Denver just barely makes a new top 20 list of best cities for Christmas, with two Florida destinations in the top-10 and a southern metropolis claiming the top spot.
WalletHub is ranking cities based on everything from Christmas tree farms and gift shops to food banks and toy stores. Snowfall and the odds of a white Christmas though? They aren’t in the secret sauce for this list.
Taking No. 1 is Atlanta, where the odds of a white Christmas are miniscule, but other holiday highlights abound with plenty of malls, card shops and bakeries.
Says WalletHub, “Atlanta residents get very excited about Christmas, searching Google for terms relating to the holiday more frequently than people in most other cities.” The Georgia capital also gets high marks for generosity – top-10 for clothing donations, top-15 for online charities.
Denver, the state capital of Ski Country USA, just barely makes the list at No. 18. (Probability of a white Christmas in Denver? Nearly one in four.)
Miami and Orlando are in the top 10, thanks to the most Christmas tree farms per capita (Miami, tied with New York, Portland and cities in northern Arizona) and the most gift shops per capita (Orlando, tied with San Francisco, Las Vegas and Honolulu).
Las Vegas breaks into the top 5 for shopping and “fun” of the “Bad Santa” variety.
WalletHub’s 20 Best U.S. Cities for Christmas
| 1. Atlanta, GA | 11. New Orleans, LA |
| 2. Pittsburgh, PA | 12. Cincinnati, OH |
| 3. Seattle, WA | 13. Birmingham, AL |
| 4. Las Vegas, NV | 14. Portland, OR |
| 5. Orlando, FL | 15. Honolulu, HI |
| 6. San Francisco, CA | 16. San Diego, CA |
| 7. St. Louis, MO | 17. Los Angeles, CA |
| 8. Miami, FL | 18. Denver, CO |
| 9. Chicago, IL | 19. Washington, DC |
| 10. New York, NY | 20. Minneapolis, MN |