Census Bureau News: Profile America Facts for Features: Halloween -- Oct. 31, 2015
Halloween: Oct. 31, 2015
PROFILE
AMERICA FACTS FOR FEATURES: CB15-FF.21
OCT. 26,
2015
Halloween, which dates back to Celtic
rituals thousands of years ago, has long been associated with images of
witches, ghosts and vampires. Today,
Halloween has evolved into a celebration characterized by child-friendly
activities, such as costumes, trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins into
jack-o’-lanterns.
Trick or Treat!
41.2 million
The
estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2014 — children age 5 to 14
— across the U.S. Of course, many other children — older than 14 and younger than
5 — also go trick-or-treating. Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, 2014 Population Estimates, PEPASR6H <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/PEP/2014/PEPASR6H?slice=year~est72014>
117.3 million
Number of
occupied housing units across the nation in second quarter 2015 — all potential
stops for trick-or-treaters. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, Table 8 <http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtabs.html>
Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced nonchocolate
confectionary products, employing 19,267 employees. This industry’s value of
shipments totaled $7.7 billion in 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, NAICS 311340 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~311340>
3,215
Number
of U.S. confectionary and nut stores that sell candy and other confectionary
products, employing 19,821 employees. This industry’s sales totaled $1.8
billion in 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, NAICS 445292 <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/44A1//naics~445292>
Dressed to
Thrill
A
sampling of occupations that one may dress up as for a Halloween costume:
OccupationNumber of Full-Time,
Year-Round
Employees
Athletes, coaches, umpires and related workers 123,608
Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers396,206
Dentists103,211
Detectives and criminal investigators122,800
Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural
managers476,355
Firefighters278,058
Police and sheriff’s patrol officers679,836
Registered nurses2,183,447
The
estimates of athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers and detectives and
criminal investigators are not statistically different from one another. Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 American Community Survey, B24124 <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_1YR/B24124>
Where to
Spend Halloween?
Some
places around the country that may put you in the Halloween mood:
The number of motion picture theaters
(except drive-ins)in the U.S. in 2013 where one could possibly enjoy a horror movie. California (495), Texas (310), New York (273)
and Florida (203) had the most of such establishments. There were 219 drive-in
motion picture theaters in 2013 — Ohio had 21 and Pennsylvania had 20 drive-in
motion picture theaters. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 County
Business Patterns, NAICS 512131 & 512132 <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2013/00A1/0100000US|0100000US.04000/naics~512131|512132>
50,900
Acres of pumpkins
harvested in the U.S. in 2013, with a total estimated production value of $149.9
million. Of the top six pumpkin-producing states, Illinois led the country by
producing an estimated 547.6 million pounds of this vined gourd, followed by
California, Ohio, Michigan, New York and then Pennsylvania. Pumpkins are
frequently carved as decorations around Halloween. Source: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Page 9 and
38 <http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/VegeSumm/VegeSumm-01-29-2015.pdf>
The number of broomstick and casket manufacturing establishments (for the
more authentic witches and vampires); combined, these two industries employed
12,627 people and had a total value of shipments of $3.6 billion in 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, NAICS 339994 and NAICS
339995 <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/31SG1//naics~339994|339995>
$1.1 billion
Dollar value of U.S. fresh apples exported in 2014. Whetherbobbing for or dipping in
caramel, apples can be a funtreat around Halloween. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade Statistics, Commodity
Code 080810 <https://usatrade.census.gov/>
Who You Gonna Call?
89%
Percent of households that
had a cellular phone in 2011, compared with only 36 percent in 1998. The percentage of
households with a cellular phone only (no landline) rose from less than 1
percent in 1998 to 28 percent in 2011.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Extended Measures
of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States, 2011, <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-136.pdf>
Following
is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for
Features series:
African-American History Month (February)Labor Day
Super Bowl Grandparents
Day
Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14)Hispanic
Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
Women’s History Month (March)Unmarried and Single Americans Week
St. Patrick’s
Day (March 17)American
Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month
Earth Day (April 22) (November)
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May)Veterans Day (Nov. 11)
Older Americans Month (May)Thanksgiving
Day
Mother’s DayThe Holiday Season
(December)
Hurricane Season Begins (June 1)
Father’s Day
The Fourth of July (July 4)
Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July
26)
Back to School (August)
Editor’s note: The preceding data were
collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability
and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about
two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production
timelines.