The $4 billion prom industry: By the numbers

Prom season is in full swing, which means it's time for high schoolers (and their parents!) to shell out big bucks for the one-night mega-party

Ah, prom: A time for celebrating young love, friendships, milestones, and spending a ridiculous amount on one-night attire.
(Image credit: Mike Watson/moodboard/Corbis)

It's prom season, the American teenage right of passage that marks a time of celebration, stressful corsage pinnings, precarious high-heel experiments, and very serious spending. Here, a guide to the highly profitable prom business, by the numbers:

$4 billion

Estimated value of the American prom industry

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$1500

Prom night rental fee for a stretch SUV limo that can accommodate 14 people, in Virginia

$750

Rental fee for the same SUV limo on any other night of the year. When asked about the price discrepancy, an employee of the Virginia company said, "Teenagers are horrible."

$13,997

Cost of the diamond-studded, "most expensive prom dress ever" on offer from Philadelphia-based company, Dress Goddess

$400

Cost of the average prom dress

$45,000

Cost of renting San Diego's Broadway Pier and tranforming it into a reasonable replica of Pandora, the fictional planet in Avatar, for San Marcos High School's graduates

$542

Average amount a family in the South will spend on prom, according to VISA's 2011 prom spending survey

$667

Average amount a family in the Northeast will spend on prom

$943

Average amount a family in the Midwest will spend on prom

$1,073

Average amount a family in the West will spend on prom

$778

Average amount parents with a combined income of less than $50,000 will spend on prom

$916

Average amount parents with a combined income of more than $50,000 will spend on prom

$3,000

Amount one suburban New York mother spent on her 15-year-old's first prom, which included teeth whitening, hair extensions, makeup, and, of course, the dress

Sources: ABC News, Martinsville Bulletin, Huffington Post, Fox News, North County Times

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