Google knows what KC wants to be for Halloween
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
A Pumpkin King, a King of Pop and a star-spangled super soldier lead the Kansas City area's trending Halloween costume searches this year, according to Google search data.
The big picture: Americans are expected to spend more than $4 billion on Halloween costumes this year, and online searches remain their top source for costume ideas, according to the National Retail Federation.
How it works: Google ranks costumes by how much searches jumped from September 2025 to September 2026, according to its methodology.
- That means the list shows what's gaining steam, not a count of what people will wear.
- Google sorts searches by TV market, so both sides of State Line share one list. Yes, we checked a KCK ZIP code.
Zoom in: Jack Skellington from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" holds the No. 1 spot, with Captain America, Michael Jackson, Jessie from "Toy Story" and Sanrio's Kuromi rounding out the top five.
- Jessie finally got top billing in "Toy Story 5," which set a franchise record for an opening weekend in June.
- "Michael," the Michael Jackson biopic, opened bigger than any biopic ever in April.
- "The Nightmare Before Christmas" returned to theaters for a limited run this month, more than 30 years after its debut.
Zoom out: Buddy, a unicorn from a horror movie of the same name, tops the national list, followed by NeeDoh, a squishy stress toy, and neither cracked KC's top five.
- Michael Jackson is the only KC pick in the national top 25, at No. 18, and Google says searches for his costume just hit a 10-year high.
💭 Abbey's thought bubble: Not a single Chiefs costume cracked KC's top five. That's not a lack of fandom; people just don't need to Google how to put on a red jersey.
The bottom line: If the searches turn into costumes, KC porches could fill up with pinstripes, shields and red cowgirl hats Saturday night.
Go deeper: Dress like a KC icon this Halloween