Google’s Frightgeist has returned for 2020, showcasing the top costumes in the U.S. both nationally and by state, and at the top of the national list is a witch.
Frightgest uses data from Google Trends to determine the most popular Halloween costumes of the year by pulling data from the top 500 costume searches in the United States in September. That data is then ranked both nationally and at the state level.
Overall, costume searches are down in 2020, with even the top 10 costumes of the year trending downward. There also appears to be a shift in the type of costumes people are searching for this year as searches are much more generic than in years past. Historically, the top 10 costumes are dominated by prominent characters in popular culture, which isn’t the case this year. The top 10 costumes in the U.S. in 2020, according to Google, are as follows:
- Witch
- Dinosaur
- Harley Quinn
- Rabbit
- Clown
- Angle
- Fortnite
- Devil
- Ninja
- Spider-Man
Of the top 10 costumes in the U.S., five are repeats from 2019, though witches, dinosaurs, and clowns all rank higher in 2020. Fortnite remains at position seven this year, and Spider-Man, who held the number three spot in 2019 following the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, now ranks tenth.
So where are witch costumes trending highest? Witches took the top spot in California, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin.
In terms of states showing originality in their costumes this year, these costumes took the top spot in each of the following states despite not showing up in the top 10 costumes nationally:
- Alaska – Beetlejuice
- Arkansas – Doll
- Connecticut – Powerpuff Girls
- Washington D.C. – Beyonce
- Delaware – Doll
- Hawaii – Monsters Inc.
- Kansas – Mickey Mouse
- Nebraska – Joker
- New Mexico – Clueless
- Oklahoma – Dragon
- Rhode Island – Hermione Granger
- South Carolina – Wonder Woman
- Vermont – Deer
- West Virginia – Zombie
- Wyoming – Physician
You can see all of the most popular costumes in the U.S. and some of the state’s larger metro areas by visiting frightgeist.withgoogle.com. Google has also brought back its Costume Wizard, which allows you to fill in your preferences on things like spookiness level, style, and uniqueness to come up with a personalized costume recommendation.
