What are the best California cities for Halloween fun? These spots made the top 10
Seeking the top spots for Halloween fun? California is home to two of the most spooktacular cities in the nation, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website recently ranked the Best Cities for Halloween in the United States, comparing the 100 largest U.S. cities based on factors ranging from weather to crime rates and costume stores per capita.
New York City was No. 1 on the list of top haunts for fans of All Hallows Eve, while Jersey City, New Jersey, came in second and Miami was third.
These bewitching spots all have something in common, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo wrote.
“The best cities for Halloween are those that provide the safest conditions for celebrating, along with an abundance of activities, Halloween-related stores and good weather,” Lupo said.
Here’s which California cities landed on the list:
What’s the best California city for Halloween fun?
According to WalletHub, Los Angeles was the highest ranking California city for Halloween hijinks.
The Southern California city landed in sixth place on the list with an overall score of 58.98.
Los Angeles was fourth in the nation for Halloween fun such as haunted houses, parties, pumpkin patches and scary movie screenings, WalletHub said.
The city was No. 27 in terms of trick-or-treater friendliness and No. 57 for Halloween weather.
Where did other California cities rank?
Five other California cities were among the top 20 destinations for Halloween thrills, including Anaheim at No. 8.
San Diego came in 12th place, while San Francisco was No. 13 and Santa Ana was No. 15 and San Jose was No. 19.
Lower on the list, Sacramento landed at No. 28 on the list.
Fresno was No. 47 and Stockton was No. 63.
What are the top 10 spots for Halloween in the US?
These were the 10 best cities for Halloween fun in 2024, according to WalletHub:
- New York City
- Jersey City, New Jersey
- Miami
- Las Vegas
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Washington, D.C.
- Anaheim
- Boston
- Gilbert, Arizona
How did WalletHub come up with its rankings?
To pick the best destinations for Halloween, WalletHub said it compared 100 of the most populated U.S. cities across three key dimensions:
- Trick-or-treater friendliness
- Halloween fun
- Halloween weather
The website then evaluated those dimensions using 20 relevant metrics, ranging from average temperatures and precipitation amounts on Oct. 31 to the number of candy shops, movie theaters and pumpkin patches per capita.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the “most favorable conditions for a Halloween celebration,” WalletHub said.
WalletHub determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score.
Data came from sources including the FBI, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation , Accuweather and Yelp, and were collected as of Sept. 24.
