With entertainment accounting for 4.7% of the average person’s spending each year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Most Fun Cities in America to identify the most enjoyable and cost-effective places to live– with Washington DC coming in ranked 20th.
As a suburb of DC, many here in Montgomery County will venture intro the district for some sort of entertainment during the year. WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 65 key metrics, ranging from fitness clubs per capita to movie costs to the average business hours of breweries.
| Top 20 Most Fun Cities in America | |
| 1. Las Vegas, NV | 11. Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| 2. Orlando, FL | 12. St. Louis, MO |
| 3. Miami, FL | 13. Denver, CO |
| 4. Atlanta, GA | 14. Portland, OR |
| 5. New Orleans, LA | 15. Cincinnati, OH |
| 6. Austin, TX | 16. Honolulu, HI |
| 7. San Francisco, CA | 17. Tampa, FL |
| 8. Chicago, IL | 18. Los Angeles, CA |
| 9. Houston, TX | 19. Seattle, WA |
| 10. New York, NY | 20. Washington, DC |
Key Stats Locally:
- Nearby Baltimore and Columbia (Howard County) made the list, coming in at #71 and #160 out of the 180 cities overall.
- Washington DC came in ranked #12 for the “Nightlife & Party” category.
- Washington DC came in ranked #13 in the “Entertainment & Recreation” category.
- Washington DC’s overall score was hurt by its 177th ranking in the “Costs” category.
Key Stats Nationally:
- Miami, Florida, has the most restaurants (per square root of population), which is 20.8 times more than in Pearl City, Hawaii, the city with the fewest.
- Boston has the highest share of the population with walkable park access, which is 3.1 times higher than in Indianapolis, the city with the lowest.
- Las Vegas has the most playgrounds (per square root of population), which is 22.2 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the fewest.
- San Francisco has the most dance clubs (per square root of population), which is 77 times more than in Henderson, Nevada, the city with the fewest.
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has the lowest average beer price (per six-pack), which is 1.6 times lower than in Anchorage, Alaska, the city with the highest.
- Greensboro, North Carolina, has the lowest movie cost, which is three times lower than in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, the cities with the highest.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-fun-cities-in-the-us/23455