New York Heralds Wolverine as Top Halloween Choice

Wolverine dominated Halloween costume searches in the New York region for 2026, according to data released by Google. The character from the X-Men franchise topped the local list, pushing aside traditional costumes in favor of comic book heroes.

The search trends reflect a nationwide shift toward pop culture figures. Google analyzed costume-related searches from September 2025 through September 2026 as part of its Frightgeist report. The data shows that comic book characters accounted for a large portion of the top searches across all U.S. regions.

New York residents showed a strong preference for Marvel properties. Wolverine held the number one spot, followed by Black Widow in second place and Doctor Doom in third. The top five list for the region was completed by the character Ringmaster and Dolly Parton.

Dolly Parton’s presence in the rankings serves as a tribute to the country music icon. She died in August at age 80. Her costume search volume was high enough to place her second in the overall national rankings, behind only Spider-Man. The inclusion of Spider-Man as the most searched costume nationally likely stems from the release of a new film featuring the character this year.

The national top 25 list included a mix of video game characters, music stars, and literary figures. Entries such as Needoh, Disco Scooby Doo, and Michael Jackson in his Thriller era appeared alongside characters like Agamemnon from The Odyssey and Thragg from Invincible. The list also featured Kenny Rogers and Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Google calculated the national popularity rankings using a weighted average of the top five costumes from every region. This method ensures that the overall list reflects a broad geographic spread rather than being skewed by a single major market. The final data provides a snapshot of what Americans chose to wear for the 2026 holiday season.