New Hampshire ranks first in Halloween-themed street names by density, while Arizona holds the raw count lead, a Census data dive that favors smaller states over big ones.
Mental Floss reported that Chicks Gold dug into the U.S. Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line 2025 Roads database to rank states by spooky street names.
The firm searched for 137 Halloween-themed, eerie, and bone-chilling words, terms such as “ghost,” “devil,” and “sleepy hollow”, then measured the hits per 10,000 named streets. Fifteen states pulled substantially ahead of the rest.
New Hampshire took the top spot. The state has 47 Halloween-themed street names and a ratio of 13.48 per 10,000 streets, the highest density in the country.
Maine landed second. Another New England state, it logged 67 spooky street names and a ratio of 11.71 per 10,000.
Arizona ranked third by density at 11.46 per 10,000. It also holds the most Halloween-themed street names overall. New Hampshire has less than half Arizona’s total count, yet still wins on concentration.
Utah came in fourth with 68 Halloween-themed names. Montana posted 60. Wyoming showed 22.
The rest of the top 15 includes Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Connecticut, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Alaska, and Nevada.
Bigger states such as Texas, California, and New York have their share of spooky monikers. The data still points the other way on likelihood.
Chicks Gold’s ratio method shows the pattern more clearly in smaller states with less road density. Raw totals favor places with more pavement. Density favors places where eerie names stand out.
The analysis rests on official Census road files, not local folklore contests or tourism boards. That keeps the ranking tied to named streets on the map, not marketing copy.
Full counts and ratios for every state in the top 15 were not laid out beyond the leaders named above. The 137-word list was also summarized rather than printed in full. Arizona’s exact raw total was described only as the national high, with New Hampshire under half that figure.
Even so, the order is clear enough: New Hampshire leads by density, Maine sits close behind, and Arizona owns the volume crown while finishing third on the ratio board.
Street names still carry local character. When the federal road database lights up with ghosts and devils, it is a reminder that Americans keep naming places with more personality than any central planner would invent.
