Though the saying goes, "Everything is bigger in Texas," that might not necessarily be true about the state's Fourth of July celebrations. A new report by personal finance website WalletHub says there are 20 U.S. cities that do it better than Austin.
Despite the holiday's popularity in the city, Austin only came in at No. 21 in WalletHub's "Best and Worst Places for 4th of July Celebrations." That may come as a surprise to some who live in the state's capital.
The report compares the 100 biggest cities in the nation across 18 metrics like affordability, variety of attractions and activities on July 4th, weather favorability, and safety.
Austin's worst category was safety and accessibility (No. 84), with additional room for improvement on the variety of recreational activities surrounding the Independence Day holiday (No. 41). One category that (unfortunately) can't be improved is the weather, where the city ranked No. 37.
Dallas (No. 8), San Antonio (No. 9), and Houston (No. 15) were the only Texas cities to rank higher than Austin. California cities dominate the top 10, with Los Angeles and San Francisco taking the top two spots, respectively, and San Diego coming in at No. 6. The remaining cities that round out the top 10 are New York City (No. 3), Las Vegas (No. 4), Seattle (No. 5), San Diego (No. 6), Orlando (No. 7), and Milwaukee (No. 10).
Here's a look at how other Texas cities stacked up:
- No. 26 – Plano
- No. 31 – El Paso
- No. 29 – Fort Worth
- No. 50 – Irving
- No. 51 – Arlington
- No. 69 – Laredo
- No. 82 – Lubbock
- No. 90 – Garland
Despite Austin's ranking, Texans still love to celebrate their independence (or simply take advantage of having a random day of the week off) by hosting cookouts, checking out fun parades, and launching a ton of fireworks from their backyards. Even the
National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend $9.5 billion on food for the Independence Day holiday. One report surely won't put a damper on the festivities.
