LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Where will you spend New Year’s Eve? If sitting on your soft and warm couch watching people across the nation celebrate isn’t for you, maybe a trip to one of the best places in the nation to ring in the new year is just the ticket.

According to a new study published by WalletHub, the best city for New Year’s Eve is New York City. This is followed by Orlando and Las Vegas. Other major metro areas making the top 20 are San Francisco at number 4, Denver coming in sixth, Los Angeles making the top 10 at ninth, and San Diego is 14th.

Other western cities making the list were: Portland at 31, Tucson at 40, Sacramento at 45, Bakersfield at 72, and Fresno at 81.

Best Cities for New Year’s

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Entertainment & Food	Costs	Safety & Accessibility
1	New York, NY	70.20	1	98	6
2	Orlando, FL	70.12	5	65	41
3	Las Vegas, NV	70.09	3	70	51
4	San Francisco, CA	67.03	4	93	22
5	Atlanta, GA	66.00	2	76	97
6	Denver, CO	65.87	12	54	72
7	Washington, DC	65.76	8	92	14
8	Chicago, IL	64.44	9	84	56
9	Los Angeles, CA	64.38	11	83	46
10	Seattle, WA	64.22	6	95	27
11	Miami, FL	63.79	7	99	23
12	Austin, TX	63.34	13	69	52
13	San Antonio, TX	61.58	17	53	54
14	San Diego, CA	61.51	18	77	15
15	Nashville, TN	61.22	14	68	81
16	Louisville, KY	60.46	15	55	75
17	Boston, MA	60.37	19	88	8
18	Philadelphia, PA	60.12	16	79	44
19	El Paso, TX	59.36	45	1	12
20	New Orleans, LA	59.31	10	96	89
21	Pittsburgh, PA	59.28	28	31	11
22	Cincinnati, OH	58.69	24	19	70
23	Houston, TX	57.15	22	56	82
24	Minneapolis, MN	56.79	26	57	38
25	Dallas, TX	56.01	20	59	93
26	Buffalo, NY	55.80	31	33	31
27	Tampa, FL	55.50	27	75	28
28	Raleigh, NC	55.46	50	16	5
29	Birmingham, AL	55.40	23	32	94
30	Columbus, OH	55.34	33	26	58
31	Portland, OR	54.44	21	85	73
32	Durham, NC	54.31	70	3	16
33	Honolulu, HI	54.06	29	97	2
34	St. Petersburg, FL	53.87	42	29	18
35	Charlotte, NC	53.87	38	41	36
36	St. Louis, MO	53.80	25	44	99
37	Reno, NV	53.69	30	58	47
38	Anaheim, CA	53.10	32	62	42
39	Jacksonville, FL	51.83	39	35	63
40	Tucson, AZ	51.30	41	20	69
41	Milwaukee, WI	51.16	44	12	80
42	Scottsdale, AZ	51.14	47	36	61
43	Tulsa, OK	51.11	53	2	90
44	Phoenix, AZ	50.68	35	49	84
45	Sacramento, CA	50.63	36	66	62
46	Santa Ana, CA	50.43	52	63	24
47	Boise, ID	50.37	66	28	17
48	Oklahoma City, OK	50.35	48	18	77
49	Madison, WI	49.53	58	72	10
50	Baltimore, MD	49.40	34	80	57
51	Plano, TX	49.25	73	4	32
52	Greensboro, NC	49.08	65	11	19
53	Virginia Beach, VA	49.05	62	46	35
54	Riverside, CA	49.01	37	81	48
55	Lincoln, NE	48.95	64	61	21
56	Indianapolis, IN	48.51	51	37	85
57	Fort Worth, TX	48.42	59	21	71
58	Arlington, TX	47.81	74	14	59
59	Memphis, TN	47.66	56	8	100
60	Cleveland, OH	47.14	40	74	76
61	Chandler, AZ	46.86	75	10	39
62	Lexington-Fayette, KY	46.80	77	43	37
63	Albuquerque, NM	46.77	49	48	92
64	Fort Wayne, IN	46.64	88	24	30
65	Detroit, MI	46.60	55	42	91
66	Irvine, CA	46.57	43	100	9
67	Wichita, KS	46.55	67	15	86
68	Corpus Christi, TX	46.54	80	17	49
69	Colorado Springs, CO	46.48	61	39	65
70	St. Paul, MN	46.29	72	25	53
71	Omaha, NE	46.22	57	52	74
72	Bakersfield, CA	46.10	68	30	78
73	Mesa, AZ	45.80	78	23	60
74	Jersey City, NJ	45.74	83	67	3
75	Winston-Salem, NC	45.69	79	51	25
76	San Jose, CA	44.99	76	64	20
77	Stockton, CA	44.75	93	5	66
78	Gilbert, AZ	44.71	94	9	29
79	Toledo, OH	44.33	84	45	43
80	Lubbock, TX	44.17	90	7	79
81	Fresno, CA	44.17	82	40	55
82	Kansas City, MO	44.08	60	47	95
83	Norfolk, VA	43.54	86	60	26
84	Oakland, CA	43.40	54	94	49
85	Glendale, AZ	43.40	81	6	87
86	Laredo, TX	43.06	100	38	1
87	Hialeah, FL	43.05	87	86	4
88	Long Beach, CA	42.71	71	82	34
89	Irving, TX	42.31	95	21	45
90	Anchorage, AK	42.08	63	73	88
91	Baton Rouge, LA	41.80	69	34	96
92	Newark, NJ	41.26	89	78	33
93	Chesapeake, VA	40.92	92	13	67
94	San Bernardino, CA	40.38	46	90	98
95	Aurora, CO	39.12	91	50	83
96	Chula Vista, CA	39.05	96	71	13
97	Garland, TX	38.53	98	27	68
98	Fremont, CA	37.93	99	87	7
99	Henderson, NV	37.46	85	91	40
100	North Las Vegas, NV	30.55	97	89	64

