St. Patrick's Day will inspire celebrations all over the world on March 17 but, here in the United States, a handful of cities stand out when it comes to St. Paddy's festivities.
Personal finance website WalletHub recently compared 200 of the largest U.S. cities across more than a dozen key metrics—including Irish pubs and restaurants per capita, percentage of Irish population, crime rate, average beer prices, weather forecast and the lowest price for a three-star hotel on March 17—to determine the best places to celebrate without breaking the bank.
The metrics were broken up into four categories, including St. Patrick's Day traditions (50 points), costs (20 points), safety and accessibility (20 points) and St. Patrick's Day weather (10 points), with each city earning an overall score out of 100.
The top 20 features popular locales from every region of the U.S., with the Northeast, Midwest, West Coast and South each represented.
Eastern Massachusetts might just have the championship belt when it comes to St. Patrick's Day celebrations, however, with Boston ranking first and nearby Worcester coming in at number seven. Boston ranks number one in the all-important St. Patrick's Day traditions category and boasts the fourth-most Irish pubs and restaurants per capita while Worcester has the nation's third-highest percentage of Irish population and fourth-lowest average beer price this March.
Festive parades are among the top St. Patrick's Day traditions. (Photo Credit: motionshooter/Adobe Stock)
Second-ranked Chicago has Boston beat when it comes to costs (54th) and safety and accessibility (48th) but ranks a dismal 194th for St. Patrick's Day weather this year.
Savannah, Reno and Pittsburgh round out the top five. Savannah is propelled by its fifth-ranked St. Patrick's Day weather forecast and sixth-ranked safety and accessibility. New York City (sixth) and Buffalo (eighth) on the other side of the Empire State also cracked the top 10 after receiving top six marks for St. Patrick's Day traditions. The Big Apple boasts the most Irish pubs and restaurants per capita.
In Florida, both Tampa (ninth) and Fort Lauderdale (15th) are excellent options for holiday revelers as both rank extremely well in terms of St. Patrick's Day traditions and weather.
Surprisingly, Nevada features three cities in the top 20, with Henderson (16th) and Las Vegas (18th) also earning impressive scores. That mark ties New York, which also landed Syracuse (17th) in the top 20.
Here's a complete look at the top 20 U.S. cities to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in 2024 along with their overall WalletHub score:
- Boston, Massachusetts - 68.05
- Chicago, Illinois - 63.93
- Savannah, Georgia - 63.92
- Reno, Nevada - 63.91
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - 63.31
- New York, New York - 61.83
- Worcester, Massachusetts - 61.31
- Buffalo, New York - 61.03
- Tampa, Florida - 60.71
- Santa Rosa, California - 60.44
- Naperville, Illinois - 59.84
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 59.81
- Knoxville, Tennessee - 59.39
- Columbia, South Carolina - 59.21
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida - 58.68
- Henderson, Nevada - 58.61
- Syracuse, New York - 58.05
- Las Vegas, Nevada - 57.75
- New Orleans, Louisiana - 57.61
- Madison, Wisconsin - 57.32
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
