Now, here's a splendid use of technology. Zillow.com -- the Seattle online real estate company best known for its automated home valuations -- has put its complex algorithms to the test to come up with the top five Seattle neighborhoods for trick-or-treating. They are Wallingford, Queen Anne, Magnolia, University District and Capitol Hill.

In a blog post, the data geeks at Zillow explained how they came up with the ranking of where to locate the most KitKats, Crunch bars and Candy Corn.

"There is a common belief that wealthy neighborhoods are the Holy Grail for harvesting the most Halloween candy," writes Zillow's Whitney Tyner. "However, to provide a more holistic approach to Halloween trick-or-treating, the Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index was calculated using four equally weighted data variables: Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score, and local crime data. Based on those variables, this Index represents neighborhoods that will provide the most candy, with the least walking, and minimum safety risks."

The idea builds on one started by the Capitol Hill Blog from a few years ago when they incorporated Zillow's heat maps to show off the neighborhoods which potentially could deliver the most sweet treats.

And the idea of ranking Halloween hot spots fits right into Zillow.com CEO Rich Barton's thesis: "If it can be rated, it will be rated."

Geez, kids have it so easy these days.

[Flickr photo via Kurt Schlosser. Pumpkins in Ballard, one of the Seattle neighborhoods that didn't crack Zillow's top five]

UPDATE: King 5 picks up on the Zillow.com list, with this report.