Candy prices up 8%, but Americans are still spending $4.1 billion on Halloween treats

Candy and gum prices have climbed 8.1% over the past year — more than double the overall inflation rate — and yet Americans are on track to spend $4.1 billion on Halloween treats this season. The math doesn't add up on a spreadsheet, but it makes perfect sense to the people buying the Reese's Cups.

The National Retail Federation projects total Halloween spending will reach $13.5 billion this year, up from $13.1 billion in 2025, with 96% of Halloween shoppers planning to buy candy — making it the holiday's single most popular spending category, according to Fox Business.

That resilience is striking against a backdrop of genuine financial strain. Consumer prices overall have risen 3.4% over the past year, driven largely by energy costs, while wages have grown just 3% — meaning paychecks are losing ground, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by NBC News. Many Americans are cutting back in visible ways: packing lunch, walking instead of driving, reconsidering big purchases like homes.

I'm walking to save a little bit of money. I'm bringing in my own lunch.— Lakisha Reardon, legal assistant

Reardon, who says her electric bill has spiked by $150 a month this year, is even considering switching to candles. Halloween candy, however, is not on the chopping block.

That instinct — to protect small pleasures while sacrificing larger ones — is showing up across the economy this year, with consumers leaning into what analysts describe as 'little luxuries': makeup, movie tickets, seasonal candy. It's a documented coping mechanism during periods of economic stress, and Halloween sits squarely in that category.

I remember being a little kid and being super excited when I would get Reese's Cups. I want to give that to some other children.— Abby Mynatt, college student, Knoxville, Tennessee

Mynatt, 21, typically spends around $50 on Halloween candy and expects to spend more this year despite financial pressure. 'I certainly think there are a little more tense things with my budget right now,' she told NBC News. 'But I still think that certain things, even just little pleasures, are still worth it.'

The price increases hitting shoppers this Halloween are not uniform. Nonchocolate candy has averaged $3.31 per package this year, up 1.8% from last year, according to PwC data cited by NBC News. Chocolate is a different story: Halloween chocolate prices have jumped 15.5%, to an average of $5.67 per package.

The driver is a cocoa supply shock that began building two years ago. Extreme weather in key cocoa-producing countries — primarily Ivory Coast and Ghana — sent global cocoa prices quadrupling between January 2023 and January 2025, according to International Monetary Fund data. Chocolate makers typically purchase cocoa months or even up to two years in advance, meaning consumers are only now paying for that spike.

Cocoa prices have since fallen by about half, but lower costs take time to reach the shelf and won't show up on shelves this Halloween season.— Ali Furman, PwC's consumer markets industry leader

Tariffs are adding pressure on top of the cocoa shock. The U.S. imposed tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 trade partners in July, and chocolate — largely imported — is absorbing those costs at the manufacturer level before they reach store shelves.

Chocolate comes from elsewhere, so tariffs being added onto it have certainly increased costs that manufacturers are feeling as well.— Chris Costagli, leader of food and nonalcoholic beverage insights, NIQ

Market research firm NIQ puts the overall chocolate price increase at 9.4% year-over-year, though Halloween-specific chocolate is up a more modest 1.7% — suggesting that candy makers may be absorbing some costs or adjusting package sizes to keep seasonal products competitive, according to NBC News.

Shoppers are adapting. The NRF survey found more than a third of consumers plan to compare prices if Halloween merchandise costs more than expected, while just over a quarter intend to seek out coupons or sales. Nearly half said they planned to start Halloween shopping in September or earlier — with 23% of early shoppers citing budget-spreading as the reason, according to Fox Business.

Discount stores are the most popular destination, drawing 39% of shoppers, followed by specialty Halloween stores at 32% and online retailers at 27%, per the NRF survey.

Consumers continue to make Halloween a spending priority, but they are also approaching the season with affordability in mind.— Allison Zeller, NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights

Some shoppers have developed their own workarounds. Leonard Smith, 36, of Delaware, plans to buy candy this year but is eyeing the post-Halloween markdown window, when many stores slash prices on remaining stock. 'I don't want to spend that much money because I need money for other things besides candy,' he told NBC News.

Ari Monahan, a nanny in New York City who describes herself as 'like a Disney adult, but for Halloween,' says she may trade down to slightly cheaper candy but won't opt out. 'I want to be the good house,' she said. The broader economic picture — stagnant real wages, home prices near record highs, a 30-year mortgage rate that topped 7.6% earlier this month — looms over her financial planning, but not over her candy budget.

If it makes me smile and I have a little money, I'll pay for it because everything is so grim right now.— Ari Monahan, nanny, New York City

A separate Deloitte survey of households found average planned Halloween spending of $285 per household — $219 on retail purchases and $66 on experiences — with 71% of spenders saying they can comfortably afford their plans. Thirty-four percent said they intend to spend more than they did in 2025. The survey also found that the earliest shoppers — those who begin before mid-August — plan to spend 1.7 times more on average than late shoppers.

Per-person spending is expected to hold nearly flat at $115.14, compared with $114.45 last year, according to the NRF — a sign that consumers are working hard to maintain the holiday's scale even as the price of doing so rises.

The cocoa cost relief that chocolate makers are beginning to see — prices have fallen roughly 50% from their peak — will eventually reach store shelves, but not in time for this Halloween. For now, the candy aisle is one of the few places where Americans seem determined not to cut back, even as they cut back on almost everything else.

Why it matters — With candy prices rising faster than wages, Halloween is a real-time test of how Americans balance financial stress against the small rituals that make daily life feel normal — and right now, the candy is winning.

Sources differ on Year-over-year increase in Halloween chocolate prices: 15.5% (to avg. $5.67/package) (nbcnews.com (citing PwC)) vs Overall chocolate up 9.4%; Halloween-specific chocolate up just 1.7% (nbcnews.com (citing NIQ))

Reported by nbcnews.com, wallstreettimes.com, foxbusiness.com, deloitte.com