The first-time people in the America got together to celebrate St. Patrick's Day was in Boston. The oldest St. Patrick's Day parade is in New York. Savannah, Georgia boasts a celebration bigger and more boisterous than you'd expect from a its population of 150,000. But where is the best city to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? That would be Chicago according to an analysis from Wallethub.
The personal finance site used at 17 metrics to assess America's best St. Patrick's Day cities under four main criteria: St. Patrick's Day traditions, costs, safety and weather. Boston scored highest in St. Patrick's Day traditions, which takes into account things like the percentage of a city's population that's Irish and how much St. Patrick's Day history it has. Jersey City came in as the safest city to celebrate and Madison, Wisconsin landed in the top 15 in three of the four categories making it the third best St. Patrick's city overall. But with its green river and huge number of Irish pubs, nobody could best Chicago. The windy city's success may have even bled out into the suburbs, as Naperville, Illinois came in at number six on Wallethub's list.
As for the bottom of the list, while California may have plenty going for it—it's got unbeatable weather, it's the fifth largest economy in the world, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter seems pretty cool—it's not a hotbed of St. Patrick's Day revelry. 13 of the last 15 places on the list of 200 cities are in California.
Check out the top 10 below and Wallethub's interactive map to see where your city ranks.
Top 10 US cities to celebrate St. Patrick's Day
1. Chicago, IL
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. Madison, WI
4. Boston, MA
5. Tampa, FL
6. Naperville, IL
7. New York, NY
8. Pittsburgh, PA
9. Rockford, IL
10. Dayton, OH
