These California cities are the ‘most fun,’ study says

Fun isn’t something you can scientifically measure, but that hasn’t stopped researchers at WalletHub from trying.

The personal finance website has released a list of the “Most Fun Cities in America,” and three California cities, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles, made the top 20.

WalletHub ranked more than 180 cities on 65 factors including the number of attractions, restaurant diversity, bars per capita, the number of amusement parks and sports venues and costs. Cities were then scored on a 100-point scale.

Las Vegas ranked #1 with a score of 71.38 followed by Orlando (62.42), Miami (55.91) and Atlanta (55.73). San Francisco landed at number five with 53.35 points.

“Sin City is known for partying, and it’s one of the only cities in our study where public drinking is allowed in most or all places – whether that’s a plus or not will depend on your personality, though,” WalletHub said in its report. “When it comes to activities, Vegas unsurprisingly has the largest number of casinos in the country. But it’s also renowned for its performers, especially when it comes to music. The city has a very high number of music festivals and music venues relative to others.”

San Diego (48.33) was 16^th and Los Angeles (47.01) was 20^th.

Los Angeles ranked first in restaurants per capita and number of attractions but received lower marks for other metrics like festivals per capita, playgrounds per capita and average beer price.  

Overall rank for Los Angeles: 20th

• 20th – Festivals per Capita
• 1st – Restaurants per Capita
• 37th – Playgrounds per Capita
• 25th – Parkland Acres per Capita
• 6th – Dance Clubs per Capita
• 1st – Number of Attractions
• 80th – Avg. Beer Price

One Southern California city landed near the bottom of the list. With a score of just 20.20, Oxnard ranked 180^th out of 182. It seems beautiful coastlines were not heavily weighted as WalletHub ranked Pearl City, Hawaii (18.51) dead last at 182^nd.

Most Fun Cities in America (WalletHub)

