Nothing says Halloween like a pumpkin. Its orange hue (in most cases) is the foundational color of fall. Selecting a gourd in a pumpkin patch is as much a rite of autumn as apple-picking, taking a hayride, or navigating a corn maze.
We carve up pumpkins as jack-o’-lanterns or use them to make pie, cheesecake, muffins, even soup. Pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spice beer have become favorites of the season. Both for decoration and on our tables, they’re the emblematic vegetable of the season. (You can be sure the pie will be on the menu at the best pie shops in every state.)
To determine the best cities for pumpkin lovers in 2022, as Halloween approaches, 24/7 Tempo consulted a ranking computed by LawnStarter, a lawn care company that frequently rates amenities of various kinds in cities around the country.
Drawing on information from BreweryDB, East TN Family Fun, Google Ads, PumpkinPatchesAndMore.org, TripAdvisor, and Yelp and considering the 200 largest U.S. cities, LawnStarter based its rankings on seven differently weighted metrics in three categories: access (i.e., the number, with total or per square mile, of pumpkin patches, farmers markets, bakeries, coffee shops, and breweries serving pumpkin or pumpkin spice beer), events (pumpkin-related), and interest (average Google searches for pumpkin-related keywords over the past month).
About half of the locations on our list of the 35 best cities for pumpkin lovers in 2022 are located in two states – California, which has nine and Arizona with eight. Illinois placed two cities in the top 10, Aurora and Chicago – which isn’t surprising given the fact that that state was the nation’s leader in total pumpkin production, acres planted, and acres harvested in 2021. (These are the 13 states that grow the most pumpkins.)
35. San Antonio, Texas
> Access rank: 33/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 9/200
> Overall score: 22.37
34. Reno, Nevada
> Access rank: 119/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 78/200
> Overall score: 22.46
33. Long Beach, California
> Access rank: 29/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 51/200
> Overall score: 22.76
32. Houston, Texas
> Access rank: 31/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 4/200
> Overall score: 23.65
31. Escondido, California
> Access rank: 25/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 159/200
> Overall score: 24
30. Pasadena, California
> Access rank: 26/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 127/200
> Overall score: 24
29. Grand Rapids, Michigan
> Access rank: 27/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 56/200
> Overall score: 24.18
28. Chula Vista, California
> Access rank: 24/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 108/200
> Overall score: 24.39
27. Rochester, New York
> Access rank: 23/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 56/200
> Overall score: 24.7
26. Providence, Rhode Island
> Access rank: 22/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 108/200
> Overall score: 24.86
25. Oceanside, California
> Access rank: 21/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 159/200
> Overall score: 25.19
24. Surprise, Arizona
> Access rank: 20/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 188/200
> Overall score: 25.33
23. Santa Rosa, California
> Access rank: 94/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 159/200
> Overall score: 25.51
22. Scottsdale, Arizona
> Access rank: 19/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 91/200
> Overall score: 26.56
21. Bellevue, Washington
> Access rank: 18/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 96/200
> Overall score: 26.6
20. Chandler, Arizona
> Access rank: 16/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 96/200
> Overall score: 26.77
19. Glendale, Arizona
> Access rank: 15/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 108/200
> Overall score: 26.89
18. Mesa, Arizona
> Access rank: 14/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 53/200
> Overall score: 27.25
17. San Francisco, California
> Access rank: 17/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 17/200
> Overall score: 27.37
16. Milwaukee, WI
> Access rank: 12/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 34/200
> Overall score: 29.24
15. Phoenix, Arizona
> Access rank: 13/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 9/200
> Overall score: 29.57
14. Tempe, Arizona
> Access rank: 9/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 96/200
> Overall score: 30.01
13. Peoria, Arizona
> Access rank: 8/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 127/200
> Overall score: 30.03
12. Dallas, Texas
> Access rank: 67/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 5/200
> Overall score: 31.29
11. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> Access rank: 64/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 33/200
> Overall score: 31.3
10. San Diego, California
> Access rank: 7/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 8/200
> Overall score: 31.56
9. Aurora, Illinois
> Access rank: 5/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 172/200
> Overall score: 32.08
8. Chicago, Illinois
> Access rank: 6/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 3/200
> Overall score: 32.78
7. Las Vegas, Nevada
> Access rank: 32/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 14/200
> Overall score: 35.61
6. Worcester, Massachusetts
> Access rank: 3/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 172/200
> Overall score: 39.65
5. Seattle, Washington
> Access rank: 2/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 7/200
> Overall score: 42.04
4. Miami, Florida
> Access rank: 10/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 12/200
> Overall score: 43.65
3. New York, New York
> Access rank: 11/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 1/200
> Overall score: 48.95
2. Los Angeles, California
> Access rank: 4/200
> Events rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 2/200
> Overall score: 51.39
1. Portland, Oregon
> Access rank: 1/200
> Events rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 22/200
> Overall score: 52.06