SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Chances are, you associated New York City with New Year’s Eve, largely thanks to its iconic ball drop. However, according to a new survey, the Big Apple isn’t the prime spot to ring in 2024.
A study published by personal finance company WalletHub, recently reviewed the nation’s 100 most-populated cities based on multiple metrics, including entertainment and food options, costs, and safety and accessibility to find the top spot to celebrate the new year.
New York City was ranked third overall, thanks in part to its high entertainment and food rank of sixth. But that wasn’t enough to propel it passed Orlando, Florida, and San Diego, California, which ranked first and second, respectively.
Orlando had the best entertainment and food options, as well as “some of the longest fireworks displays in the country,” according to WalletHub.
Two Florida cities ranked in the top 10 as did three California cities. These are the best cities in the U.S. to ring in 2024, WalletHub found:
- Orlando, Florida
- San Diego, California
- New York, New York
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Miami, Florida
- Los Angeles, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Denver, Colorado
- Washington, D.C.
- San Francisco, California
Orlando scored top marks based on its nightlife options, fireworks and affordable restaurants, among other things. San Diego emerged as the top NYE destination on West Coast due to its mild weather, great restaurant choices and high Google search frequency for terms like “New Year’s Eve party” and “New Year’s Eve dinner.”
There are, of course, some less ideal cities to celebrate New Year’s Eve in, WalletHub found.
At the bottom of the survey’s list was North Las Vegas, which had among the lowest scores when it came to food and entertainment, as well as costs. Rounding out the bottom five on WalletHub’s list were Hialeah, Florida; Fremont, California; Chula Vista, California; and Laredo, Texas.
Fremont had the lowest food and entertainment score while Hialeah had the lowest cost score. St. Louis, Missouri, ranked as the lowest when it comes to safety and accessibility.
Multiple states had no cities on WalletHub’s list, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Maine, Arkansas, Iowa, Vermont, Utah, and South Carolina.