Thanksgiving 2025: These cities rank as the best places to go for the holiday

Thanksgiving is around the corner and while many are preparing their menus and guest lists, others might be considering a getaway for some holiday rest and relaxation.

While there is no shortage of appealing places to choose from, WalletHub shared their list of best travel destinations across the country.

RELATED: Stores offering Thanksgiving meal deals in 2025

To collect their findings, the personal finance website compared the most populated cities in the U.S. using five main data benchmarks: Thanksgiving celebrations and traditions, affordability, safety and accessibility, giving thanks, and the Thanksgiving weather forecast.

Top cities for Thanksgiving 

Dig deeper:

WalletHub assessed the five metrics listed above using 18 key categories, with each benchmark graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing optimal conditions for a Thanksgiving celebration.

1. San Antonio
2. Atlanta
3. Virginia Beach, Virginia
4. Dallas
5. Scottsdale, Arizona
6. Irving, Texas
7. Plano, Texas
8. Louisville, Kentucky
9. Las Vegas
10. Chesapeake, Virginia
11. Corpus Christi, Texas
12. Houston
13. Tulsa, Oklahoma
14. Cincinnati
15. Washington, D.C.
16. Austin, Texas
17. San Diego
18. Boston
19. New York City
20. Miami

To see the complete list of cities, click here. 

WalletHub’s breakdown of the top three cities

Local perspective:

San Antonio, Atlanta, and Virginia Beach, Virginia were the top destinations for Thanksgiving travelers. WalletHub explains what makes these cities distinct from the others. 

San Antonio

San Antonio ranks as the top city to visit for Thanksgiving in 2025. The city has a high number of restaurants with nearly 5-star ratings. In its report, WalletHub found that San Antonio is known for making the holiday festive with an array of pumpkin patches and holiday decoration shops in the area. 

RELATED: Should you wash your Thanksgiving turkey? What food experts say

And for visitors eager to save a little money when they visit San Antonio, the city offers the third-most affordable Thanksgiving dinners in the nation, complemented by excellent weather with only a 1% chance of rain during the holiday, according to WalletHub.

Atlanta

Atlanta is the second-best city to visit for Thanksgiving, in part because of its high number of holiday decoration stores and quality restaurants per capita. 

And the city’s airport is also good for travelers, with only 12% of flights arriving to or departing from Atlanta getting delayed in November 2024, the 11th-lowest percentage in the nation, per WalletHub.

Meanwhile, Atlanta is among the top cities for the number of charities per capita, and its residents give roughly 5.3% of their income to charity, on average.

Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach is ranked as the third-best city for Thanksgiving in 2025 partially based on its affordable hotels. According to WalletHub, the lowest price for a 3-star hotel room in Virginia Beach on Thanksgiving is only $41, the second cheapest in the U.S.

 

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