Frightfully pricey treats: Why Halloween fun is costing Georgia families more

by Marie Ladino | Oct 28, 2025

Georgia's favorite halloween candy is getting more expensive

Frightfully pricey treats: Why Halloween fun is costing Georgia families more

Key Points

Candy and chewing gum prices have increased by 38% in just the last five years. These costs have even outpaced the 25% increase in grocery prices during the same period.
With rising costs of living, many Georgia families are struggling to cover their basic needs. This leaves them with little extra to buy fun treats like Halloween candy.
Georgia policymakers can help put money back into Georgians’ pockets by fixing regulations that make housing unaffordable, removing barriers to good jobs, and restructuring safety net programs to help people find rewarding work.

As Halloween approaches, Georgia families usually look forward to making great memories involving irresistibly adorable costumes and big candy hauls. Many of us know—maybe even from our own childhood experiences—that trick-or-treaters often cheer with delight when they find their favorite sweets in their candy bags.

Halloween is the season for treats. It’s the biggest day of the year for candy sales, slightly surpassing Valentine’s Day. Data on consumer purchases shows that Georgia’s favorite Halloween candies are Life Savers, Jolly Ranchers, and Trolli gummies, with M&M’s and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups following close behind.

Most of us indulge in these sweet treats every now and then, especially around Halloween. But for many Georgia families, candy is becoming hard to afford.

Candy and chewing gum prices have increased by an astonishing 38% over the last five years. That’s even more than grocery prices, which have gone up 25% during the same period.

Halloween candy prices have gone up 38% in just the last five years.

Candy and chewing gum prices, January 2021 to July 2025

For chocolate treats in particular, recent bouts of bad weather and crop diseases have damaged cocoa trees around the world. This has led to a cocoa shortage that has driven up prices.

High costs like these are making it difficult for some Georgians to give their children and their young neighbors the happy and memorable Halloween they’re hoping for.

The struggle to afford life in Georgia (beyond Halloween candy)

Many low- and middle-income families in Georgia are struggling to cover the basic costs of living, as prices for just about everything seem to be rising. The increasing costs add extra hardship to the many barriers that already impact people’s well-being and their ability to afford the occasional fun extras like Halloween candy.

Shortage of affordable housing: At least 94 of Georgia’s 159 counties don’t have enough housing for their residents. The shortage is driving up prices and making affordable homes hard to come by. High mortgage rates, rising costs of construction materials, and a big increase in Georgia’s population since 1980 are contributing to the problem. Restrictive local regulations regarding land use and infrastructure, including roads and water lines, are making the housing shortage even more severe.

Barriers to work and upward mobility:About a quarter of prime age (25-54) adults aren’t working in 96 Georgia counties. Many of these Georgians are facing limited economic opportunities in their communities. And some workers feel forced to stay in low-paying jobs to remain eligible for the safety net benefits that protect their family’s well-being. These difficult situations keep people from rising out of poverty and growing their income.

Access to sufficient food: In 2024, about 1.4 million Georgians, or 13% of the state’s population, received support from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help them buy food. Of those SNAP participants, 69% were part of families with children, and most had incomes below the poverty line. While Georgia families can use SNAP benefits to buy candy, meeting basic needs is the priority for most.

Policy solutions Georgia can’t afford to ignore

Georgia lawmakers have the ability to make valuable reforms that would help people have more money in their pockets for family expenses.

Fewer housing regulations: To increase the supply of lower-priced houses, local leaders in Georgia need to allow greater flexibility in lot sizes in new subdivisions. They should also grant more permits for varied housing types—like duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes—and for additional homes near commercial centers. These changes would enable builders to construct more affordable homes.

Reduced occupational licensing requirements: Georgia policymakers have many opportunities to lower barriers to meaningful work and upward mobility, including by reducing occupational licensing requirements. These licenses are typically mandatory for certain professions. By implementing licensing reforms, lawmakers could open more doors for workers, streamlining processes and removing some of the exclusions for people who have been incarcerated.

Revamped welfare system: To improve Georgia’s welfare system, state lawmakers should explore a “One Door” strategy for managing safety net and workforce services. In this scenario, both benefits and job training support would be linked together in a single location. This would provide welfare recipients with a clear path back into the workforce and toward financial independence.

These vital policy changes would strengthen and stabilize Georgia families, helping to lift them above the poverty line and making it possible for them to thrive, even in the face of rising costs. Strong families, in turn, would help their communities prosper. And with more opportunities to flourish, life would be sweeter for Georgians—not just at Halloween but all throughout the year.

