Las Vegas, NV (WalletHub) - People love Halloween for a number of different reasons: candy, costumes, horror films, haunted houses, parties and more. If you’re one of the many Americans who count down to this holiday from the beginning of autumn, then you’ll want to make sure you’re in the most spook-tacular part of America on Oct. 31.
How your Halloween night will turn out depends on your plans and budget. This year, the average U.S. household is expected to spend $108.24 on Halloween expenses, from decorations to treats to costumes. Collectively, that’s about $12.2 billion between the 73% of households that celebrate. If you’re counting on getting more free treats in return for your investment, you’ll definitely want to be in a place with the most activities. Safety is also a big consideration, considering that many activities take place when it’s dark out.
WalletHub compared the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 20 key metrics. They range from costume stores per capita to share of potential trick-or-treat stops.
According to WalletHub, only one city in the country is a better place for Halloween than Las Vegas, with New York City topping the list.
Helping Las Vegas’ overall ranking were top scores in the “Costume Stores per Capita” and “Candy and Chocolate Stores per Capita” categories. WalletHub was a little less kind in the categories of “Potential Trick or Treat Stops” (51st) and “Walk Score” (55th)
North Las Vegas was ranked 42nd, while Henderson finished 70th. Reno almost made the Top 20, finishing in 21st place
Rounding out the Top 5 cities after New York and Las Vegas: Los Angeles, Miami, and Jersey City.
For whatever reason, there’s something about the South that WalletHub doesn’t like when it comes to Halloween, with the bottom 5 cities in the survey being Tulsa, Nashville, Memphis, Baton Rouge and Birmingham.
For a look at the full study, click here.