Fifty-eight percent of American adults say Halloween should be a national holiday, and 53 percent call it a favorite holiday, up from 47 percent last year and the first time Ferrero’s annual Halloween survey has put that figure over half. Halloween is not a federal holiday, and this year it falls on a Saturday. In the same survey, 62 percent said the perfect Halloween night is staying in.
Is Halloween a Federal Holiday?
Halloween is not one of the 11 federal holidays on the Office of Personnel Management’s 2026 schedule, which runs from New Year’s Day to Christmas Day. “Some holidays honor specific groups and events, such as Flag Day and Halloween. These are not federal holidays,” USA.gov says on its holidays page.
Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the federal holidays for federal employees, according to the office. October 31, 2026 is a Saturday, and November 1 is a Sunday.
How Many Adults Call Halloween a Favorite Holiday?
Fifty-three percent of U.S. adults name Halloween a favorite holiday in Ferrero’s third annual Halloween Report, released October 12, up from 47 percent in 2025. Ferrero, the candy company behind Kinder, Butterfinger and Keebler, calls the trend Adultoween, its term for adults claiming Halloween as their own holiday.
| U.S. adults who | 2026 | 2025 |
| Think Halloween should be a national holiday | 58% | No figure given |
| Name Halloween a favorite holiday | 53% | 47% |
| Say Halloween is as much for adults as for children | 70% | 62% |
| Believe they deserve their own adult Halloween night | 62% | 54% |
| Parents who agree Halloween belongs to grown-ups too | 81% | 71% |
“Last year we called Adultoween a cultural movement, and now Americans are ready to make it official,” said Chad Stubbs, chief marketing officer of Ferrero North America.
Golin Ketchum, in partnership with Savanta, surveyed 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults online from August 11 to 21 for Ferrero, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. The 2025 numbers come from a different panel company and a different month: Golin and Dynata surveyed 1,000 adults online from September 4 to 9, 2025, with the same margin. Last year’s results are in Ferrero’s release of October 14, 2025.
Staying In, Decorating and Horror Movies
Sixty-two percent of adults say a perfect Halloween night is staying in, not going out, and a cozy night in with candy and a binge-watch is the most popular thing they plan to try in 2026, at 37 percent, ahead of an adults-only party at 23 percent.
In the same survey, decorating the house is the most common way adults celebrate, at 43 percent, and watching horror movies or shows is second at 40 percent. Twenty-nine percent rewatch nostalgic Halloween episodes of a favorite series with treats in hand, and horror tops the Halloween watchlist at 53 percent, ahead of family-friendly favorites at 44 percent.
The National Retail Federation’s survey of 7,889 consumers, taken September 1 to 9, has nearly the same shares: 42 percent plan to decorate their home or yard and 42 percent plan to watch scary movies.
Among adults who wear costumes, 41 percent plan to throw or attend a party and one-third plan to visit a haunted house, according to the Halloween & Costume Association’s analysis of the retail federation’s data. Among all U.S. adults, 29 percent plan to throw or attend a party.
My Halloween 2026 streaming guide lists the new horror movies and series to stream, and my Halloween candy guide has this year’s new treats.
Candy, Trick-or-Treating and Haunted Houses
Seventy-three percent of adults buy Halloween candy even if they don’t expect trick-or-treaters, up from 64 percent in Ferrero’s 2025 survey.
- 75 percent say Halloween is an opportunity to enjoy candy without guilt
- 70 percent believe in the “Halloween parent tax,” the right to at least some of their kids’ candy
- 62 percent say there should be no age limit for trick-or-treating
- 69 percent would rather run into a haunted house than run into their ex (65 percent in 2025)
- 57 percent would rather run into an actual ghost than get ghosted by a crush
Ferrero’s 2026 Halloween candy includes Kinder Joy x Stranger Things Eggs, Butterfinger Skull and Keebler Spookie Fudge Stripes.
Gen Z and Halloween
Among Gen Z adults in the same Ferrero survey, 78 percent think Halloween should be a national holiday and 68 percent call it a favorite holiday, 15 points above the national figure. Sixty-nine percent of Gen Z treat Halloween as a multi-day celebration, 1 in 3 have called in sick to work the day after, and 34 percent have ended, or would end, a relationship over someone not matching their Halloween energy.
Nostalgia and the Golden Age of Halloween
Sixty-nine percent of Americans say Halloween makes them feel nostalgic, rising to 77 percent of Millennials and 80 percent of parents.
Vintage Halloween was this year’s theme at Creep It Real OC: the three-day festival, held September 11 to 13 in Santa Ana, California, called its 2026 edition Vintage Hometown Halloween, after what it called the “Golden Age of Halloween.”
Canada, the UK and Australia
Forty-three percent of adults in Canada, 36 percent in the UK and 31 percent in Australia call Halloween a favorite holiday, against 53 percent in the United States. Ferrero surveyed outside the United States for the first time this year, with 1,000 adults each in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia surveyed online in the same August period.
| Adults who | U.S. | Canada | UK | Australia |
| Say Halloween is as much for adults as for children | 70% | 65% | 57% | 51% |
| Name Halloween a favorite holiday | 53% | 43% | 36% | 31% |
| Say it should be a national holiday | 58% | 49% | No figure given | No figure given |
In Canada, 61 percent believe they deserve their own adult Halloween night. In the UK, 55 percent of Gen Z and 56 percent of Millennials call Halloween a favorite holiday, and 31 percent of adults say they would have a cozy night in with chocolate and a binge-watch this year. In Australia, 28 percent say they would have that night in, 36 percent say they don’t celebrate at all, and 52 percent of Gen Z call Halloween a top holiday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Halloween a national holiday in the United States?
No. Halloween is not a federal holiday, according to USA.gov. In Ferrero’s 2026 survey, 58 percent of U.S. adults said it should be a national holiday.
What day of the week is Halloween in 2026?
Halloween is Saturday, October 31, 2026.
How many federal holidays are there?
The Office of Personnel Management lists 11 federal holidays for 2026. USA.gov counts 12, including Inauguration Day, which comes every four years.
Who ran the Ferrero Halloween survey?
Golin Ketchum, in partnership with Savanta, surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults online for Ferrero from August 11 to 21, 2026.
