The 15 best cities in the US to celebrate Halloween, ranked
New York City leads WalletHub's Halloween rankings, scoring high in fun and friendliness, which is ideal for festive celebrations.
Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images
- Halloween is this weekend — and some cities are spookier than others.
- WalletHub released a report ranking the best cities to celebrate Halloween across the US.
- The best place to partake in Halloween fun is New York City.
Got your candy corn and costumes ready?
Halloween is this weekend, and that means that millions of people across the country will spend billions of dollars on costumes, decorations, candy, and events to celebrate the holiday.
WalletHub released a ranking of the best cities to celebrate Halloween across the country.
They used 20 key metrics, such as Halloween costume stores per capita, walkability, haunted houses per capita, population density, and average Halloween weather. These were separated into three main categories: Trick-or-Treater Friendliness, Halloween Fun, and Halloween Weather.
Here are the top 15 cities in the US to celebrate Halloween.
15. Saint Paul, MinnesotaDavid Brewster/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Saint Paul, the capital of Minnesota, ranked sixth for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness.
You can learn more about celebrating Halloween in Saint Paul here.
14. San Diego, CaliforniaDaniel Knighton/Getty Images
San Diego placed in the top 10 for Halloween Fun rankings, meaning there's a lot to do to celebrate this holiday. Here's a list of some events happening this weekend.
13. Orlando, FloridaGerardo Mora/Getty Images
Of course, Orlando has Universal Studios and Disney World, two theme parks that go all out to celebrate Halloween.
That's why the city placed No. 2 for Halloween Fun. It was, however, brought down by the lack of trick-or-treater friendliness.
12. Washington, DCStefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Fun fact: Of all the cities surveyed, DC has the fewest costume stores per capita.
DC's high score comes from Halloween Weather, in which it placed eighth.
11. Gilbert, ArizonaJames Gilbert/Getty Images
Gilbert came in fourth for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness, which makes sense.
The Phoenix suburb also ranked fourth for potential for trick-or-treaters, fifth for potential for trick-or-treat stops, and had the lowest crime rate of all the cities surveyed, per WalletHub.
You can see a full list of Gilbert Halloween activities here.
10. Newark, New JerseyAndy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images
Newark ranked fifth for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness but has the fourth-lowest number of costume shops per capita.
Eventbrite has a list of fun things to do in the Newark area this weekend.
9. San Francisco, CaliforniaTayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
San Francisco had relatively high placements across the three categories, but the city has the second-lowest potential for trick-or-treaters.
Check out more to do in SF and the wider Bay Area here.
8. Boston, MassachusettsJim Davis/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Boston ranked at No. 3 for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness — but there's plenty to do besides beg for candy from your neighbors.
7. Anaheim, CaliforniaJeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Much like Orlando, Anaheim is boosted by the presence of Disneyland, which goes all in on Halloween, just like Disney World.
6. Miami, Florida: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
To no one's surprise, Miami placed sixth for Halloween Fun — and with this list, you can see for yourself why it's one of the best places to be.
5. Chicago, IllinoisJacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Chicago was in the top 20 across all three categories, with its highest placement being No. 13 for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness.
4. Las Vegas, NevadaEthan Miller/Getty Images
It's no surprise that Las Vegas, one of the entertainment capitals of the US, ranked at No. 1 for Halloween Fun. Sin City tied for first in number of costume stores and candy stores per capita.
The city helpfully compiled a list of everything happening in Vegas this weekend here.
3. Jersey City, New JerseyNoam Galai/Getty Images
Jersey City ranked No. 1 overall for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness, due to its second-highest population density and fourth-highest walkability score.
Here's a list of things you can do to celebrate Halloween in Jersey City.
2. Los Angeles, CaliforniaGina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Los Angeles placed second for its high number of pumpkin patches per capita, its high walkability score, and the 11th-most amusement parks per capita.
If that seems overwhelming, the city of LA has a guide of all the Halloween activities.
1. New York, New YorkSelcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images
To the surprise of no one, New York City was ranked the best city to celebrate Halloween. It placed No. 2 for Trick-or-Treater Friendliness, No. 4 for Halloween Fun, and No. 29 for Halloween Weather.
There's also the famous Halloween parade — and the dog parade — a high number of costume shops and candy stores per capita, and the second-most movie theaters per capita, in case you're feeling a scary movie marathon.
Here's an official guide to all things Halloween in NYC.
Read the original article on Business Insider