Sooner or later, someone was bound to try and quantify just what means “fun” in a destination. The researchers at WalletHub have done it and, in doing so, have declared Las Vegas to be the U.S. destination with the most fun. (A complete list of the Top 100 cities in the U.S. is below.) WalletHub, a personal finance website that, in its travel sector portfolio, rates travel credit cards, compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 65 key metrics. They range from fitness centers per capita to movie costs to average open hours of breweries.
In order to determine the most fun cities in the U.S., WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across three key dimensions: 1) Entertainment & Recreation, 2) Nightlife & Parties and 3) Costs.
Researchers evaluated those dimensions using 65 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 greatest number and variety of fun and cost-effective activities.
Finally, they determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order their sample. The sample considers only the city proper in each case and excludes the surrounding metro area.
Some Fun Stats:
New York has the most restaurants (per square root of population), 7.5828, which is 31.5 times more than in Peoria, Arizona, the city with the fewest at 0.2410.
New York has the most playgrounds (per square root of population), 0.6645, which is 19 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the fewest at 0.0350.
New York has the most bars (per square root of population), 1.5580, which is 71.5 times more than in West Valley City, Utah, the city with the fewest at 0.0218.
San Francisco has the most dance clubs (per square root of population), 0.1638, which is 86.2 times more than in Plano, Texas, the city with the fewest at 0.0019.
To view the full report, along with an explanation of the methodology used in determining the rankings, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-fun-cities-in-the-us/23455/
