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The Best Cities for Halloween Enthusiasts, Mapped

St. Louis, Missouri, is a city that celebrates Halloween to the fullest.

ByCaLea Johnson|
Check out this list to see where your next Halloween destination should be.
Check out this list to see where your next Halloween destination should be. | StorageCafe

Halloween is celebrated throughout the U.S., but some states are better tailored to spooky season than others. If you’re willing to travel leading up to October 31, check out the best cities for Halloween fanatics.

To make the map below, StorageCafe looked at the “Halloween fun and thrill potential” of the 35 biggest metro areas in the U.S. The self-storage search platform measured each place’s enthusiasm for the holiday by analyzing Google searches for 6700 general Halloween-related keywords (e.g. halloween costumes, halloween decorations, etc.) and nearly 1400 keywords about Halloween-related activities (like pumpkin patches, haunted houses, and more). 

Map of spookiest cities
Is your hometown a spooky destination? | StorageCafe

Consumer access to candy, percentage of households with minors, and the number of graveyards and historical sites per capita were also taken into consideration. The search data comes from October 2023 through September 2024.  

The company found that midwestern states dominate when it comes to Halloween, taking seven spots on the list. Ohio boasts two cities in the top 10, whereas other states claim one at most.

St. Louis, Missouri, is the No.1 place for fans of all things spooky. Data for the city included 53 general Halloween inquiries and 14 searches for Halloween-themed events per 1000 residents in the past year. The city offers seasonal attractions for people of all ages, including the supposedly haunted Lemp Brewery, a “scream park” called Creepyworld, and neighborhoods that go all out with decorations.

Cleveland, Ohio, closely follows St. Louis. If you’re looking for a ghostly adventure, there are many supposedly haunted destinations in the city. (We even ranked the Cleveland Museum of Art as one of the top 10 supposedly haunted museums on Earth.) Other creepy landmarks include the Lake View Cemetery, Franklin Castle, and Grays Armory.

The third entry on the list—Indianapolis, Indiana—is an excellent choice for anyone who loves an elaborate festival. The city hosts the Irvington Halloween Festival, which has been going on for over 70 years. It lasts a week and features several engaging events, including a masquerade ball, a spooky organ concert, a movie night, and more. There’s something for everyone at the event, so guests are encouraged to bring their kids, too.

Here’s the full list of America’s top 10 cities for Halloween lovers. You can go to StorageCafe’s website to view the rest of the ranking.

  1. St. Louis, Missouri
  2. Cleveland, Ohio
  3. Indianapolis, Indiana
  4. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
  5. Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas
  6. Portland, Oregon
  7. Chicago, Illinois
  8. Cincinnati, Ohio
  9. Los Angeles, California
  10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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