Overall Rank	City	Total Score
1	Las Vegas, NV	71.38
2	Orlando, FL	62.42
3	Miami, FL	55.91
4	Atlanta, GA	55.73
5	San Francisco, CA	53.35
6	New Orleans, LA	52.49
7	Austin, TX	51.60
8	Chicago, IL	50.57
9	Honolulu, HI	49.98
10	New York, NY	49.35
11	Cincinnati, OH	49.22
12	Denver, CO	48.99
13	Portland, OR	48.86
14	St. Louis, MO	48.78
15	Washington, DC	48.67
16	San Diego, CA	48.33
17	Tampa, FL	47.83
18	Fort Lauderdale, FL	47.40
19	Houston, TX	47.28
20	Los Angeles, CA	47.01
21	Philadelphia, PA	45.35
22	Seattle, WA	44.90
23	Salt Lake City, UT	44.25
24	Pittsburgh, PA	44.24
25	San Antonio, TX	44.12
26	Richmond, VA	43.35
27	Tucson, AZ	43.29
28	Reno, NV	42.80
29	Charleston, SC	42.31
30	Phoenix, AZ	41.97
31	Dallas, TX	41.60
32	Knoxville, TN	41.03
33	Scottsdale, AZ	41.00
34	Sacramento, CA	40.88
35	Minneapolis, MN	40.19
36	Nashville, TN	40.18
37	Jacksonville, FL	40.15
38	St. Petersburg, FL	40.13
39	Birmingham, AL	40.04
40	Milwaukee, WI	39.77
41	Indianapolis, IN	39.64
42	Louisville, KY	39.61
43	Fort Worth, TX	39.48
44	Boston, MA	39.34
45	Omaha, NE	39.22
46	Chattanooga, TN	39.19
47	Oklahoma City, OK	38.76
48	Cleveland, OH	38.73
49	Kansas City, MO	38.67
50	Raleigh, NC	38.64
51	Charlotte, NC	38.61
52	Tulsa, OK	38.54
53	Buffalo, NY	37.99
54	Baton Rouge, LA	37.94
55	Columbus, OH	37.92
56	Albuquerque, NM	37.80
57	Rochester, NY	37.48
58	Portland, ME	37.21
59	El Paso, TX	37.15
60	Madison, WI	37.14
61	Columbia, SC	36.98
62	Tempe, AZ	36.72
63	Colorado Springs, CO	36.38
64	Memphis, TN	36.00
65	Henderson, NV	35.84
66	Grand Rapids, MI	35.78
67	Mobile, AL	35.59
68	Virginia Beach, VA	35.17
69	Wichita, KS	35.13
70	Boise, ID	35.09
71	Plano, TX	35.02
72	Baltimore, MD	35.00
73	Springfield, MO	34.85
74	Lincoln, NE	34.84
75	Arlington, TX	34.72
76	Oakland, CA	34.32
77	Huntsville, AL	34.29
78	Providence, RI	34.27
79	Rapid City, SD	34.16
80	Durham, NC	34.09
81	Detroit, MI	33.91
82	Tallahassee, FL	33.60
83	Missoula, MT	33.57
84	Long Beach, CA	33.17
85	Norfolk, VA	33.15
86	Gulfport, MS	32.87
87	Akron, OH	32.61
88	St. Paul, MN	32.42
89	Garden Grove, CA	32.23
90	Greensboro, NC	32.17
91	Anaheim, CA	32.04
92	Corpus Christi, TX	32.04
93	Glendale, AZ	32.01
94	Fort Smith, AR	31.84
95	Overland Park, KS	31.82
96	Bakersfield, CA	31.78
97	Toledo, OH	31.68
98	Billings, MT	31.62
99	Sioux Falls, SD	31.52
100	Cape Coral, FL	31.49
101	Chandler, AZ	31.20
102	Huntington Beach, CA	31.14
103	Montgomery, AL	31.06
104	Fargo, ND	31.04
105	Mesa, AZ	31.01
106	Anchorage, AK	30.97
107	Lubbock, TX	30.90
108	Lexington-Fayette, KY	30.90
109	Irvine, CA	30.79
110	Des Moines, IA	30.64
111	Huntington, WV	30.58
112	San Jose, CA	30.52
113	Winston-Salem, NC	30.35
114	Fayetteville, NC	30.35
115	Chesapeake, VA	30.29
116	Shreveport, LA	30.28
117	Spokane, WA	30.19
118	Amarillo, TX	29.98
119	Tacoma, WA	29.86
120	Modesto, CA	29.85
121	Salem, OR	29.66
122	Cedar Rapids, IA	29.50
123	Jackson, MS	29.45
124	Wilmington, DE	29.17
125	Fort Wayne, IN	29.05
126	Augusta, GA	28.99
127	Little Rock, AR	28.95
128	Newport News, VA	28.92
129	Fresno, CA	28.78
130	Aurora, CO	28.55
131	Jersey City, NJ	28.55
132	Newark, NJ	28.51
133	Columbus, GA	28.44
134	Worcester, MA	28.42
135	Hialeah, FL	28.33
136	Irving, TX	28.31
137	Charleston, WV	28.27
138	New Haven, CT	28.14
139	Riverside, CA	27.98
140	North Las Vegas, NV	27.98
141	Glendale, CA	27.92
142	Pembroke Pines, FL	27.84
143	Casper, WY	27.75
144	San Bernardino, CA	27.74
145	Gilbert, AZ	27.72
146	Las Cruces, NM	27.63
147	Santa Ana, CA	27.45
148	Vancouver, WA	27.25
149	Port St. Lucie, FL	27.21
150	Juneau, AK	26.77
151	Burlington, VT	26.72
152	Columbia, MD	26.70
153	Santa Clarita, CA	26.39
154	Stockton, CA	26.32
155	Peoria, AZ	26.24
156	Garland, TX	26.19
157	Bismarck, ND	26.09
158	Oceanside, CA	26.08
159	Laredo, TX	25.42
160	Moreno Valley, CA	24.82
161	Ontario, CA	24.34
162	Aurora, IL	24.21
163	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	24.09
164	Chula Vista, CA	23.90
165	Fontana, CA	23.77
166	Grand Prairie, TX	23.77
167	Lewiston, ME	23.70
168	Warwick, RI	23.61
169	Manchester, NH	23.60
170	West Valley City, UT	23.53
171	Brownsville, TX	23.01
172	Nampa, ID	22.98
173	Bridgeport, CT	22.75
174	Cheyenne, WY	22.73
175	Fremont, CA	22.58
176	Dover, DE	22.42
177	Santa Rosa, CA	21.80
178	Yonkers, NY	21.41
179	Nashua, NH	20.76
180	Oxnard, CA	20.20
181	South Burlington, VT	20.11
182	Pearl City, HI	18.51