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Average Price per New Year’s Eve Party Ticket

Lowest

• 1. Durham, NC
• 2. Raleigh, NC
• 3. Memphis, TN
• 4. Norfolk, VA
• 5. Sacramento, CA

Highest

• 40. San Antonio, TX
• T-41. Cleveland, OH
• T-41. New York, NY
• T-41. Miami, FL
• T-41. New Orleans, LA

Average Wine Price

Lowest

• 1. Indianapolis, IN
• T-2. Phoenix, AZ
• T-2. Mesa, AZ
• T-2. Chandler, AZ
• T-2. Gilbert, AZ
• T-2. Glendale, AZ

Highest

• 88. Seattle, WA
• 89. Cincinnati, OH
• 90. Philadelphia, PA
• 91. Atlanta, GA
• 92. Detroit, MI

Price of Three-Star Hotel Room on New Year’s Eve

Lowest

• 1. Houston, TX
• 2. Tulsa, OK
• 3. San Antonio, TX
• 4. Dallas, TX
• T-5. San Jose, CA
• T-5. Cleveland, OH

Highest

• 96. Hialeah, FL
• 97. Henderson, NV
• 98. New Orleans, LA
• 99. San Bernardino, CA
• 100. Honolulu, HI

Nightlife Options per Capita

Most

• T-1. Las Vegas, NV
• T-1. New Orleans, LA
• T-1. San Francisco, CA
• T-1. New York, NY
• T-1. Chicago, IL

Fewest

• 96. Irving, TX
• 97. Hialeah, FL
• 98. Fremont, CA
• 99. Irvine, CA
• 100. Garland, TX

Restaurants per Capita

Most

• T-1. Orlando, FL
• T-1. Miami, FL
• T-1. Las Vegas, NV
• T-1. San Francisco, CA
• T-1. Chicago, IL

Fewest

• 96. Laredo, TX
• 97. Hialeah, FL
• 98. Garland, TX
• 99. San Bernardino, CA
• 100. North Las Vegas, NV

Luxury Shops & Gourmet-Food Stores per Capita

Most

• 1. Orlando, FL
• 2. Honolulu, HI
• 3. St. Louis, MO
• 4. Tampa, FL
• 5. Pittsburgh, PA

Fewest

• 96. Chesapeake, VA
• 97. Fremont, CA
• 98. Gilbert, AZ
• 99. North Las Vegas, NV
• 100. Henderson, NV

Methodology

In order to determine the best spots for celebrating New Year’s Eve, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated U.S. cities across three key dimensions: 1) Entertainment & Food, 2) Costs and 3) Safety & Accessibility.

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 New Year’s Eve partiers. 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.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall 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.

Entertainment & Food – Total Points: 50

• New Year’s Eve Popularity: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Legality of Fireworks: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• New Year’s Eve Events per Capita*: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
  Note: “Events” include festivals, performances and galas.
• Duration of 2022 Fireworks Show: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
  Note: “Duration” was measured in minutes.
• Google Search Interest for “New Year’s Eve Celebration”: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the real intent of the population to find information about “New Year’s Eve events”, “New Year’s Eve concerts”, “New Year’s Eve performances”, “New Year’s Eve party” and “New Year’s Eve dinner”. “Real intent” is measured using the average monthly search volumes for those specific terms.
• Restaurants per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Average Ranking of Restaurants on Yelp’s “Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.” List: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Availability of Luxury Shopping & Gourmet Food: Half Weight (~1.67 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of jewelry shops per capita* and the number of gourmet specialty-food stores per capita*.
• Beer, Wine & Spirits Shops per Capita*: Half Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Party Supply Stores per Capita*: Half Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Nightlife Options per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Music Venues per Capita*: Half Weight (~1.67 Points)
• General Fun: Triple Weight (~10.00 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Most Fun Cities in America” ranking.

Costs – Total Points: 30

• Average Price per New Year’s Eve Party Ticket: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Availability of Affordable Fine Dining: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
  Note: “Fine Dining” includes restaurants rated 4.5 stars or higher.
• Average Alcoholic Beverage Price: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
  Note: “Beverage” refers to wine and cocktails.
• Taxi-Fare Cost: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Restaurant-Meal Costs: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Lowest Price per Three-Star Hotel Room on New Year’s Eve: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Grooming Costs: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
  Note: This metric measures beauty-salon and haircut costs.

Safety & Accessibility – Total Points: 20

• Percentage of Residents Who Are Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19: Double Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Walkability: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Traffic Congestion: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Share of Delayed Flights: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Neighborhood Security: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the crime rate.
• Car Theft Rate: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• DUI-Related Fatalities per Capita: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
  Note: This metric considers incidents recorded in December.
• Pedestrian Fatality Rate: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Forecasted Precipitation for Dec. 31: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, Priceline, American Pyrotechnics Association, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Walk Score, Eventbrite, AccuWeather, Kayak, Expatistan, Yelp, Numbeo, Google Ads, Local tourism offices, INRIX, TripAdvisor, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and WalletHub research.