Trick-or-Treat

I’ll bet the number of trick-or-treaters one gets on Halloween is worthy of scientific study.  The number of youngsters says a lot about the age and maturity level of a neighborhood and about socioeconomic conditions in a community.

I moved into an eight to ten-year old neighborhood in the county.  At that time we received about 80 to 90 trick-or-treaters.  This shows there were many families with little kids in the neighborhood.  But also at that time, this was one of the bigger neighborhoods in the surrounding area.  I noticed many cars dropping off their children to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood.

Over the years the number of trick-or-treaters has dropped by about half.  Obviously children grow up and eventually stop going out to trick-or-treat.  At the same time, the growth in new housing in the area has increased dramatically.  No more do parents “bus” their children to our neighborhood.  There are plenty of houses to get candy from now.  After September 11, 2001, the number of trick-or-treaters fell dramatically, showing just how much our country was affected.

I suppose the number of trick-or-treaters may rise again.  Empty-nesters will sell their homes for smaller (or bigger) ones.  New families with young children will move in and the cycle will continue.  Trick-or-treaters may well provide clues about the growth and decline of housing markets, the birth rate, the composition of families (e.g., single parent families), and even national security.