Adam McCann, Financial Writer

May 20, 2020

If there’s any year you want to take a staycation instead of a vacation, it’s 2020. Though many states are starting to reopen some businesses after closing them due to coronavirus, it will be a long time before the travel and tourism industries are back in full gear. On top of that, many people won’t want to be around crowds until the pandemic has fully subsided, and others simply don’t have the money to take a trip with how hard COVID-19 has hit the economy. Luckily, there are certain places that offer plenty of options for entertainment and relaxation at the right price point, making those cities the perfect spots for staying local.

To determine the best places for a fun-filled yet wallet-friendly staycation, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 15 key metrics. Our data set ranges from parks per capita to the average home square footage and the idealness of summer weather. Read on for the full ranking, our methodology and useful staycationing tips from experts.

Main Findings

Best Places for a Staycation

Overall Rank

(1 = Best) City Total Score ‘Recreation’ Rank ‘Rest & Relaxation’ Rank 1 Plano, TX 66.88 18 2 2 Boise, ID 65.92 6 21 3 Tampa, FL 63.39 11 23 4 Charleston, SC 62.42 7 51 5 Lincoln, NE 62.12 1 72 6 Fort Smith, AR 60.87 32 20 7 Scottsdale, AZ 60.18 95 1 8 Grand Prairie, TX 59.91 57 11 9 Austin, TX 59.36 8 96 10 Orlando, FL 59.23 23 39 11 Tallahassee, FL 59.13 9 88 12 Nampa, ID 58.80 44 26 13 Huntsville, AL 58.69 35 32 14 Fort Lauderdale, FL 58.33 4 120 15 Springfield, MO 58.20 27 44 16 Peoria, AZ 58.19 66 15 17 St. Petersburg, FL 58.13 15 60 18 Overland Park, KS 57.39 76 14 19 Garland, TX 57.33 63 22 20 Salt Lake City, UT 56.81 2 145 21 Knoxville, TN 56.66 14 83 22 Little Rock, AR 56.66 21 62 23 Missoula, MT 55.81 20 82 24 Glendale, AZ 55.72 86 17 25 Houston, TX 55.52 37 57 26 Arlington, TX 55.47 77 25 27 Irving, TX 55.26 42 56 28 Montgomery, AL 55.12 41 59 29 Cape Coral, FL 55.11 72 36 30 Laredo, TX 54.97 48 54 31 Amarillo, TX 54.81 51 55 32 Portland, OR 54.80 3 170 33 Gilbert, AZ 54.61 107 5 34 Anchorage, AK 54.53 10 148 35 Corpus Christi, TX 54.37 47 61 36 Dallas, TX 54.28 62 47 37 Omaha, NE 54.25 26 99 38 Huntington, WV 54.24 33 84 39 Sioux Falls, SD 53.57 36 94 40 Atlanta, GA 53.52 31 105 41 Tulsa, OK 53.38 100 12 42 Fort Worth, TX 53.36 80 40 43 Casper, WY 53.00 29 106 44 Brownsville, TX 52.86 45 85 45 Charleston, WV 52.81 17 138 46 Bismarck, ND 52.73 16 132 47 West Valley City, UT 52.72 58 73 48 Chattanooga, TN 52.58 53 81 49 Madison, WI 52.55 19 139 50 Jacksonville, FL 52.53 49 90 51 Chicago, IL 52.49 28 123 52 Columbia, SC 52.15 56 87 53 St. Louis, MO 52.09 22 141 54 Fort Wayne, IN 51.95 38 113 55 Tempe, AZ 51.82 103 27 56 Jackson, MS 51.58 68 71 57 Lubbock, TX 51.43 74 66 58 Denver, CO 51.38 13 168 59 Seattle, WA 51.36 5 179 60 Rapid City, SD 51.36 25 144 61 Nashville, TN 51.06 52 115 62 Chandler, AZ 50.97 138 6 63 Las Vegas, NV 50.94 99 34 64 Fargo, ND 50.90 34 135 65 Indianapolis, IN 50.75 67 89 66 Cheyenne, WY 50.73 43 125 67 Pembroke Pines, FL 50.65 88 58 68 Billings, MT 50.48 55 122 69 Reno, NV 50.31 93 52 70 Memphis, TN 50.26 82 69 71 New Orleans, LA 49.91 65 112 72 Santa Clarita, CA 49.61 150 9 73 Gulfport, MS 49.59 71 109 74 Glendale, CA 49.57 145 19 75 Miami, FL 49.37 12 176 76 Kansas City, MO 49.28 87 74 77 Birmingham, AL 49.25 78 95 78 San Antonio, TX 49.20 69 119 79 Henderson, NV 49.09 151 7 80 El Paso, TX 48.88 90 76 81 Columbia, MD 48.79 124 35 82 Minneapolis, MN 48.72 50 146 83 Mobile, AL 48.58 64 126 84 Hialeah, FL 48.53 83 98 85 Colorado Springs, CO 48.46 40 163 86 Phoenix, AZ 48.35 126 28 87 Des Moines, IA 48.34 46 158 88 Port St. Lucie, FL 48.33 91 78 89 Wichita, KS 48.33 81 110 90 Tucson, AZ 48.15 113 43 91 Spokane, WA 48.09 94 75 92 Columbus, GA 47.81 97 68 93 Burlington, VT 47.69 54 157 94 Richmond, VA 47.54 70 137 95 Oklahoma City, OK 47.14 119 50 96 Mesa, AZ 47.03 134 31 97 Philadelphia, PA 47.01 59 164 98 New York, NY 47.01 24 177 99 North Las Vegas, NV 46.97 139 29 100 Baton Rouge, LA 46.96 131 41 101 Cedar Rapids, IA 46.82 39 171 102 Augusta, GA 46.67 116 65 103 Virginia Beach, VA 46.66 84 128 104 Baltimore, MD 46.39 73 151 105 Albuquerque, NM 46.31 106 77 106 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 46.13 158 4 107 Chesapeake, VA 46.09 111 70 108 Huntington Beach, CA 45.39 144 45 109 Las Cruces, NM 45.26 155 37 110 Juneau, AK 45.16 61 174 111 Wilmington, DE 45.02 92 134 112 Milwaukee, WI 45.01 102 114 113 Honolulu, HI 44.94 79 165 114 Columbus, OH 44.72 104 117 115 Durham, NC 44.34 110 107 116 Modesto, CA 44.10 167 3 117 Aurora, IL 44.01 128 92 118 San Diego, CA 43.92 118 97 119 Winston-Salem, NC 43.90 140 64 120 Salem, OR 43.87 101 130 121 Charlotte, NC 43.81 117 101 122 Lexington-Fayette, KY 43.79 146 53 123 Buffalo, NY 43.74 89 161 124 Aurora, CO 43.71 85 166 125 Raleigh, NC 43.70 147 49 126 Cincinnati, OH 43.67 115 111 127 Greensboro, NC 43.06 121 104 128 Norfolk, VA 42.85 96 150 129 Boston, MA 42.81 30 182 130 Pittsburgh, PA 42.62 98 155 131 Rochester, NY 42.43 109 142 132 Portland, ME 42.15 75 175 133 Los Angeles, CA 42.11 161 18 134 Cleveland, OH 41.94 120 129 135 San Francisco, CA 41.84 60 181 136 Grand Rapids, MI 41.76 112 140 137 Long Beach, CA 41.61 157 48 138 Detroit, MI 41.56 132 116 139 New Haven, CT 41.53 108 153 140 Irvine, CA 41.38 159 42 141 Newport News, VA 41.29 148 91 142 Akron, OH 40.96 143 108 143 St. Paul, MN 40.85 114 147 144 Manchester, NH 40.68 129 136 145 Shreveport, LA 40.42 153 103 146 Louisville, KY 40.39 142 118 147 Dover, DE 40.28 137 131 148 Bridgeport, CT 40.27 122 149 149 Fayetteville, NC 39.82 154 93 150 Toledo, OH 39.76 152 86 151 Newark, NJ 39.69 141 127 152 Vancouver, WA 39.13 127 160 152 South Burlington, VT 39.13 133 152 154 Santa Rosa, CA 38.89 156 80 155 Lewiston, ME 38.89 149 124 156 Sacramento, CA 38.87 160 63 157 Tacoma, WA 38.52 135 154 158 Jersey City, NJ 38.47 125 167 159 Nashua, NH 38.16 136 159 160 Bakersfield, CA 37.76 180 8 161 Washington, DC 37.64 105 178 162 Anaheim, CA 37.48 168 24 163 Worcester, MA 37.39 130 169 164 Moreno Valley, CA 37.18 174 16 165 Garden Grove, CA 37.01 179 33 166 Riverside, CA 36.47 172 10 167 Fresno, CA 35.58 171 13 168 Fontana, CA 34.41 173 38 169 Yonkers, NY 33.98 123 180 170 Santa Ana, CA 32.94 170 79 171 San Bernardino, CA 32.82 181 30 172 Ontario, CA 32.82 176 46 173 San Jose, CA 32.69 163 100 174 Oceanside, CA 31.79 169 102 175 Stockton, CA 31.33 177 67 176 Fremont, CA 30.56 164 156 177 Oxnard, CA 30.02 166 121 178 Oakland, CA 28.44 162 173 179 Providence, RI 28.10 165 172 180 Warwick, RI 27.08 175 143 181 Chula Vista, CA 26.42 178 133 182 Pearl City, HI 22.11 182 162

