Best and Worst Cities for Staycations in 2023

With around 85% of Americans planning to travel this summer but inflation making trips costly, the personal finance website WalletHub has just released its report on 2023’s best and worst cities for staycations.

To identify the best spots for staying local, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 42 key indicators of a fun-filled yet wallet-friendly staycation. The data set ranges from parks per capita to aquariums per capita to restaurant-meal costs.

Best Cities for Staycations:

1. Honolulu, HI
2. Orlando, FL
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Tampa, FL
5. Salt Lake City, UT
6. Charleston, SC
7. Chicago, IL
8. San Diego, CA
9. Cincinnati, OH
10. New Orleans, LA
11. Atlanta, GA
12. Portland, ME
13. New York, NY
14. Tucson, AZ
15. Scottsdale, AZ
16. San Francisco, CA
17. Springfield, MO
18. Fort Lauderdale, FL
19. St. Petersburg, FL
20. Austin, TX

Other Florida cities on the ranking include Miami (No. 28), Jacksonville (No. 46), Cape Coral (No. 53), and Tallahassee (No. 97).

Among the categories that Florida cities scored high in are “zoos and aquariums per capita” (with Miami, Tampa and Orlando all tying for first with Las Vegas and Gulfport) and “ice cream and frozen yogurt shops per capita (Orlando, Miami and Tampa all tied for first again)

Worst Cities for Staycations:

173. Laredo, TX
174. Oakland, CA
175. Yonkers, NY
176. Santa Rosa, CA
177. Irving, TX
178. Santa Ana, CA
179. Oxnard, CA
180. Fremont, CA
181. Pearl City, HI
182. Chula Vista, CA

Three Florida cities just barely missed being ranked among the worst cities for staycations: Pembroke Pines (No. 122), Port St. Lucie (No. 141), and Hialeah (No. 172).

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