Nothing makes you evaluate the city where you live like out-of-town guests. Since we’re into the holiday season, when those guests pop up more than ever, many Americans might be wondering if their town is any fun.
WalletHub, a personal finance website, decided to help them out. It compiled a list of 182 municipalities, ranked by most to least fun. To determine how “fun” a location was, WalletHub used 65 wide-ranging metrics, including things like access to fitness centers, the cost to see a movie and how often breweries are open.
“Everyone’s brand of fun is different. Some people like trying new restaurants, traveling, visiting bars and clubs, or playing outdoor sports,” said the site. “Others enjoy riding roller coasters, going to the movies or playing video games.”
Additionally, it noted that fun becomes less accessible if it is too expensive. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index report, American households spend more than $3,400 per year on entertainment.
Here are the places in the U.S. that rank highest on WalletHub’s “fun” scale – it may come as a surprise that just two out of the five largest cities (Chicago and New York) in the U.S. made the list:
1. Las Vegas, Nev.
2. Orlando, Fla.
3. Miami, Fla.
4. Atlanta, Ga.
5. San Francisco, Calif.
6. New Orleans, La.
7. Austin, Texas
8. Chicago, Ill.
9. Honolulu, Hawaii
10. New York, N.Y.
Los Angles, the second largest city in the nation came in at 20. However, Vegas is only about four to five hours away by car. Houston, Texas, – the fourth largest city in the nation – and Phoenix, Ariz., the fifth also didn’t land in the top 10. Houston came in at 19th and Phoenix came in at 30.
Still, that doesn’t mean those cities wouldn’t be the perfect match for your lifestyle.
“Finding a city that matches your own unique brand of fun is important,” said Cassandra Happe, an analyst for WalletHub, explained. “All cities have a variety of activities, but some shine more than others when it comes to things like parks and beaches, live music and comedy, partying, sports culture or fine dining. Picking a city to spend a weekend in is easy, but moving to a city where you’ll have fun on a regular basis requires more research.”
Some cities did rank particularly low on the list. Here’s the bottom 10 – Pearl City was in the last spot at 182.
1. Pearl City, Hawaii
2. South Burlington, Vt.
3. Oxnard, Calif.
4. Nashua, N.H.
5. Yonkers, N.Y.
6. Santa Rosa, Calif.
7. Dover, Del.
8. Fremont, Calif.
9. Cheyenne, Wyo.
10. Bridgeport, Conn.