Halloween, By the Numbers

It's that time! Soon little ghosts and goblins will be making their annual trek around the neighborhoods, collecting treats. 

All week long we've been running two contests, one for the best Halloween costume and another for the best decorated home. If you missed the deadline to enter photos of your Halloween decorations, don't fret. You can still enter the Patch’s Little Pumpkin Costume Challenge with Heidi Klum! Click here to enter by 9 p.m. tonight.

Now, want five freaky facts about Halloween?

41 million

The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2010 — children age 5 to 14 — across the United States. Of course, many other children — older than 14 and younger than 5 — also go trick-or-treating.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census

116.7 million

Number of occupied housing units across the nation in 2010 — all potential stops for trick-or-treaters. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census

92

Percentage of households with residents who consider their neighborhood safe. In addition, 78 percent said there was no place within a mile of their homes where they would be afraid to walk alone at night. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States, 2005, Table 4

1.1 billion pounds

Pumpkin production by major pumpkin-producing states in 2010. Illinois produced an estimated 427 million pounds of the vined orange gourd.  California, New York and Ohio were also major pumpkin-producing states, each with an estimate of more than 100 million pounds. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 

Oct. 31, 2011

The observance of Halloween, which dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago, has long been associated with images of witches, ghosts and vampires. Over the years, Halloween customs and rituals have changed dramatically. Today, Halloween is celebrated many different ways, including wearing costumes, children trick or treating, carving pumpkins, and going to haunted houses and parties.