Americans Will Spend $4.4 Billion on Halloween Costumes, and Wisconsinites Are Part of It

Between the kids, the grown-ups and even the dog, Halloween costumes can add up fast.

A national forecast looks at what Wisconsinites and Americans across the country plan to spend this year.

Here’s where the costume money is going.

Note: This is general information, not financial advice. Survey projections and prices are subject to change.

NRF’s 2026 Forecast

Each year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) asks shoppers about Halloween. It now projects that Americans will spend $4.4 billion on Halloween costumes.

That figure comes from NRF’s yearly consumer survey. Prosper Insights & Analytics asked 7,889 consumers between September 1 and 9.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

The results came out on September 22, 2026. So you’re reading plans from early September, not sales receipts.

Plans can change.

In all, 71% of Halloween shoppers expect to buy a costume.

Costumes are part of a $13.5 billion Halloween total. It also covers candy, decorations and greeting cards.

Last year’s forecast was a record $13.1 billion, so this year’s total is up about 3%.

Among those categories, costumes take the top spot, ahead of decorations at $4.3 billion and candy at $4.1 billion.

Greeting cards come in last.

Even so, more people plan to buy candy than costumes.

Some 96% plan to buy sweets, against 71% for a costume.

The 2019 Baseline

NRF’s 2019 survey put Halloween costume spending at $3.2 billion.

Talk Business & Politics reported it on October 14, 2019. It also reported an $8.8 billion forecast for all of Halloween.

That year, 67% of Halloween shoppers planned to buy a costume. This year’s 71% is four percentage points higher.

The dollar gap works out to $1.2 billion, a gain of about 38%.

Think of it this way: $100 of costume spending in 2019 would be about $138 now.

Halloween overall rose faster, from $8.8 billion to $13.5 billion, a gain of about 53%.

Inflation’s Share

So is the jump real?

Costume spending rose about 38% since 2019.

Over the same time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the government’s price tracker, shows consumer prices overall rising about 31%.

The BLS consumer price index for all items was 256.558 in August 2019 and 334.980 in August 2026.

In plain terms, you needed about $131 in August 2026 to buy what $100 bought in August 2019.

Try it on your own 2019 costume bill by multiplying what you paid by 1.306.

A $50 costume in 2019 comes to about $65 now.

Adjust the 2019 costume figure the same way, and much of the headline gain disappears.

The all-items index tracks general prices, not costume prices. So treat the adjustment as a yardstick.

Who Wears the Costumes

NRF splits this year’s Halloween costume spending three ways.

Adults get $2 billion.

Children get $1.5 billion.

Pets get $920 million.

Adult costumes make up about 45% of the forecast. Adults outspend children by $0.5 billion.

Pet costumes come to more than half the children’s total.

Yes, pets.

Where Shoppers Buy

Discount stores are the top Halloween shopping spot for 39% of shoppers in 2026, according to NRF.

Specialty Halloween and costume stores come next at 32%, then online retailers at 27%.

A year earlier, discount stores drew 42% of shoppers, while specialty stores and online each drew 31%.

That puts discount stores down three percentage points and online retailers down four.

Your route might differ, since those shares come from a survey of 7,889 consumers.

Wisconsin in the Forecast

Wisconsin households are part of NRF’s Halloween costume forecast.

But the forecast covers the United States as a whole, not just your state.

Wisconsin had 5,972,787 residents on July 1, 2025, the Census Bureau estimates.

About 20.5% of Wisconsin residents are under 18, and the state has about 2.5 million households.

Those counts show who lives inside the national total, not what people in the state spend on costumes.

Watching the Budget

NRF's survey shows Halloween shoppers watching costs, even as the costume forecast grows.