Las Vegas tops list of America’s most fun cities, study says
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas is the most fun city in America, according to a study from WalletHub.
It seems the internet provides an outlet for studies of every ilk, to varying degrees of accuracy and relevance. It’s a day ending in Y, so another study has been released, this time from prolific study source WalletHub. This one compared more than 180 cities across the United States to find the one that’s most fun, and in this case, it’s hard to argue with WalletHub’s results.
The entertainment capital of the world ranked first in the United States for fun. Sounds about right? Perhaps it’s not as groundbreaking as last week’s study that found that Sin City was the most sinful city in America — imagine that — but WalletHub got us to write a story, so I guess they’re the real winners here, alongside Las Vegans who get to actually partake in said fun.
Let’s go deeper.
According to WalletHub, the study measured 65 key metrics ranging from the number of attractions to ideal weather to fishing facilities per capita. Las Vegas took the top spot in four of them, including festivals per capita, restaurants per capita, dance clubs per capita, and the number of attractions.
Regarding playgrounds per capita, Vegas came in at number 26, while the city took the number 55 spot for bar accessibility and settled at number 21 for fitness centers per capita. Movie prices seemed to be Las Vegas’s fun kryptonite, providing its lowest-ranked category at number 85. Las Vegas ranked as number 38 for average beer price.
Still, representatives from WalletHub did provide some nuance, saying that it’s crucial to select a city that matches each individual’s brand of fun rather than relying on the generic “fun” metric.
“All cities have a variety of activities, but some shine more than others when it comes to things like parks and beaches, live music and comedy, partying, sports culture or fine dining,” said Cassandra Happe, an analyst for WalletHub. “Picking a city to spend a weekend in is easy, but moving to a city where you’ll have fun on a regular basis requires more research.”
Source: WalletHub
The top 10 include Orlando, FL, Atlanta, GA, and Austin, TX. Interestingly, only one California city cracked the top 15 as San Francisco ranked at number five. San Diego just missed out on top 15 honors at number 16. The top 15 are as follows.
Overall Rank* | City | Total Score | Entertainment & Recreation Rank | Nightlife & Parties Rank | Costs Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Las Vegas, NV | 71.38 | 1 | 1 | 78 |
2 | Orlando, FL | 62.42 | 3 | 3 | 66 |
3 | Miami, FL | 55.91 | 7 | 2 | 165 |
4 | Atlanta, GA | 55.73 | 9 | 6 | 104 |
5 | San Francisco, CA | 53.35 | 6 | 5 | 176 |
6 | New Orleans, LA | 52.49 | 18 | 4 | 129 |
7 | Austin, TX | 51.60 | 20 | 7 | 87 |
8 | Chicago, IL | 50.57 | 8 | 12 | 144 |
9 | Honolulu, HI | 49.98 | 2 | 22 | 162 |
10 | New York, NY | 49.35 | 5 | 10 | 182 |
11 | Cincinnati, OH | 49.22 | 14 | 20 | 35 |
12 | Denver, CO | 48.99 | 16 | 13 | 125 |
13 | Portland, OR | 48.86 | 17 | 8 | 158 |
14 | St. Louis, MO | 48.78 | 23 | 17 | 16 |
15 | Washington, DC | 48.67 | 11 | 9 | 175 |
Other Nevada cities on the list include Reno, which came in at 28, Henderson at 65, and North Las Vegas at 140.
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