Additional Resources

Eliminating the Benefit Cliff and Achieving Savings for Taxpayers: A Reform Proposal for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(American Enterprise Institute)

End Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility in SNAP and Address Benefit Cliffs
(American Enterprise Institute)

State Occupational Licensing Index 2025
(Archbridge Institute)

Georgia: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

A Better Way to Get Welfare Recipients Back into the Labor Force
(City Journal)

Non-Working Adults Concentrated in Georgia’s Distressed Communities
(Georgia Center for Opportunity)

Solving the Food Assistance (SNAP) Benefits Cliff
(Georgia Center for Opportunity)

Short Supply: How Many More Homes Does Georgia Need?
(Georgia Public Policy Foundation)

SNAP Data Tables
(U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service)

Image Credit: Canva

New Report: Corrections spending rises in Georgia even as prison population declines

by Rebecca Primis | Oct 13, 2025

New Report: Corrections spending rises in Georgia even as prison population declines

PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA—Georgia’s prison population has shrunk in recent years, but a new Manhattan Institute report written by Joshua Crawford, a Public Safety Fellow at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, shows that the decreasing number of inmates hasn’t translated to meaningful savings or improvements in public safety for Georgians.

Instead, the report reveals that corrections spending has risen as Georgia’s prison population has declined. The number of incarcerated Georgians dropped by 11.7% between 2010 and 2023, but corrections spending increased by 23.6% over the same period. The trends in Georgia are consistent with those in almost every other state—incarceration rates are falling while corrections budgets are growing.

The data confirms that reducing the number of people in prison isn’t the answer to decreasing the state budget in Georgia or elsewhere.

As Crawford says, “Georgia lawmakers should focus conversations about criminal justice where they belong: on protecting the public and creating a fair and just system that values the lives, liberty, and property of Georgia families. Those are things lawmakers can meaningfully impact immediately, while criminal justice budgets are more complex and fixed.”

At a glance: facts on the prison population and corrections spending in Georgia

In 2023, 49,814 people were incarcerated in Georgia.
From 2010-2023, Georgia’s prison population decreased by 6,618 people, or 11.7%.
From 2010-2023, Georgia’s corrections spending increased by $258,546,766, or 23.6%.
In fiscal year 2023, Georgia’s Department of Corrections budget was $1,354,962,683, or 2.2% of the state’s total budget.

A closer look at Georgia’s inmate numbers and corrections spending

The number of people in Georgia’s prisons decreased by 6,618 to 49,814 from 2010-2023, but corrections spending in Georgia increased by $258,546,766 during the same time frame.

Notably, Crawford points out most individuals in Georgia’s prisons are violent and repeat offenders, and the majority have had five or more prior arrests before incarceration. Because these offenders pose higher public safety risks and drive most of the system’s costs, reducing inmates at the margins does little to generate savings.

Even with the growth in spending, Georgia’s overall Department of Corrections budget in fiscal year 2023 was $1,354,962,683, just 2.2% of the state’s total budget. The vast majority of state dollars went toward other initiatives that help Georgians prosper, including education, public welfare, healthcare, and highways.

Regarding corrections spending, Crawford explained that “because prison budgets are driven by fixed costs like payroll, maintenance, and facilities, modest reductions in the number of inmates don’t free up meaningful savings. Unless states close prisons or dramatically cut staffing, costs remain largely unchanged.”

Reshaping the conversation on criminal justice policy

Long-standing arguments continue about reducing the prison population as a way to decrease Georgia’s overall spending. But the data shows that policymakers need to focus instead on building a more effective criminal justice system that addresses the true costs of crime and helps Georgians flourish.

One crime was committed every 2 minutes and 33 seconds in Georgia in 2024. The effects of this criminal activity are devastating for local communities. Violent crime, in particular, takes a huge toll on property values, employment, economic opportunities, and people’s upward mobility.

Ensuring safety is a core government responsibility, and it’s the first step in creating more prosperous communities throughout Georgia. Public safety is essential to improving economic opportunities, building healthy relationships among neighbors, and enabling Georgians to thrive.

With effective reforms, policymakers can make safety a reality for Georgia’s residents, breaking the interconnected cycles of poverty and crime and transforming communities for generations to come.

About the Georgia Center for Opportunity

The Georgia Center for Opportunity is a nonprofit organization that works to remove barriers to ensure that every person—no matter their race, past mistakes, or the circumstances of their birth—has access to safe communities, a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life.

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Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is independent, non-partisan, and solutions-focused. Our team is dedicated to creating opportunities for a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life for all Georgians. To achieve our mission, we research ways to help remove barriers to opportunity in each of these pathways, promote our solutions to policymakers and the public, and help effective and innovative social enterprises deliver results in their communities.

Send media inquiries to:

Rebecca Primis
Vice President of CommunicationsGeorgia Center for Opportunityrebeccap@foropportunity.org

Decarceration’s Disconnect: Corrections spending rises in Georgia even as prison population declines

by Jessica Snellings | Oct 9, 2025

Georgia prison spending has increased, even as prison populations have declined.

Decarceration’s Disconnect: Corrections spending rises in Georgia even as prison population declines

Key Points

The nation’s prison population has declined in many states, including in Georgia, but a new report shows that prison reforms to decrease the number of inmates haven’t translated into meaningful taxpayer savings.
Departments of Corrections budgets are actually increasing throughout the country, but prison costs still account for no more than about 5% of most states’ total budgets.
Instead of focusing on state prison budgets and costs per inmate, policymakers need to consider the total cost of crime—both monetary and social—that a community pays and how to reduce it.

