Halloween Math Facts

Here are some fun Halloween facts to kick off this spooky holiday!

• Americans purchase nearly 600 million pounds of candy a year for Halloween. (Source)
• An incredible 90 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold during Halloween week, taking a strong lead compared to other holidays. Almost 65 million pounds is sold during the week leading up to Easter and only 48 million pounds during Valentine’s week. (Source)
• U.S. consumers are expected to spend $2.6 billion on candy or more than $25 on average. (Source)
• According to the Daily Burn, a standard pillowcase can hold 1,690 pieces of candy. (Source)
• According to the NRF, Americans who celebrate Halloween intend to spend an average of $86.79 each this year. Of the $9 billion spent on Halloween this year, $3.2 billion will be spent on costumes, $2.7 billion on decorations, $2.6 billion on candy, and $400 million on greeting cards. (Source)
• Halloween comes from an ancient pagan festival celebrated by Celtic people over 2,000 years ago called Samhain (prono: SOW ehn). (Source)
• The most expensive part of Halloween is costumes. Sixty-seven percent of Americans will spend $3.2 billion on them. (Source) 
• Trick or treating instead of guising on Halloween popped up in North America in the 1920s and 1930s, first in the western half of the continent. The term and the practice slowly spread, with a brief respite during WWII.  After the WWII sugar rations were lifted, Halloween’s popularity saw a huge spike and within five years trick or treating was a near ubiquitous practice throughout North America. Meaning that Americans have been trick-or-treating for 90 years! (Source)
• Americans are projected to be spending approximately $687 million on pumpkins in 2020. This is an increase of more than $100 million from the $586 million just a year ago. (Source)
• New Hampshire man has grown the largest pumpkin ever recorded in U.S. history – weighing in at an astounding 2,528 pounds. (Source)