Are you a skeleton aficionado or a pumpkin perfectionist?
With Halloween fast approaching, you may have noticed skeletons, ghosts, and pumpkins popping up in your neighborhood. Or perhaps you haven’t. In fact, there are differing Halloween norms—like when and how to decorate—based on where you live.
To find out how Halloween decorating practices differ from state to state, we surveyed 1,250 people nationwide about when, how, and why they deck out their homes for the spookiest night of the year. Let’s review the many ways people decorate their homes for Halloween, from friendly pumpkins to hair-raising haunted houses.
62% of survey respondents decorate for Halloween before October 9.
60.2% of respondents remove their decorations within one week of Halloween.
69.21% of survey respondents spend at least three to six hours decorating for Halloween.
50% of survey respondents decorate with lawn inflatables.
72.88% of respondents are okay with gory decorations, but the most popular theme is family-friendly, with 35.92% choosing it for their own home.
If you prefer to pull out your sweaters and boots at the first sign of fall and unpack your Halloween decorations before the calendar flips to October, you’re not alone. 24.72% of survey respondents said they decorate for Halloween before October 1, and an additional 37.28% reported putting their decorations up by October 9. 35.76% of respondents shared they decorate closer to the big day, sometime between October 10 and 29, and 2.24% get their decor up under the wire on either October 30 or 31.
When it comes to removing Halloween decorations, the bulk of survey respondents told us that they clean up their Halloween decor ASAP. 27.2% of respondents remove their Halloween decorations on November 1, with an additional 33.20% removing everything within one week of Halloween.
About a third of Halloween lovers, 29.76%, are more laid back and shared that they aim to take their decorations down before Thanksgiving, while others want to hang on until the winter holidays. 6.24% of Halloween decorators don’t remove the skeletons from their lawns, the spiderwebs from their bushes, and the pumpkins from their porches until they put up their Christmas lights, and 3.6% leave up at least some Halloween decorations all year long.
While neighbors may only see the final product of a well-decorated house, many survey respondents spend at least an afternoon (or two) putting their decorations up. While 30.88% of respondents spent under two hours decorating, 69.12% shared that they typically spend at least three hours decorating, with 47.36% spending three to six hours, 14.32% spending seven to 10 hours, and a dedicated 7.44% of respondents spend more than 10 hours decorating for Halloween each year.
Have you ever tallied your total Halloween decorating budget? 32.7% of U.S. survey respondents report spending $100 to $249 annually on Halloween decor, and 22.64% of those surveyed shared that they spend between $250 and $499 each year.
Some states reported more big spenders than others. 28% of South Dakota residents spend $250 to $499 on Halloween decorations each year, only to be topped by New Yorkers, of whom 36% report spending $250 to $499 per year on new Halloween decorations.
So how are Halloween decorators spending their budgets each year? It turns out that most people (73.6% of respondents) update their Halloween collection at least a little each year. 35.52% of respondents change their theme annually, and 38.08% add one or two new pieces per year. And don’t be surprised if you see lots of animatronic witches, zombies, or monsters this year; 35.1% of respondents said if they had an unlimited budget, those life-size decorations would be at the top of their wishlist.
Our survey revealed that Halloween lovers across the country follow different decorating trends. While Americans, in general, are split on whether to use lawn inflatables, Montana and Nebraska have the lowest inflatable usage rate (16%). In contrast, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas feature the most homes (68% each) with lawns graced by spooky or not-so-spooky Halloween blow-ups.
Different regions also have different opinions on whether to display gory Halloween decor. 72.88% of survey respondents are okay with gory decorations, but only 5.28% display them. States with higher-than-average rates of residents choosing to decorate with a gory theme include California and Oregon, where 24% and 16% of respondents decorate their homes with a gory theme.
The breakdown of the most popular decorating themes shows that most people prefer a more family-friendly Halloween display. 35.92% of respondents chose a family-friendly theme, while 30.08% went with a spooky haunted house, 28.72% picked a traditional harvest or fall decor theme, and 5.28% chose gore.
This year as you peek at your neighbor's lawn display or put up your spooky decorations, think about whether you’re in line or out of step with others in your area. And, no matter what, after you prepare your house for fall, make sure you choose to decorate exactly as you please!
This survey was conducted online by Angi through Pollfish between September 16–18, 2022. 1,250 Halloween decorators in the United States were surveyed, with 25 people from each state.
