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States Where People DIY Halloween Costumes the Most

States Where People DIY Halloween Costumes the Most main article image
Posted on September 16, 2024 by Maurits Schroder from Creative Fabrica
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Americans have been crafting their own Halloween costumes for more than 100 years. In fact, it is a tradition for some families to make their costumes each year and decorate with spooky Halloween crafts. While there are many stores and online shops available with pre-made ensembles, opting for a homemade option can ensure originality, and at times it can even save money. 

At Creative Fabrica, we know all about embracing the creative side of life, so we set out to learn which parts of the U.S. are home to the most DIYers during the spooky season. We first surveyed residents in every state to learn about DIY habits that have become traditions. 

We then analyzed Google search volume for DIY Halloween costumes over the past year to determine which costumes are set to be the most popular in 2024 and which states are most likely to rely on their crafting skills to create their costume this year. Read on to find out how your state ranks among the rest.

Key Takeaways

  • Barbie, pirate, scarecrow, and Velma Dinkley are the most popular DIY Halloween costumes of 2024. 
  • Residents in Ohio, Utah, Kentucky, and Mississippi DIY the most for Halloween. 
  • Nearly 2 in 5 Americans have spent more money on materials for a DIY Halloween project than a pre-made one would cost.
  • 1 in 3 Americans have spent 4 hours or longer on a single DIY Halloween item.
  • 1 in 6 Americans admit a DIY Halloween creation of theirs failed, but they used it anyway.

Where Americans Get Most Creative During Halloween

A heatmap of the U.S. showing where Americans DIY most for Halloween

Autumn and Halloween . . . many people see the two as one in the same. Once the fall season is upon us, many Americans take that as their cue to begin decorating and preparing for Halloween as well. In fact, 3 in 10 people say their planning for the holiday begins before October even arrives. 

So as signs of the season began to show across the country, we set out to find which states get the most creative this time of year. Leading the way with a creativity score of 97.25 out of 100, is Ohio. Each year, nearly 2 in 5 Ohioans dedicate up to three hours for Halloween DIY projects. Additionally, residents of the Buckeye State are the most likely to begin their planning before the first of October. 

In second place is Utah with a creativity score of 92.50 out of 100. When it comes to DIY projects, some people choose them because they are cheaper, but others simply enjoy the ability to create something unique. Perhaps, this is the case for Utah residents as 1 in 2 say they have spent more on materials for a DIY Halloween project than it would have cost to buy a pre-made one. 

Kentucky and Mississippi are next on our list, tying for third with a score of 88.27 out of 100, followed by Maine (87.50) and Georgia (87.01) in 5th and 6th, respectively. Overall, Mississippi residents are the most likely to spend 4 or more hours DIYing for Halloween. 

DIYing doesn’t always go as planned, however, as we found 1 in 6 Americans have had a creation fail but decided to use it anyway. On the other hand, 1 in 12 people who had a failed project ended up going back to the drawing board and beginning anew.

The States Most Likely to DIY Halloween Decorations

As part of our ranking, we asked survey respondents about their approach to different aspects of Halloween, including their decorations. Leading the way as the craftiest states are Utah and Indiana where 3 in 4 residents DIY at least parts of their decor for the holiday. 

When it comes to most homemade decorations overall, we found it’s Utah, Washington, and Iowa residents who rely solely on their crafting skills to decorate their home each year. Conversely, Tennessee, Nebraska, and Oklahoma residents are the least likely in the country to DIY their decorations. 

Overall, baby boomers are the most likely generation to stick to scratch-made decor for Halloween, although 1 in 2 Americans like to use a mix of store-bought and homemade items for their decorating needs.

The States Most Likely to DIY Halloween Costumes

In addition to the decorations used at home, we wanted to learn more about where Americans are getting crafty when it comes to their costumes. Leading the way with 68% of residents utilizing at least some custom items in their ensemble is Indiana. Each year, 1 in 3 residents of the state spend at least $100 preparing for Halloween, which may be attributed to their costume DIYing. 

In second place, is Ohio, followed by Utah in third place, where 1 in 4 residents spend 4 or more hours DIYing for the holiday. On the other end of the spectrum, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Kansas residents are the least likely to seek a homemade costume for Halloween. 

Overall, the older generations lead the way once again as Gen Xers and baby boomers are the most likely generations to make Halloween costumes from scratch.

 Each State’s Most Popular DIY Halloween Costume of 2024

A U.S. map showing the most popular DIY Halloween costume by state

After completing our survey, we wanted to gain more insight into the specific costumes we could expect to see being DIYed this Halloween. So we turned our attention to Google search data to learn which homemade costume is most popular in each state. 

Leading the way, claiming 11 state’s top spots is Barbie. Though the 2023 summer movie inspired many costumes last year, many Americans are still obsessed with the trend and are likely to make their own outfit at home. So residents of Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and West Virginia, should prepare to hear more, “Hi, Barbie,” this Halloween. 

A three-way tie holds second place as pirate, scarecrow, and Velma Dinkley all claimed 7 states apiece. In fourth place is cowboy/cowgirl, which is the most popular DIY costume in Washington, D.C., Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. 

Residents in California, Illinois, Utah, and Wisconsin seem to be in a Super Mario state of mind as Mario claimed the top spot in California and Illinois, while Bowser is the most popular costume in Utah this year and Princess Peach is the favorite in Wisconsin. 

In North Carolina, residents seem to be thinking even further ahead, as they get into the Christmas spirit with The Grinch costume as the most popular. Other unique standouts include a dog costume in Idaho, a fairy in Indiana, and a zombie in Kansas. 

If you are interested in making your own costume this Halloween, but are having a hard time deciding what to be, there is plenty of DIY costume inspiration to ensure people of all ages get to experience the excitement of creating this Halloween.

DIY Your Halloween With Creative Fabrica

While Halloween offers the perfect opportunity for the craftiest of people to unleash their magic, there is no need to keep your talents hidden throughout the year. Whether you find the most joy in creating decorations or costumes, Creative Fabrica has all of the tools you could need to get crafty. 

From a variety of fonts and studio templates to needle art designs and craft designs, there are endless options to choose from to fulfill your creativity needs. If the holidays are your bread and butter, we have you covered there, too! So whether you are preparing for the spooky season or looking ahead to other holidays, let your creative juices flow. Get started by checking out the tools available and start your next project today! 

Methodology

In this study, we set out to determine where Americans are the craftiest when it comes to Halloween. To do this, we used a combination of survey responses from people by state, as well as Google search data. In the survey, we asked a variety of questions regarding the time respondents spend preparing for the holiday, how much of that time is dedicated to DIY projects, how much money they typically spend, if they prefer homemade costumes and decorations or store-bought, and more. We then awarded points to responses that represented creativity and calculated the average score for each state. Finally, we adjusted scores on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most creativity during Halloween. 

For our Google search data, we built a list of 1,800 keywords of DIY Halloween costumes using current events knowledge, ChatGPT, TikTok Trends data, and Google Ads keyword planner. We then collected the national search volume for all keywords over the past 12 months and consolidated our list to terms with a national average monthly search volume of 1,500 or higher. We compared the search volume of each costume in each state compared to the national search volume to determine which costumes were most unusually popular by state.

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States Where People DIY Halloween Costumes the Most

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