How Much Money Do Americans Spend on Easter Candy Every Year? (2014–2024)
Overall Easter spending in 2024 reached $22.4 billion, a 6.7% decline from the previous year’s numbers.
The annual billion-dollar event is a great opportunity for retailers to grow their businesses. Doing this requires having a better understanding of consumers’ plans to mark the festive affair, starting with what percentage plan to celebrate Easter and their top expenses.
Since Easter and candy go hand-in-hand, expenditure on these items is one thing business owners should keep an eye on.
How much money do Americans spend on easter candy every year? Here’s a breakdown.
How much money is spent on Easter candy: table
|
Year |
Total Easter candy expenditure |
Annual change |
|
2014 |
$2.2 billion |
-8.3% |
|
2015 |
$2.2 billion |
0.0% |
|
2016 |
$2.4 billion |
9.1% |
|
2017 |
$2.6 billion |
8.3% |
|
2018 |
$2.6 billion |
0.0% |
|
2019 |
$2.5 billion |
-3.8% |
|
2020 |
$2.9 billion |
16.0% |
|
2021 |
$3.0 billion |
3.4% |
|
2022 |
$3.0 billion |
0.0% |
|
2023 |
$3.3 billion |
10.0% |
|
2024 |
$3.1 billion |
-6.1% |
How much money is spent on Easter candy: 2014–2024
According to the National Retail Federation, Easter candy spending in 2024 totaled $3.1 billion, marking a 6.1% decrease from the previous year.
A look at the data on Americans’ annual expenditure on Easter candy shows that spending increased by an overall 40.9% from 2014 to 2024, rising at an average annual growth rate of 3.7%. In 2014, those celebrating Easter spent a total of $2.2 billion buying candy. This figure held steady in 2015. In the two following years, consumers’ expenditure on Easter candy rose year after year, recording growth rates of 9.1% and 8.3%, to $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.
Annual spending on Easter candy remained at $2.6 billion in 2018. But in 2019, consumers cut back slightly, reducing expenditure by 3.8%, to $2.5 billion. This rebounded immediately and strongly in 2020, as $2.9 billion was spent on Easter candy, a 16% year-over-year surge. In 2021, Easter candy spending continued to grow, but at a slower growth rate of 3.4%, to $3 billion—a figure that remained unchanged in 2022. Last year, consumers spent $3.3 billion, up 10% from the previous year.
How much money is spent on Easter candy per person?
In terms of per-person spending, the average American spent $24.78 on Easter candy this year, a 5.8% fall from $26.31 in 2023, which was a record-high.
How much money is spent on Easter candy vs. other items?
By analysts’ estimates, candy was Americans’ fourth-largest Easter expense this year. As much as $7.3 billion was spent on food—more than double the amount spent on candy.
Clothing and gifts were the second- and third-largest expenses, with Americans spending $3.5 billion and $3.4 billion on them, respectively.