This Georgia city is the best in the U.S. for Christmas, study says. See where & why
If you want to visit the best place for the Christmas season, you might not have to travel too far.
WalletHub recently found the best U.S. cities for Christmas in 2024 and one Georgia city tops the list at number one.
Which Georgia city is the best in the U.S. for Christmas?
According to the 2024 WalletHub study, the number one best city in the country for Christmas is Atlanta, Georgia. But why?
The study evaluated the 100 most populated cities in the country and looked at five key categories: 1) Traditions & Fun, 2) Observance, 3) Generosity, 4) Shopping and 5) Costs. Experts then gave each category a grade and averaged each grade to make one score out of 100; the scores were ranked highest to lowest, ultimately revealing which U.S. cities are the best for Christmas.
Atlanta ranked the highest with an overall score of 63.65. The city did well in the categories of cost and observance of the holiday, and even ranked high with generosity.
“The giving spirit can be felt by Atlanta residents and visitors alike, as the city has the ninth-highest percentage of people who donate clothing to charity, along with the 13th-most online donations per capita,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst.
Atlanta also has a plethora of festive restaurants, shopping centers and things to do all around town, which helped the city in terms of its shopping score and traditions & fun score.
“Atlanta is the best city for Christmas celebrations this year, with plenty of stores to help you prepare for the holiday, including an extremely high number of bakeries, holiday decoration shops and card shops per capita,” said Lupo. “It has the ninth-most Christmas tree farms per capita, too.”
Of course, there are several other cities on the list to check twice this season.
What other cities made the top 10?
Here are the other top cities for Christmas and their scores:
At number two with an overall score of 62.64: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Seattle, Washington, at number three with a score of 62.56
Las Vegas, Nevada, is fourth with a score of 62.03
Orlando, Florida, is fifth with a score of 60.78
San Francisco, California, at number six with a score of 60.76
St. Louis, Missouri, at number seven with a score of 60.68
Miami, Florida at number eight with a score of 59.92
Chicago, Illinois, is ninth with a score of 57.16
New York, New York, is tenth with a score of 57.04
Do these rankings surprise you? Let me know in the comments or email me at cmadden@mcclatchy.com.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
