Halloween 2026: More Tricks, Fewer Treats? What 500 Americans Reveal About This Year's Celebration
From candy favorites to costume trends, decorating habits, and shifting Halloween traditions, Accelerant Research's annual consumer survey reveals how Americans plan to celebrate in 2026.
Halloween is just around the corner, but are Americans as enthusiastic about celebrating as they used to be?
To find out, Accelerant Research surveyed 500 American consumers through our proprietary Agora USA™ consumer insights community, exploring everything from trick-or-treating and Halloween parties to favorite candy, costume preferences, and decorating traditions.
This year's findings reveal a fascinating mix of enduring Halloween favorites and changing consumer behaviors. While handing out candy remains a popular tradition, fewer Americans plan to dress up, decorate, or take their children trick-or-treating compared with last year.
Let's unwrap the results.
1. Staying Home and Handing Out Candy Tops Halloween Plans
When asked about their Halloween plans, 35% of Americans say they'll stay home and hand out candy, making it the most popular activity in our survey.
Other Halloween plans include:
- 27% won't be celebrating Halloween.
- 18% plan to take their children trick-or-treating.
- 13% plan to attend or host a Halloween party.
- 1% plan to go trick-or-treating themselves.
While Halloween may conjure images of crowded costume parties and neighborhoods full of trick-or-treaters, the most popular celebration is considerably more low-key: staying home and welcoming visitors with a bowl of candy.
2. Halloween Participation Is Shifting Year Over Year
Comparing the results with our 2024 and 2025 Halloween surveys reveals some noteworthy changes.
The percentage of Americans who say they won't celebrate Halloween has increased from 18% in 2024 to 25% in 2025 and 27% in 2026.
Meanwhile, taking children trick-or-treating has declined from 24% in 2024 to 18% in 2025 and 18% this year.
Staying home and handing out candy has remained relatively consistent, hovering around 35%–36% across all three years.
Interestingly, Halloween parties have enjoyed a modest rebound, with 13% planning to attend or host one this year, compared with 11% in 2025.
The takeaway? Traditional Halloween participation isn't disappearing, but consumers appear increasingly selective about how they celebrate.
3. Reese's Takes the Halloween Candy Crown
No Halloween survey would be complete without answering one of the holiday's most important questions: What's America's favorite candy?
This year, Reese's leads the pack, capturing 21% of responses among the individually named candy choices.
Snickers follows at 13%, with M&M's at 9%. Other favorites include Almond Joy (6%), Twix (6%), and KitKat (5%).
Fruity candy accounts for 14% of responses, while another 25% selected other chocolate candies.
One thing is clear: chocolate continues to hold a special place in Americans' Halloween candy bowls.
Whether you're stocking up for neighborhood trick-or-treaters or sneaking a few treats for yourself, Reese's appears to be a particularly safe bet.
4. Most Americans Are Skipping the Costume This Year
Despite Halloween's reputation as the ultimate dress-up holiday, only 38% of surveyed Americans plan to wear a costume in 2026.
Among those dressing up:
- 44% plan to purchase a costume from a store.
- 36% plan to make their own costume.
- 20% will wear a costume they already own.
The results suggest that although most Americans won't be dressing up, those who do are willing to invest some effort or money into their Halloween look.
The substantial share making their own costumes also highlights the continued appeal of creativity and personalization.
5. Funny Costumes Win Over Scary Ones
When it comes to costume styles, Americans seem to prefer laughs over screams.
Among the costume types reported in our survey, funny costumes lead at 37%, followed by pop-culture-inspired costumes at 27% and scary costumes at 25%.
Couples costumes (17%), group costumes (13%), and sexy costumes (11%) round out the selections.
These results suggest that humor, entertainment, and cultural relevance are powerful sources of Halloween inspiration.
For brands and marketers, Halloween offers opportunities to tap into consumers' sense of humor and the pop-culture moments that capture their attention.
6. Halloween Decorating Starts Early, but Ends Quickly
More than half of Americans surveyed (54%) plan to decorate for Halloween.
Among those decorating, 46% put up their decorations one to two months before Halloween, while another 36% begin two to three weeks before the holiday.
In other words, for many Halloween enthusiasts, spooky season starts well before October 31.
But when the holiday is over, decorations come down quickly.
Some 41% remove decorations within a day after Halloween, and another 45% take them down within a week.
That's a striking contrast: consumers may spend weeks building anticipation for Halloween, only to pack everything away shortly after the big night.
For retailers, this underscores the importance of reaching Halloween shoppers early in the season.
7. Costume Participation Has Fallen Since 2025
Our year-over-year costume findings reveal another interesting shift.
In 2024, 39% of surveyed Americans reported dressing up for Halloween. That increased to 48% in 2025 before falling to 38% in 2026.
That's a decline of approximately 10 percentage points in just one year.
Although this year's participation is close to the 2024 level, the decline from 2025 suggests Halloween costume enthusiasm may fluctuate considerably from year to year.
For costume retailers and Halloween marketers, the findings reinforce the value of tracking consumer intentions rather than assuming participation will remain consistent.
8. Halloween Decorating Also Declines from Last Year
Costume participation isn't the only Halloween activity experiencing a pullback.
In 2024, 50% of surveyed Americans decorated for Halloween. That rose to 62% in 2025 before declining to 54% in 2026.
Although this year's decorating participation remains higher than in 2024, it is down approximately 8 percentage points from last year.
Taken together, the costume and decorating findings suggest that 2025 may have been a particularly enthusiastic year for Halloween participation among our survey respondents.
What Does Halloween 2026 Tell Us About American Consumers?
Our annual Halloween survey highlights several interesting consumer behavior patterns.
Traditions remain important. Handing out candy continues to be one of Halloween's most popular activities, even as other forms of participation fluctuate.
Convenience and simplicity have broad appeal. Staying home is more common than attending parties or taking children trick-or-treating.
Creativity still matters. Among costume wearers, homemade costumes remain a popular option, and funny costumes are especially appealing.
Seasonal timing is important. Halloween decorators tend to start early but pack up quickly, creating a concentrated window of opportunity for retailers and marketers.
Consumer behavior changes from year to year. Our three years of Halloween tracking demonstrate why ongoing research is so valuable for understanding evolving preferences.
Better Consumer Insights Start with Better Research
At Accelerant Research, we believe that understanding consumers requires more than assumptions about what people want or how they behave.
Through our proprietary Agora USA™ consumer insights community, we help brands, agencies, and researchers uncover the attitudes, preferences, and behaviors that drive real-world decisions.
Whether you're researching seasonal shopping habits, testing new product concepts, or exploring changing consumer expectations, Accelerant provides the sample, technology, and research expertise to help you find answers.
Want to learn more about how Accelerant Research can support your next consumer insights project?
Visit AccelerantResearch.com to learn more.
Methodology: Accelerant Research surveyed 500 American consumers through its proprietary Agora USA™ consumer insights community in 2026. Comparisons with 2024 and 2025 reflect results presented in Accelerant Research's annual Halloween survey materials. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.