Best cities for celebrating Christmas without breaking the bank
(Photo by Long Lei/Xinhua via Getty Images)
With Americans projected to spend more than $1 trillion this holiday season, a new analysis reveals which of the nation’s 100 largest cities offer the most festive — and affordable — Christmas experience.
Methodology:
To find the most festive and affordable cities for Christmas celebrations, WalletHub analyzed the 100 most populous U.S. cities using 28 key indicators tied to holiday traditions, shopping, generosity, observance, and overall costs. The study evaluated each metric on a 100-point scale, with higher scores reflecting more favorable conditions for celebrating Christmas.
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WalletHub then calculated a weighted average across all metrics to determine each city’s overall score and final ranking, focusing solely on city limits rather than the broader metro area. For select metrics, the researchers adjusted population size using the square-root method to prevent small differences between cities from skewing the results.
What they're saying:
"With inflation making Christmas celebrations, gifts, food and travel more expensive, certain cities are much better for your wallet than others during the holiday," WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said in an online statement. "In addition to being affordable, the best cities have a large number of people celebrating, plenty of places for Christians to worship, populations who give generously to charity, and plenty of fun activities to enjoy with family and friends."
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Best cities for Christmas
Dig deeper:
Atlanta
Atlanta tops this year’s list thanks to its abundance of holiday-ready shops, from bakeries to décor and card stores. The city also boasts one of the highest concentrations of affordable, top-rated restaurants and ranks 10th in Christmas tree farms per capita.
Residents’ enthusiasm shows, too — Atlanta has some of the nation’s highest holiday search activity and strong charitable participation, with high rates of clothing donations and online giving.
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San Francisco
San Francisco ranks second, offering plenty of places to find gifts and treats, including leading numbers of candy shops, chocolatiers, and card stores. It also claims the top spot for affordable 4.5-star restaurants and has one of the highest counts of food banks and tourist attractions.
Families can also enjoy seasonal fun — the city ranks 20th for ice-skating rinks per capita.
Seattle
Seattle comes in third, driven by its strong culture of generosity. It has one of the highest levels of online donations, numerous food banks, and a large share of residents involved in clothing charity work.
Holiday shopping is easy with many gift shops and shopping centers, plus plenty of tree farms and bakeries. Staying in Seattle is budget-friendly, too — Christmas lodging and highly rated restaurants are comparatively affordable.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a new analysis by WalletHub, which compared the 100 most populous U.S. cities across 28 holiday-related metrics. This story was reported from Los Angeles.