Prison reform debates often focus on reducing prison populations to save taxpayers money. But is that actually possible?

In a new report for the Manhattan Institute, Joshua Crawford, a Public Safety Fellow at the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), argues that marginally decreasing prison populations doesn’t yield the taxpayer savings policymakers have long touted. Crawford also shows that continuing to focus mainly on cost savings instead of on other measures to reduce crime and recidivism may lead to unintended fiscal and social consequences for states, including Georgia.

To understand this argument, it’s essential to first understand the landscape of state prison populations and the associated costs of incarcerating an individual.

Understanding prison populations and associated costs

State prison populations decreased by 24% overall between 2010 and 2023, with 43 out of 50 states experiencing a decline. But despite those significant decreases, Departments of Corrections budgets haven’t followed suit.

In fact, Crawford’s report shows there is little to no relationship between changes in prison populations and changes in corrections spending.

Departments of Corrections budgets are actually increasing, but corrections costs still account for no more than about 5% of most states’ total budgets.

Nevertheless, many policymakers and advocates continue to argue that cutting prison populations will save money. So where is the disconnect between the numbers and the messaging?

Most often, the total cost per inmate per year is calculated by dividing the total costs of the prison system by the number of incarcerated people, but this is a misleading figure. Many of the more costly parts of a Department of Corrections budget (e.g., staff salaries, utility bills) are long-run or fixed costs that don’t vary with marginal changes in a prison’s population. To get a more accurate estimate of possible savings, it’s more important to consider short-run costs, like food and toiletries, which can vary immediately with a change in a prison’s population.

Interpreting the numbers for Georgia prisons

Georgia is one of the 43 states that, on average, saw a decrease in their prison populations between 2010 and 2023. The state experienced an 11.7% decrease in the number of inmates during that time.

Georgia falls in line with overall national trends year over year. The figure below illustrates the decrease in both Georgia’s and the nation’s number of incarcerated people. The biggest departure was in 2019, when Georgia seemingly had a sharp increase, but that increase was actually minimal at just 2.2%.

And like most states in recent years, Georgia saw a rebound in the number of inmates after the COVID-19 pandemic, when more people were released to help alleviate stress on prison systems.

Georgia's prison population decreased between 2010 and 2023, in line with national trends.

Black Line = National Trend, Blue Line = Georgia Trend

The data for Georgia also reinforces the lack of a relationship between the change in the number of inmates and the change in corrections spending. The table below reveals that even though Georgia’s prison population decreased from 2010 to 2023, corrections spending increased 23.6% during that time.

Georgia's prison population decreased from 2010 to 2023, but prison spending went up during that time.

Data from 2019 further reinforces this absence of a relationship. During that year, Georgia saw a very slight increase of 1,169 people in its prison population, but the state spent $21,430 less on corrections that year compared to 2018.

A better focus for Georgia policymakers

Instead of focusing on state prison budgets and costs per inmate, policymakers need to consider the total cost of crime—both monetary and social—that a community pays and how to reduce it.

Crime itself costs our nation anywhere from $2.6 trillion to $5.76 trillion each year, with violent crime accounting for 85% of those costs. A single homicide can cost upwards of $9 million in government resources and lost potential earnings of victims. This doesn’t account for the financial burdens it can put on families and communities.

In addition to the monetary cost of crime, communities pay a significant social price—and none more so than high-crime, impoverished areas. Effective public safety measures are foundational to upward mobility. Without them, these communities will continue to see the loss of businesses, local resources, and community connections that help people flourish.

With this in mind, policymakers and advocates should refocus criminal justice efforts toward reforms proven to reduce crime and recidivism. Improvements on both of these fronts generate cost savings of their own, in addition to saving lives and lowering fear of personal harm.

Best practice criminal justice reforms fall into eight solution categories that could spark meaningful change:

Addressing community disrepair
Investing in a well-trained police force
Building trust by protecting victims
Addressing gang violence
Addressing the low number of homicide detectives and low clearance rates
Ensuring appropriate sentencing
Implementing cognitive behavioral therapy for juvenile offenders
Evaluating and updating re-entry programs

In Georgia, policymakers and advocates should consider these specific efforts to reduce crime and recidivism:

Implementing reforms to help law enforcement close non-fatal shooting cases (e.g., the Firearm Assault Shoot Team in Denver, Colorado)
Broadening cognitive behavioral therapy offerings for juvenile offenders, which has shown promising results in juvenile recidivism rates
Prioritizing data collection and evaluation to help guide future programs and reforms
Helping communities through a holistic approach that includes job training and opportunities, affordable housing, and family programs

In addition to the above policy suggestions, GCO has prepared in-depth reports focusing on reducing crime in two major Georgia cities—Atlanta and Columbus.

As Crawford says of potential criminal justice reforms in Georgia, “lawmakers should focus conversations about criminal justice where they belong: on protecting the public and creating a fair and just system that values the lives, liberty, and property of Georgia families.” In doing so, policymakers can transform entire communities by making them safer for the people who live there.

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