Half of Americans Say Halloween Brings Community Members Together

Nearly half of Americans (47%) say Halloween brings members of their community together, while another 49% say Halloween doesn’t play a major role in their community, according to a new Ipsos poll.

This comes as 55% of Americans say they celebrate Halloween, down slightly from 2021 (62%). Common activities Americans partake in during the Halloween season include decorating houses (32%), watching scary movies (29%), carving pumpkins (27%), and dressing up in a costume (26%).

The survey also finds that, by a wide margin, Americans say that chocolate candy (51%) is their favorite Halloween candy, followed by gummy/jelly candy (9%), sour candy (9%), and caramel candy (7%).

Experiences of Halloween vary among parents of children under 18, who are more likely than non-parents to be excited about Halloween (52% vs. 35%, respectively) and say that Halloween is a fun holiday for them and their family (75% vs. 54%). Parents are also are more likely to say they generally dress up in a costume (45% vs. 21%) and go trick-or-treating (56% vs. 12%) during the Halloween season. In addition, parents are slightly more likely to say that Halloween brings members of their community together (53% vs. 46%).

This survey also explores Americans’ experiences with supernatural events, such as UFOs, ghosts, and horoscopes.