San Francisco Named Top Town for Trick-or-Treating

Oct. 16, 2013— -- While San Francisco may get slammed for being among the least affordable cities in the U.S., the Bay Area metropolis received high Halloween honors for the third year in a row when Zillow named it the top town for trick-or-treating in its annual "20 Best" list.

Analyzing a combination of data including home values, population density, walkability and crime data, Zillow determined that the luxurious abodes and spacious sidewalks of the city are a boon to tiny ghosts and ghouls.

"There are many factors that make an area a good place to trick-or-treat," said Zillow's chief marketing officer Amy Bohutinsky. "The cities that made the top of our list had winning combinations of walkable neighborhoods, high home values--as we theorized that bigger homes in more expensive neighborhoods would give out bigger, better candy--low crime rates and high population density."

At least one San Francisco parent agreed with the designation.

"In general, because of the hills and distribution of houses, people tend to go to specific areas where the neighbors expect and prepare for the kids," said Naomi Lempert-Lopez. "Pacific Heights has huge candy bars and a major selection--one guy used to put out a whole convenience store of candy out front. In Sea Cliff, one neighbor is a sports agent and gets 49ers cheerleaders. Noe Valley has two spots that I know of that offer candy especially for younger kids. Any of these places, my kids fill up a pillowcase each with candy in one hour."

While Noe Valley was named the best neighborhood by Zillow within San Francisco for trick-or-treating, not all residents of the city travel there to go guising.

"I like to give out candy on Cortlandt Street in Bernal Heights," another local resident told ABC News. "All the people in all of the stores and bars and stuff come out and give candy to the herds of kids on the street. It's a little neighborhood 'Main Street,' so it's cute."

But she also said that you might not find superlative candy in your bag.

"There is a really big push on healthy homemade vegan this-and-that to go along with really intense handmade costumes," she said. "It's crunch granola gone crazy."

Boston, Honolulu, San Jose and Seattle rounded out the top five on the Zillow list.

Trailing behind them were Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Portland, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Miami, Denver, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Virginia Beach.