10 Cities With the Most Halloween Spirit

Whether you were one of the shoppers buying Halloween decor items in August to save money shopping early or you think spooky season should stay firmly in October, Halloween is always a fun time of year. Are some cities better for getting spooked than others, though?

To find out where the best Halloweentowns are in the United States, the FinanceBuzz team compared over 75 of the biggest U.S. cities using factors like the availability of candy stores, the number of haunted locations (both “real” and artificial), online search volume for Halloween-related terms, and more to measure each city’s spooky spirit.

Here are the 10 U.S. cities with the most Halloween spirit.

In the study, FinanceBuzz calculated a variety of factors for nearly 80 of the biggest cities across America and identified the top cities in the country when it comes to Halloween spirit.

The team found data for eight factors relating to Halloween and the fall season in each city. These included candy stores (per capita), costume shops (per capita), Halloween parties and events (per capita), “real” haunted locations (per capita), haunted house attractions (per capita), pumpkin patches (per capita), fall weather, and cities with the highest search volume for Halloween-related terms.

Providence is one of the older cities in the country and is relatively close to even bigger metropolitan areas such as Boston and New York City. With those things in mind, it isn’t that surprising that Providence has the fourth-most “real” haunts per capita of any city in the country. 

Providence also ranks in the top 10 cities in the country when it comes to the number of costume shops per 100,000 people.

Despite having one of the lowest average search volumes for Halloween-related terms in the country (47.2/100, third-lowest in the country) and an overly-hot fall climate, Fort Lauderdale still managed to be named a top 10 Halloweentown thanks in large part to having 46.7 candy stores and 21.7 costume shops per 100,000 people, both of which are the highest rates of any city in the country.

No city spends more time looking up Halloween-related terms online, as Pittsburgh’s average search volume for terms like “Halloween parties” and “trick-or-treating” is 75.8/100, the highest of any city in the country. 

Pittsburgh also boosts its Halloween bonafides thanks to a bevy of candy stores — ranking fifth in the country with 25.1 stores per 100,000 people.

One of America’s spookiest writers, Edgar Allan Poe, called Baltimore home at various points in his life, including famously and mysteriously passing away in the city. 

The city seems to have embraced its haunting history, as Baltimore ranks third when it comes to haunted house attractions and also has the third-most “real” haunts on a per capita basis of any city in the country.

No matter which city it is, Ohioans seem to love Googling Halloween topics. 

Cincinnati is the third Ohio city in the top 10, and also the third to rank among the top 10 cities in the country when it comes to average search volume for Halloween search terms. 

Beyond Google Trends volume, Cincy has high per capita numbers of candy stores and pumpkin patches.

Oakland has 28.2 candy stores for every 100,000 people, a rate that is the fourth highest of any city, and the sixth-highest rate of per capita costume shops. 

What really sets Oakland apart, however, is the fact that there are 5.3 “real” haunted locations in the city for every 100,000 people, a rate that only trails New Orleans (11.5 per 100,000) among major American cities.

Cleveland searches for Halloween-specific terms on Google at a volume that is just slightly lower than Toledo’s, but one that is still high enough to rank as the fourth-highest of any city. 

Cleveland also ranks very highly when it comes to the number of costume shops, pumpkin patches, and Halloween parties and events relative to the population that are available in and around the city.

Salt Lake City has 6.2 haunted house attractions for every 100,000 people in the city, the highest rate of any city. The city also has the third-most costume shops per capita and ranks in the top 10 when it comes to the number of candy stores per 100,000 people.

Located near Los Angeles, Riverside is the top-ranking city in the country when it comes to the number of Halloween parties and events per capita. It also ranks second in the number of costume shops per 100,000 people. 

Combined with top 10 rankings when it comes to climate comfort and the number of haunted houses per capita, it’s no surprise that Riverside ranks this high on our list.

Centrally located between the cities of Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Columbus, citizens of Toledo have relatively easy access to events and activities in and around all those cities as well as Toledo-specific ones. 

As a result, Toledo ranks in the top five overall for the number of pumpkin patches and Halloween parties and events per capita, and is top 10 for haunted houses per 100,000 people. Toledo also has the third-highest average search volume of any city on Google Trends when it comes to Halloween-related searches.

You don’t have to break the bank when you’re buying a costume and purchasing Halloween candy. There are plenty of ways to spend smart:

• Travel to a Halloweentown and earn points. If you’re not feeling the Halloween spirit where you live, equip your wallet with one of the best travel credit cards and earn points during your travels to redeem for future trips.
• Build credit with your spooky spending. Whether you’re going all out with your costume or decking out your home, using one of the best credit cards for large purchases will lend to smarter spending.
• Set a Halloween budget ahead of time. Setting a budget in advance for however you choose to celebrate will ensure you don’t overspend — and you don’t have to use a spreadsheet to do so. Use one of our recommended budgeting apps to get started.

Between buying costumes and purchasing candy, Halloween doesn't have to scare your bank account. You can always find ways to save money on travel if you decide to visit any of these cities next spooky season.

And while the majority of America’s top Halloweentowns on this list are located in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the country, cities located in the South and on the West Coast have plenty of Halloween spirit, too.