If the bag of Halloween candy in your cart looks smaller for the money this year, you’re not imagining it. New federal price data, a retail price study and a national shopping survey all point the same way: candy is still getting more expensive faster than almost anything else on the grocery list, and New Haven families are buying it anyway.
Here’s what the numbers say, what a bag really costs per piece, and one free way to trick-or-treat downtown this month.
Candy is up 7.7% in a year
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its September consumer price report on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The index for candy and chewing gum was up 7.7% from a year earlier. Prices overall rose 3.7% over the same 12 months, and groceries rose 1.8%.
Over a longer stretch the gap gets wider. Using the bureau’s published index levels, the New Haven Courier calculated that candy and gum prices are up about 44% since September 2021. Overall consumer prices rose about 23% in those five years.
The bureau doesn’t publish a regional candy index. For New England as a whole, overall prices were up 4.3% for the year through September, while grocery prices barely moved, up about half a percent.
What a bag costs at the store
FinanceBuzz, a personal-finance website, runs its own yearly check on Halloween candy prices at four national chains: Walmart, Target, Kroger and Albertsons. Its 2026 study, updated Sept. 30, found an average 100-piece bag of assorted Halloween candy now costs $16.96. That’s up from $16.39 last year, about 3.5% more, and up from $9.91 in 2021, a 71% jump.
The study counted only full-price bags, at least 25 different bags a year, using archived weekly circulars for past years and prices posted on store websites in September for this year.
At this year’s average, each piece of candy costs about 17 cents, up from about 10 cents in 2021. A house that gives out 300 pieces on Halloween night would spend about $51 at today’s average, compared with about $30 five years ago.
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People are buying anyway
The National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween survey, released Sept. 22, found that 96% of people celebrating plan to buy candy and 61% plan to hand it out. The trade group expects Halloween spending to reach $13.5 billion nationwide, up from last year’s record $13.1 billion, including $4.1 billion on candy. The average shopper expects to spend $115.14, about the same as last year’s $114.45.
Shoppers say they’re watching costs. If prices come in higher than expected, 31% said they would comparison-shop and 26% said they would look for coupons or sales. The survey also found 13% of people plan to make Halloween purchases at local and small businesses, nearly double the share a decade ago. Prosper Insights & Analytics surveyed 7,889 adults Sept. 1 to 9 for the NRF.
A free trick-or-treat at the Shubert
Families looking for a Halloween outing that costs nothing can head to the Shubert Theatre at 247 College St. The theater’s annual Free Family Fun Day is Sunday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the Shubert’s event page.
Kids and parents take a self-guided walking tour backstage, with trick-or-treat stations along the way. Costumes are encouraged, but the theater asks that no one bring prop weapons. The Grinch from the touring production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical will be there for photos from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The tour is fully accessible and strollers are welcome.
Registration isn’t required, but the Shubert asks families to RSVP on its website so it has enough candy for everyone. The day also kicks off the theater’s Holiday Food and Toy Drive. Bring nonperishable food or new, unwrapped toys, which will go to New Haven families in need.
How to make the candy budget go further
- Compare the price per piece, not the price per bag. Bags in the FinanceBuzz study ranged from 28 to 500 pieces.
- Watch the weekly circulars. The study’s averages count only full-price bags, so a sale can beat them.
- Decide how many trick-or-treaters you expect before you shop, and buy for that number.
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