Ghost towns: 3 metro Phoenix cities earn spots as best places for Halloween
Oct 26, 2015, 8:19 AM | Updated: 10:00 am
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Great fall weather and community safety in Arizona helped push three metro Phoenix cities into the top 25 best places for Halloween, according to a popular spending website.
Gilbert, Chandler and Phoenix made a scary good showing as Halloween-loving cities in a WalletHub survey of the 100 best and worst cities for the annual celebration.
Gilbert came in fourth, Chandler ninth and Phoenix 25th in the large cities category.
Mesa came close to cracking the top fourth, rated at No. 26.
Beyond the late October weather, Wallethub tossed in the safety of the communities, number of candy and costume stores, the average cost of a Halloween party ticket.
The East Valley town of Gilbert came in second in the percentage of the population 14 or younger and second in lowest crime rates. Chandler received high marks for the cost of a movie ticket, eighth-best nationally and ninth-lowest on crime rates.
New York City came in first overall, followed by Jersey City, New Jersey; Newark, New Jersey. Laredo, Texas finished behind Gilbert at fifth.
The National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween consumer spending survey said Americans will spend slightly less on holiday costs in 2015.
The average person will shell out $74.34, down from $77.52 in 2014 on garb, candy and decorations, among other Halloween-related expenses.
Total spending was expected to reach $6.9 billion in 2015, about $500 million less than in the previous year.
The biggest expense will come from costumes, as 68 million Americans are expected to dress up.
But that’s not the scariest part — another 20 million pet owners planned to dress their pets in costume.
(AP Photo)
