Americans are still spending on Halloween even as higher prices squeeze household budgets. Three days before Election Day, the holiday offers a small but telling look at the affordability pressures shaping voters.
Halloween arrives on Oct. 31, just three days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
That timing is hard to ignore.
The holiday is running into the same problem that has been weighing on families all year: everyday things cost more.
Yet Americans are still planning to spend a lot on Halloween.
The National Retail Federation expects Halloween spending to reach $13.5 billion this year, just above last year’s record of $13.1 billion. The average person plans to spend about $115.14. Nearly three-quarters of consumers (74%) expect to celebrate.
So what’s going on?
People are worried about prices. But they’re still finding ways to make room for the things they enjoy.
Halloween is getting more expensive, but people are still showing up
The $13.5 billion projection isn’t part of a straight climb every year.
Halloween spending reached $12.2 billion in 2023, slipped to $11.6 billion in 2024, then jumped to $13.1 billion in 2025. This year’s projection would set another record.
Candy is expected to account for about $4.1 billion, while costumes are projected at $4.4 billion and decorations at $4.3 billion.
We have been watching the cost of Halloween for years. In 2023, we reported on the 13% increase in candy prices and what was driving those costs.
This year, the more interesting question is what shoppers are doing about it.
The NRF found that 79% of consumers expect tariffs to push Halloween prices higher.
But that doesn’t mean they’re giving up Halloween.
They’re shopping around.
Nearly one-third say they will compare prices if something costs more than expected. Another 26% say they will look for coupons or sales. And 34% plan to look for things they can reuse in future years or repurpose for something else.
Discount stores are the most popular place to shop for Halloween, with 39% of consumers planning to buy there.
Nearly half (49%) say they started shopping in September or earlier.
For some families, starting early is about spreading out the expense. Others are looking for sales before prices move higher.
It’s a familiar household calculation:
If we’re going to spend the money anyway, how do we make it stretch a little further?
Halloween doesn’t tell us how someone will vote.
But the way people are handling the holiday fits into a much bigger economic story.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Aug. 28–31 found that 47% of registered voters said cost of living would be the single most important factor in deciding their 2026 midterm vote.
That concern is especially relevant in California.
A September PPIC survey found that 65% of likely California voters said a gubernatorial candidate’s position on affordability was very important to their vote. The number was even higher among Latino likely voters, at 71%.
One of our reporting on why California’s affordability problem doesn’t affect every household the same way found a similar divide: about 68% of Latino Californians said recent price increases had caused financial hardship, while 52% said housing costs were putting financial pressure on their household.
That gives the Halloween numbers some context.
The candy aisle isn’t a polling place. A Halloween costume isn’t an economic report.
But the small decisions families make when prices rise, comparing stores, waiting for a sale, reusing what they already have or buying a little earlier, are part of what people are living through.
Spending more doesn’t mean everyone feels better off
This is where the numbers need some caution.
Record Halloween spending does not prove that Americans are financially comfortable.
A separate Deloitte survey found that 92% of U.S. households plan to participate in at least one Halloween activity this year. Households that plan to spend expect to put an average of $285 toward Halloween-related retail, experiences and dining.
Deloitte also found that people who started shopping before mid-August planned to spend 1.7 times more, on average, than people who waited until later.
But that doesn’t mean shopping early causes people to spend more. Someone who loves Halloween and plans a bigger celebration may simply be more likely to start shopping early.
What the numbers do show is simpler: Halloween remains something people are making room for, even while many are paying closer attention to the price tag.
Why that matters before Nov. 3
The larger story isn’t really Halloween.
It’s what happens when people want to keep doing ordinary things while ordinary things keep getting more expensive.
A family doesn’t necessarily think about inflation, tariffs or consumer spending when they’re standing in a store.
They think:
Can we afford this?
Is there a cheaper one?
Should we wait for a sale?
Can we reuse last year’s costume?
Those decisions may seem small. Millions of households making them at the same time tell us something about how people are managing their money.
And that matters in an election where affordability is one of the issues voters say they care about most.
There is a temptation to look at $13.5 billion in Halloween spending and conclude that Americans must be doing fine.
The data doesn’t support that simple conclusion.
It shows something more complicated.
People can be worried about their finances and still spend money on something that matters to their families. They can feel squeezed and still decide that Halloween is worth celebrating. They can spend the same money while shopping differently to make it go further.
That isn’t necessarily a contradiction.
It’s how household budgets work.
Three days after Halloween, voters will head to the polls with those same budgets in mind.
A bag of candy won’t determine an election. But the cost of that bag , along with rent, groceries, gas, utilities and everything else, is part of the everyday economic reality voters are carrying with them into Election Day.
