The $13.5 Billion Night:

Americans are expected to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween this year. All of it poured into a single autumn night of costumes, candy and plastic skeletons. The question worth asking is not how much we spend. It is where that money ends up the next morning.

The National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween survey puts 2026 spending at $13.5 billion, up from the previous record of $13.1 billion in 2025 [1]. The average celebrant plans to spend about $115, a hair above last year’s $114 [3]. Three out of four Americans say they will celebrate in some way.

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Where the $13.5 Billion Goes

Halloween spending clusters into three nearly equal piles. Costumes edge out the other two, but only barely, and children’s costumes alone account for roughly a third of the costume total [4].

Costumes

$4.4B

Decorations

$4.3B

Candy

$4.1B

Children’s costumes (part of costumes)

$1.5B

Source: National Retail Federation / Prosper Insights & Analytics, survey of 7,889 consumers, Sept. 1–9, 2026 [1][4].

Candy is the closest thing Halloween has to a universal purchase: 96% of people celebrating plan to buy it [2]. Decorations are the quiet giant. At $4.3 billion, Americans now spend almost as much dressing up their homes as they do dressing up themselves.

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The Price Problem

This year’s record comes with an asterisk. 79% of shoppers told NRF they expect Halloween items to cost more specifically because of tariffs [2]. Some of that record is simply higher prices on the same bags of candy and the same inflatable ghosts.

Shoppers are responding the way price-pressured shoppers always do. About half started their Halloween shopping in September or earlier, and discount stores are the most popular place to buy [2]. Hunting for value is completely reasonable. But it has a side effect that rarely gets discussed: when a holiday’s spending funnels toward national discount chains, very little of it circulates back through the neighborhoods doing the celebrating.

Why “where” matters as much as “how much”

Economists who study local spending call this the multiplier effect. A dollar spent at an independent business tends to be re-spent nearby, on local staff, local suppliers and local services, while a dollar spent at a national chain mostly leaves the area the same day.

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What Stays in Your Neighborhood

The best-known measurements come from Civic Economics, which has studied the question in cities across the country. In Salt Lake City, independent retailers returned 52% of their revenue to the local economy, compared with 14% for national chain retailers. Independent restaurants returned 79%, compared with 30% for chain restaurants [5].

Independent retailers

52%

Chain retailers

14%

Independent restaurants

79%

Chain restaurants

30%

Source: Civic Economics study of Salt Lake City businesses, as summarized by Reclaim Democracy and the American Independent Business Alliance [5][6].

Those numbers vary by city and by category, and they come from studies commissioned by local-business groups, so they are best read as a direction rather than a precise national figure [6]. But the direction has held up study after study: independents keep several times more of each dollar circulating close to home.

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Small Swaps, Same Fun

Nobody needs to give up the candy aisle. The point is that a holiday this large has plenty of room for a few local choices, and each one moves real money to people in your community.

Instead of…	Try…	Why it matters
A one-night polyester costume	One handmade or vintage piece: a hat, cape, mask or accessory	It lasts beyond October 31, and the money goes to an independent maker.
Mass-produced plastic décor	Ceramics, candles, textiles or prints from local artists	Decorations are a $4.3 billion category. Pieces you keep for years cost less per season.
Only bagged candy	Add a few treats from a neighborhood bakery or candy maker	In the Salt Lake City study, independent restaurants recirculated the most of any category: 79% [5].
A night spent only at home	A community celebration, makers market or Día de los Muertos event	Community events keep spending, and connection, in the neighborhood.

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A Note from Rooted

Rooted exists for the businesses on the right-hand side of that table: independent makers, artists and founders who rarely get the shelf space of a national chain. Our local events guide lists maker markets and community celebrations happening this week, including Día de los Muertos events in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County. Our shop is full of small brands worth discovering year-round.

You don’t have to choose between a fun Halloween and a local one. You only have to decide where a few of those dollars land.

Spend the $115 however makes your night magical. Just let a little of it stay on your block.

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Find maker markets and community celebrations near you in Rooted’s local events guide, or shop independent brands on Rooted.

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