Posted by: Richie Bernardo

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — or at least it can be, depending on where you celebrate Christmas. That’s because America’s favorite holiday is also one of the most expensive. From decorations and food to gifts and travel, there’s a long list of expenses to check twice and save up for during the year.

In 2017, Americans plan to spend up to $682 billion over the holidays, according to the National Retail Federation. That’s an increase of up to 4 percent from a year ago. If you don’t have a reasonable holiday budget — or enough self-control — then your Plan B should definitely include celebrating in the cheapest Christmas destinations. Overspending is a common sin committed by consumers during the Christmas shopping season and one of the top sources of holiday stress.

But beyond ensuring its affordability, a successful holiday also hinges on a location’s Christmas-friendliness. Typical Christmas activities include shopping, dining out and attending holiday events, so the availability of such options can make all the difference. Many people also are likely to attend church services, considering Christmas is a Christian holiday. The more churches around, the less likely each one will be crowded.

Lucky for you, WalletHub considered all of those factors to determine where you’re guaranteed to enjoy a holly jolly Christmas whether you’ve been naughty or nice. More specifically, we compared the 100 biggest U.S. cities based on 29 key indicators of a festive and affordable Christmas, such as traditions, shopping and costs. Read on for the ranking results, expert holiday tips and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

 

Best Places for Christmas

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	City	Total Score	‘Traditions & Fun’ Rank	‘Observance’ Rank	‘Generosity’ Rank	‘Shopping’ Rank	‘Costs’ Rank
1	Chicago, IL	64.44	7	4	15	8	53
2	San Francisco, CA	63.76	2	33	6	2	91
3	Pittsburgh, PA	63.72	17	2	4	4	47
4	New York, NY	63.60	1	3	8	11	99
5	Seattle, WA	61.84	9	50	1	6	65
6	Orlando, FL	61.70	3	19	58	5	34
7	Atlanta, GA	59.43	6	12	5	15	78
8	Washington, DC	57.79	5	13	2	19	92
9	Las Vegas, NV	57.77	4	41	53	1	69
10	Portland, OR	57.76	16	39	7	7	33
11	St. Louis, MO	57.76	27	6	62	9	13
12	Dallas, TX	56.51	12	15	48	16	15
13	Cincinnati, OH	55.80	20	8	52	12	46
14	Los Angeles, CA	54.85	10	14	42	10	90
15	Denver, CO	51.81	14	36	22	23	36
16	Birmingham, AL	51.45	59	1	36	33	28
17	San Diego, CA	51.42	11	37	67	14	55
18	Houston, TX	50.03	19	9	87	21	50
19	Oklahoma City, OK	49.25	48	18	43	38	7
20	Miami, FL	48.81	8	32	78	17	83
21	Tampa, FL	48.72	23	38	30	13	84
22	Austin, TX	48.51	15	46	83	18	26
23	Philadelphia, PA	48.32	21	7	60	22	97
24	Virginia Beach, VA	48.29	29	84	12	45	5
25	Honolulu, HI	48.24	18	54	81	3	73
26	Columbus, OH	47.98	38	42	51	40	3
27	Cleveland, OH	47.65	41	5	45	58	52
28	Charlotte, NC	47.61	35	30	31	25	38
29	Minneapolis, MN	47.56	40	21	26	31	45
30	Jacksonville, FL	47.47	57	27	33	51	8
31	Louisville, KY	47.05	51	20	59	30	18
32	Nashville, TN	46.66	47	34	14	29	51
33	Raleigh, NC	46.28	36	53	23	46	27
34	Sacramento, CA	45.84	32	40	39	24	59
35	Memphis, TN	45.74	65	10	57	39	64
36	Phoenix, AZ	45.72	25	79	35	37	2
37	Indianapolis, IN	45.69	45	24	28	55	31
38	New Orleans, LA	45.67	13	52	55	44	60
39	Tulsa, OK	45.39	64	29	50	43	1
40	San Antonio, TX	45.26	22	23	77	34	56
41	Milwaukee, WI	44.97	52	22	47	73	23
42	Baltimore, MD	44.91	26	17	72	50	63
43	Detroit, MI	44.73	37	11	88	77	22
44	Scottsdale, AZ	44.37	66	93	11	20	37
45	Kansas City, MO	43.64	58	28	25	64	32
46	St. Paul, MN	43.40	39	31	37	28	89
47	Omaha, NE	42.42	60	43	56	49	17
48	Fort Worth, TX	42.24	67	25	21	74	41
49	Durham, NC	42.09	83	62	17	56	16
50	Boston, MA	42.02	24	71	9	52	96
51	Buffalo, NY	41.63	44	16	95	26	58
52	Wichita, KS	41.39	77	35	80	65	14
53	Oakland, CA	40.94	55	45	13	54	87
54	San Jose, CA	40.90	50	63	34	27	85
55	Tucson, AZ	40.88	61	49	79	36	9
56	Baton Rouge, LA	40.06	69	56	84	42	30
57	Greensboro, NC	39.97	46	44	63	78	39
58	Boise, ID	39.67	42	75	68	61	11
59	Reno, NV	39.61	62	95	65	41	21
60	Plano, TX	39.43	71	82	3	53	66
61	Irvine, CA	39.31	34	77	19	48	100
62	Madison, WI	39.13	63	70	20	47	67
63	Anaheim, CA	39.03	28	64	66	57	71
64	Lexington-Fayette, KY	38.68	70	68	73	63	6
65	Norfolk, VA	38.22	33	66	61	82	43
66	Chesapeake, VA	38.21	43	76	16	92	49
67	Jersey City, NJ	37.56	75	67	10	93	68
68	Colorado Springs, CO	37.53	54	72	38	59	42
69	Albuquerque, NM	37.20	74	61	97	32	10
70	Chandler, AZ	36.63	72	97	44	62	4
71	Lincoln, NE	36.58	93	73	40	35	77
72	Long Beach, CA	36.25	53	57	75	66	57
73	Fresno, CA	35.69	73	48	98	68	24
74	Santa Ana, CA	35.54	31	78	69	75	88
75	Mesa, AZ	35.46	96	88	49	60	20
76	Gilbert, AZ	35.40	49	96	18	89	25
77	Winston-Salem, NC	34.99	68	65	91	79	54
78	Bakersfield, CA	34.96	85	51	96	70	48
79	Newark, NJ	34.79	79	26	46	98	94
80	El Paso, TX	34.00	78	58	93	81	19
81	St. Petersburg, FL	33.93	30	86	76	80	76
82	Aurora, CO	33.89	84	92	41	86	35
83	Lubbock, TX	33.44	82	59	70	85	70
84	Anchorage, AK	33.24	56	90	54	71	81
85	Arlington, TX	32.60	87	83	29	83	80
86	Henderson, NV	32.56	90	98	64	87	12
87	Fort Wayne, IN	32.53	80	60	74	72	93
88	Fremont, CA	32.21	86	89	24	84	98
89	Irving, TX	32.05	94	81	27	97	79
90	Stockton, CA	31.71	81	74	90	69	75
91	Toledo, OH	31.12	91	47	92	94	62
92	Riverside, CA	31.12	88	69	86	67	72
93	Chula Vista, CA	31.06	76	91	71	88	61
94	Garland, TX	30.69	100	85	32	99	82
95	Glendale, AZ	28.72	92	94	82	76	40
96	Laredo, TX	28.28	99	80	100	91	29
97	Corpus Christi, TX	27.56	97	55	99	90	86
98	San Bernardino, CA	25.73	95	87	94	95	74
99	North Las Vegas, NV	25.11	89	99	85	100	44
100	Hialeah, FL	23.72	98	100	89	96	95

