New Jersey helps treat the country to candy, costumes and jack-o’-lanterns
Marc Dalangin's Welsh corgi, Wally, is dressed in a Batman costume at Conklin Farms in Montville, New Jersey. Wally's annual getup produces smiles among thousands of Facebook folllowers, and Conklin Farms supplies some of the pumpkins fueling a $7 million boost to the state's economy. (Marc Dalangin via AP)
Halloween can be a lot of fun for the kids. The holiday also has a significant economic impact in New Jersey.
Americans spend about $6.9 billion on Halloween decorations, costumes, and candy, said Mary Beaumont, executive director of the New Jersey Policy Research Organization. A lot of those goodies are made in the state.
“Over half of the M&Ms that are produced for the nation are produced in Hackettstown, New Jersey, at the M&M Mars Manufacturing Corporation,” she said.
Cape May County has the fourth-highest concentration in the nation of people employed in candy manufacturing, while Bergen County is in the top 10 for employment in the formal wear and costume rental business.
The holiday also benefits the state’s agriculture industry.
“New Jersey has over 2,400 acres of pumpkins, harvested pumpkins, and that infuses into the economy about $7 million,” Beaumont said.
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