---

News Release

Last modified: Monday, October 25, 2010

Halloween in Indiana by the numbers

Some statistics from the Indiana Business Research Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 25, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Just in time for Halloween on Sunday (Oct. 31), the Indiana Business Research Center in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business has offered some data about the holiday's observance in the Hoosier state and across the country. They promise treats, no tricks and nothing too scary.

Trick or Treat

• There will be an estimated 1 million potential trick-or-treaters in 2010 -- children aged 5 to 14 -- in Indiana. Nationally, 36 million children between 5 and 13 in 2009 were potentially trick-or-treating. Of course, this doesn't include the many others -- those younger than 5 and older than 14 -- who will also go trick-or-treating.
• There were 2.5 million occupied housing units in Indiana in 2008 that could be potential stopping places for trick-or-treaters.
• Ninety two percent of American households with residents consider their neighborhoods to be safe. Additionally, 78 percent said there was no place within a mile of their homes where they would be afraid to walk alone at night.

Halloween Decorations and Celebrations

• Sixty-five percent of all Americans are expected to celebrate Halloween this year, an increase from 62.1 percent last year. In 2009, individuals celebrated Halloween with a variety of activities including: Handing out candy, 71.2 percent; decorating their home or yard, 47.3 percent; carving a pumpkin, 42.4 percent; dressing in a costume, 33.4 percent; throwing or attending a party, 30.2 percent; and visiting a haunted house, 17 percent.
• The average Halloween spending per person in 2009 was $56.31, equating to $4.75 billion for 2009.
• A total of $1.23 billion was spent on Halloween decorations in 2009 nationally, which is third behind costumes and candy. This equates to $14.54 per person.
• There were 3,246 acres in Indiana devoted to pumpkin production in 2007, which accounts for 7.1 percent of the nation's pumpkin acreage. Also in 2007, 454 farms raised pumpkins with nearly all the pumpkins headed to the fresh market (99.1 percent).
• Nationally in 2007, nearly 1.15 billion pounds of pumpkin were produced; however, this number decreased to 931 million pounds in 2009, a decline of nearly 19 percent. Illinois is the top pumpkin producing state, accounting for 46.1 percent of the nation's pumpkins last year.

Candy and Costumes

• The total amount of money spent in 2009 for candy, regardless of the occasion, was $1.52 billion, or nearly $18 per person. Halloween is considered the candy industry's biggest candy selling holiday, contributing to the 24.3 pounds per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2009.
• It is expected that 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year, equivalent to 9 billion pieces. However, candy corn is not the most popular Halloween candy. Tootsie Rolls lead in popularity, followed by Hershey's Milk Chocolate and Nestle Crunch.
• There were 39 establishments in Indiana in 2008 that produced sugar and confectionary products. Most of this production -- 77 percent -- was for chocolate candy items. These establishments employed 1,770 Hoosiers.
• Ninety percent of adults admit to sneaking goodies from their children's Halloween trick-or-treat bags with their favorites being: Snack-sized candy bars, 70 percent; candy-coated chocolate pieces, 40 percent; caramels, 37 percent; and gum, 26 percent.
• $1.75 billion was spent on costumes in 2009, or $20.75 per person. In 2009, 47 million adults and 58 million children indicated that they planned to dress up for Halloween. The top three costumes for adults were (in order of popularity): witches, vampires and pirates. The top three costumes for children were: princesses, witches and Spiderman. The top three costumes for animals were: as pumpkins, devils or wearing a bow tie or fancy collar.

The Indiana Business Research Center is part of a national network of State Data Centers and acts as the official state representative to the Census Bureau on matters relating to the census and population estimates. The IBRC also develops and maintains STATS Indiana, the award winning, state-supported web service (www.stats.indiana.edu).

---

---