Candy is considered the essential food group of Halloween. By the piece or the handful, it is what trick-or-treaters go out hunting for.

The National Retail Federation's annual Halloween consumer survey found that the total Halloween spending in 2024 is expected to reach $11.6 billion.

According to consumer expert Caleb Silver, about $3.5 billion of that is in candy.

"Candy prices are up about 20% since 2019, but we don't stop buying it especially around the Halloween season," said Caleb.

When you break that down by household, you are looking at about $31.69 spent on candy for the spooky season.

That is about the price consumer Joanne Hamroff shelled out for a mixed bag of candy.

"It was like $30, but I had a coupon for half off so that helped," said Hamroff.

What is not helping your candy budget is the cost of commodities. Candy prices are driven by the cost of sugar and the cost of cocoa.

"Both are up substantially in the last four years though they have leveled off a little bit in the past year," said Silver.

Don't think buying at the last minute is going to save you big. The best time to snag Halloween candy for less is actually after the fact.

The prices are quickly slashed on Nov. 1 signaling a sweet end to spooky season and the start of Thanksgiving.