The best states for Halloween

The most Halloween-obsessed states

There’s no one right way to celebrate Halloween, and our top five states prove that. Whether it’s Maine’s multitude of pumpkin patches or Virginia’s obsession with Halloween music, each state has a unique approach to the spooky season.

However, all of our top five states have one thing in common: an autumnal atmosphere, including a moody chill and fall foliage in the later months of the year. Conversely, Hawaii ranked at the bottom of our list, indicating that warmer temperatures and tropical vibes may not inspire residents to take part in Halloween activities.

1. New Hampshire

New Hampshire topped our list for the second year in a row, which is no surprise given that it has the highest number of Spirit Halloween stores per capita. The state will even be home to a new concept — Spirit Christmas — in the city of Salem later this year.

The Granite State also boasts the second-highest number of pumpkin patches per capita. In fact, one of New Hampshire’s patches once produced a 2,528-pound pumpkin, which broke the record for the largest pumpkin ever recorded in U.S. history.

2. Maine

The Pine Tree state is near the top of our list, possessing the highest number of pumpkin patches per capita. However, visitors this season may be less than impressed with the selection, as many pumpkin patches are reporting smaller-than-average harvests due to an exceptionally dry summer.

Stephen King readers will not be surprised that Maine ranks high on our list, given that the state is a setting for many of the horror writer’s novels, such as “It,” “Pet Sematary” and “Cujo.” King’s fictional town of Derry, Maine, is also the setting for the upcoming “It” prequel series, “Welcome to Derry.”

3. Kentucky

The first state in our ranking outside of New England, Kentucky is jam-packed with spooky spots, boasting the highest number of haunted attractions per capita. Prominent haunted attractions include the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville and the Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown.

Kentuckians also bring the haunts back home — the state has a high volume of searches on Halloween decorations, indicating that residents like to celebrate the holiday wherever they are.

4. Ohio

Just up north, Ohio ranks as fourth on our list. Much like its neighbor Kentucky, the state has a large number of haunted locales, such as Face Your Fears Hotel of Terror in Springfield and Fear Columbus in the capital, as well as nationally recognized haunted houses like Factory of Terror in Canton and The Dent School House in Cincinnati.

Additionally, Ohio has a sweet tooth, ranking near the top of our list for searches about Halloween candy. However, residents of the Buckeye State may face sticker shock when they buy their favorite treats, as the price of chocolate has increased due to extreme weather and supply chain issues.

5. Virginia

Virginia rounds out our top five because of its interest in terrifying tunes: The state has the highest search volume for Halloween music in the nation, with a score that more than triples the next-highest ranking state, Ohio.

The state also ranks high in searches for pumpkin spice lattes, which helped it make the leap from last year’s ranking of No. 38. Perhaps the extra caffeine will help residents keep up their energy throughout the season.

States with the best (and worst) Halloween spirit, ranked

Two other Great Lakes States, Indiana and Pennsylvania, made it into our top 10, while Southern states including Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana ranked lowest for spooky spirit. Check out the Terror Tally to see where your state falls:

Methodology

To determine the top Halloween hot spots, the ConsumerAffairs Research Team analyzed 10 metrics related to Halloween-themed online activity and local Halloween attractions. We used population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to calculate rates per 1 million people in each state for the Halloween attractions.

The best-performing state for each of the individual metrics received the maximum number of points, and all other states were assigned points based on how they compared relative to the best-performing state. We added the scores together to calculate an overall “Terror Tally” score out of 100 points.

Halloween-related local attractions (60 points):

• Number of haunted attractions per 1 million residents: 20 points
• Number of pumpkin patches per 1 million residents: 20 points
• Number of Spirit Halloween stores per 1 million residents: 20 points

Local attraction data is from The Scare Factor (2025), PumpkinPatches.com (2025) and Spirit Halloween (2025).

Halloween-related online activity (40 points):

• Halloween music search volume on YouTube: 15 points
• Google search volume for the following terms: 4.17 points each
  • Halloween decorations
  • Halloween costumes
  • Halloween movies
  • Pumpkin spice latte
  • Halloween crafts
  • Halloween candy

Online activity data is from Google Trends and represents average weekly search interest from Sept. 22, 2024, through Sept. 22, 2025.

Reference policy

We love it when people share our findings! If you do, please link back to our original article to credit our research.

Questions?

For questions about the data or if you'd like to set up an interview, please contact rsowell@consumeraffairs.com.