Halloween: October 31, 2024
Halloween is a fun and festive celebration characterized by child-friendly activities like carving pumpkins and donning masks and quirky costumes to trick-or-treat. Some trace the spooky tradition to the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. When large numbers of Irish and other immigrants went to the United States beginning in the mid-19th century, they took their Halloween customs with them. In the 20th century, Halloween, celebrated October 31 (the night before All Saints’ or All Hallows’ Day), became a favorite pastime, especially among kids.
The following facts are possible thanks to the invaluable responses to U.S. Census Bureau surveys. We appreciate the public’s cooperation as we measure America’s people, places and economy.
Trick or Treat!
133.2 million
The number of occupied U.S. housing units – potential stops for trick-or-treaters – in 2023.
Source:
72.8 million
The estimated number of U.S. children under the age of 18 (read: potential trick-or-treaters) as of July 1, 2023.
Source:
56.6 million
The number of occupied U.S. housing units with steps that trick-or-treaters had to climb to collect their treats – or tricks – in 2023.
Sweet Economic Statistics
Source: 2022 County Business Patterns*
*The County Business Patterns data above represents establishments with employees.
Spooky-Sounding Places
Big Bear Lake City, Calif. (2023 population: 5,007)
Casper, Wyo. (2023 population: 58,720)
Devils Lake, N.D. (2023 population: 7,135)
Deadwood City, S.D. (2023 population: 1,343)
Kill Devil Hills, N.C. (2023 population: 7,778)
Scarville, Iowa (2023 population: 78)
Seven Devils Town, N.C. (2023 population: 315)
Slaughter Beach, Del. (2023 population: 241)
Slaughter Town, La. (2023 population: 1,006)
Slaughters City, Ky. (2023 population: 186)
Sleepy Hollow, Ill. (2023 population: 3,131)
Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. (2023 population: 10,962)
Tombstone, Ariz. (2023 population: 1,312)
Truth or Consequences, N.M. (2023 population: 6,000)
Yellville, Ark. (2023 population: 1,164)
*Check out the City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2023 page.
Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.
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Observances in our Facts for Features series:
- National Black History Month (February)
- Women's History Month (March)
- Irish-American Heritage Month (March)
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May)
- The Fourth of July
- Anniversary of Americans With Disabilities Act (July 26)
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15)
- Halloween (Oct. 31)
- National Native American Heritage Month (November)
- Veterans Day (Nov. 11)
- Holiday Season (November — December)
Editor’s note: These data come from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. We generally release Facts for Features about two months before observances to accommodate magazine production timelines. For more information, contact the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office at (301)763-3030 or <pio@census.gov>.
Profile America's Facts for Features provides statistics related to observances and holidays not covered by Stats for Stories. For observances not listed above, visit our Stats for Stories webpage.
Stats for Stories provides links to timely story ideas highlighting newsworthy Census Bureau statistics that relate to current events, observances, holidays and anniversaries. The story ideas are intended to assist the media in story mining and producing content for their audiences. Dates with presidential proclamations are marked with (P).