Ask the Experts

Many people feel pressured to spend during the holidays, which can lead to overspending. To help consumers avoid ending the year with an empty wallet and stay safe during their travels, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What tips do you have for celebrating Christmas on a budget?
2. What are some of the big money wasters on Christmas?
3. What money-saving tips do you have for people planning to travel for the Christmas holiday?
4. Is celebrating Christmas in public more dangerous this year than in previous ones, given 2017’s incidents of violence?

Methodology

In order to determine the best places to celebrate Christmas, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated cities across three key dimensions: 1) Traditions & Fun, 2) Observance, 3) Generosity, 4) Shopping and 5) Costs.

We evaluated those dimensions using 29 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for celebrating Christmas.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. In determining our sample, we considered only the city proper in each case, excluding cities in the surrounding metro area. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

Traditions & Fun - Total Points: 20

• Ranking on Top 25 Destinations for Christmas: Full WeightNote: This metric is based on advance hotel reservations made on priceline.com and measures the ranking of the city among the top 25 Christmas destinations.
• Christmas Popularity: Full WeightNote: This metric measures the percentage of incoming flights to the city before Christmas/New Year’s Day.
• Christmas Events per Capita*: Full WeightNote: “Events” include festivals, performances and galas.
• Google Search Interest for ‘Christmas Celebration’: Full WeightNote: This metric measures the real intent of the population to find information about the following search terms: “Christmas party,” “Christmas light show,” “Christmas market,” “Christmas concert,” “Christmas festival,” and “Christmas dinner.” “Real intent” is measured using the average monthly search volumes for those specific terms.
• Christmas Tree Farms per Capita*: Full Weight
• Restaurants per Capita*: Full Weight
• Diversity of Restaurants: Full Weight
• Number of Attractions: Full Weight
• Ice Skating Rinks per Capita*: Full Weight
• Nightlife Options per Capita*: Full Weight
• Bars per Capita*: Full Weight

Observance - Total Points: 20

• Share of Christian Population: Full Weight
• Churches per Capita*: Full Weight

Generosity - Total Points: 20

• Food Banks per Capita: Full Weight
• Share of Income Donated to Charity: Full Weight
• Share of Population Collecting/Distributing Food & Clothes for the Needy: Full Weight
• Online Giving per Capita: Full Weight
• Christmas Spirit: Full WeightNote: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Most Caring Cities” ranking.

Shopping - Total Points: 20

• Christmas Markets per Capita*: Full Weight
• Gift Shops per Capita*: Full Weight
• Shopping Centers & Outlets per Capita*: Full Weight
• Toy Stores & Hobby Shops per Capita*: Full Weight
• Candy Stores & Chocolatiers per Capita*: Full Weight
• Cards & Stationery Shops per Capita*: Full Weight

Costs - Total Points: 20

• Average Price per Christmas Party Ticket: Full Weight
• Cost of Three-Star Hotel Room: Full Weight
• Restaurant Meal Costs: Full Weight
• Number of Affordable, High-Quality Restaurants: Full WeightNote: “High-Quality Restaurants” include those with ratings of 4.5 stars or higher.
• Average Beverage Price: Full WeightNote: “Beverage” refers to beer and wine.

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Corporation for National and Community Service, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Council for Community and Economic Research, The Association of Religion Data Archives, Sperling's BestPlaces, Priceline, Eventbrite, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Kayak, Numbeo and WalletHub research.

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