with the 2026 income limits, a 50-state phone directory and a printable application tracker. Proof point: Part 4 covers SNAP, heating help and free weatherization, which are among the costs that crowd out a holiday line.
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- 15 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