Ask the Experts

There’s a difference between a staycation and business as usual in the context of staying local. And it all has to do with how you spend your time in the city you call home. For advice on making the best of your staycation, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

Given the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on tourism and travel, what are the best ways to enjoy a staycation while keeping safe? What are some tips for having a truly relaxing staycation? What activities can families do locally without breaking the bank? What is the best time of year to have a staycation? In evaluating the best cities for staycations, what are the top five indicators?

Methodology

In order to determine the best staycation spots, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across two key dimensions: 1) Recreation and 2) Rest & Relaxation.

We evaluated those dimensions using 15 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 staycationers. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the “Number of Residents” in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities. Data for metrics marked with two asterisks (**) were available only at the state level.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Recreation – Total Points: 60

Parks per Capita*: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Bike Rental Facilities per Capita*: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Hiking Trails per Capita*: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Running Trails per Capita*: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Walking Trails per Capita*: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Miles of Bicycle Lanes, Paths & Routes per Square Mile: Half Weight (~2.61 Points)

Walk Score: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Bike Score: Full Weight (~5.22 Points)

Strictness of “Shelter in Place” Order**: Quadruple Weight (~20.87 Points)

Note: This metric measures whether a state has imposed mandatory quarantine policies.

Rest & Relaxation – Total Points: 40

Average Price of Pizza & Burger: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Average Beer & Wine Price: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Average Home Square Footage: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Share of Homes with Swimming Pool: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of for sale homes with swimming pool to the total number of for sale homes.

Share of Homes with Lot Greater than 1,000 Square Feet: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of for sale homes with a lot greater than 1,000 square feet to the total number of for sale homes.

Idealness of Summer Weather: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Cities with the Best & Worst Weather ranking.



Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, Under Armour, Trust for Public Land, League of American Bicyclists, Walk Score, Kaiser Family Foundation, Yelp, Zillow and WalletHub research.

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