A new study has compiled a list of the top 60 populated most U.S. cities in 2022, then cross-referenced these cities with quality of life, cost of living, and weather metrics to reveal a top 20 leaderboard. They then weighted data for
- the number of four- and five-star local attractions on Tripadvisor in each city
- the number of events on Eventbrite to attend on a consistent time frame
- the total number of bars and pubs in each city
- the average cost of an overnight stay on Airbnb
to reveal the most fun city to visit in the U.S.
Seattle came out on top with the research showing a shift in trends with typical list-toppers such as New York and Los Angeles, ranking outside the top ten and some way down the list. Washington DC was ranked in second place, whilst San Francisco came in third position.
Fun-loving Americans can forget New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles after experts revealed the most fun city in America to visit is Seattle.
To help Americans find the cities with the greatest number, and variety, of fun yet cost-effective activities, Cycling Frog, an exciting new player in the THC & CBD space, compiled a list of the top 60 populated most U.S. cities in 2022. They then cross-referenced these cities with quality of life, cost of living, and weather metrics to reveal a top 20 leaderboard.
From there, researchers at Cycling Frog analyzed these top 20 cities and compared a variety of lifestyle factors. Specifically, they researched the scale and quality of local attractions, the number of events to attend in each city, the average cost of an overnight stay, and the number of bars and pubs to choose from.
What makes a city fun can be subjective and personal, but they do have a few things in common: affordable, a vibrant culture, great places to relax and drink, spectacular sights, and a variety of attractions.
These metrics were then ranked relative to their population and size to reveal a top 20 leaderboard highlighting fun and affordable cities to visit this year.
The study conducted in April 2022 reveals Seattle, WA, as the most fun place to live or visit in America when it comes to quality of life, reasonable cost of living, pleasant weather, highly rated local attractions, and more.
Washington DC was ranked in second place, whilst San Francisco came in third position.
Cycling Frog’s expert findings also show a shift in trends with typical list-toppers such as New York and Los Angeles, ranking outside the top ten and some way down the list.
Their research proves and highlights that there are some amazingly fun cities to visit outside of the usual tourist ‘hot spots’, such as Columbus, Charlotte, and Austin which all feature in the top ten.
New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago all perform strongly on the total number of four and five-star attractions on Tripadvisor, however, when we look at other cities and compare the number of attractions relative to their size, they don’t perform as well as smaller and arguably more fun cities.
When looking at the number of events a city has to choose from, Philadelphia boasts 152 events over a weekend which actually rivals New York, which edges ahead with 153, for the most organized events on a given weekend.
These events offer something for everyone, and there is a choice of sightseeing tours, museums, cultural events, club nights, drag events, and more.
According to the research, New York again leads on the total number of pubs and bars, but taking population and size into account, Chicago actually has the most bars and pubs per population. The cost of living and quality of life in New York means the big apple doesn’t feature in the top ten.
But overall, looking at and taking into account all the factors studied, Seattle performed strongly in all areas. Known as the Emerald City, Seattle is a flourishing metropolis set against the stunning backdrop of the Olympic Mountains. Within the city, there is an abundance of things to do – according to our research, there are 870 four- and five-star rated attractions to visit (that’s a lot!). So, no matter what you’re into, you’ll never be bored!
Seattle is also home to more than 100 annual festivals, and one of our favorites is Hempfest – a two-day event that takes place in August 2022.
Jason Peterson, Brand Manager at Cycling Frog said: “The United States has its fair share of cities to visit. And choosing which one to visit can sometimes be a challenge, especially when you’re trying to plan a trip to a fun and vibrant city.
“This got us thinking that it can be pretty tough to sort through the best cities to visit if you want a fun-filled experience. So we wanted to research the best choice of diverse, exciting cities to explore, wander around and discover. Because what we all need right now is a solid combo of fun, culture, convenience, and spontaneity.
“We define a fun city as a place that packs a little bit of everything for everyone. We enjoyed researching all the attractions, events, and pubs in each major city and the results were pretty surprising. Some of the least expected cities performed well and punched above their weight against the likes of New York and Los Angeles.
“At the end of the day, if you visit a city with enough variety, you won’t have to compromise with your friends, your family, or even yourself about the next fun activity to do alone or together.”
For the full ranking of the most fun American cities to visit please visit: https://cyclingfrog.com/blogs/
Methodology
To determine the most fun cities in the U.S. to visit, Cycling Frog compared the top 60 most populated U.S. cities. They then compared three quality of life indexes in these cities including, quality of life, cost of living, and a climate index.
Quality of Life Index is an estimation of the overall quality of life, which uses an empirical formula that takes into account:
- Purchasing power index
- Pollution index
- House price to income ratio
- Cost of living index
- Safety index
- Health care index
- Traffic commute time index
- Climate index.
For more information, please visit https://www.numbeo.com/
This presented Cycling Frog with 20 U.S. cities that are highly populated and have the best quality of life, affordable living, and good climate and weather conditions. They then evaluated these cities across a range of lifestyle factors and new data sets, looking at:
- the number of four- and five-star local attractions on Tripadvisor in each city
- the number of events on Eventbrite to attend on a consistent time frame
- the total number of bars and pubs in each city
- the average cost of an overnight stay on Airbnb
Finally, Cycling Frog ranked the cities based on these metrics relative to each of their respective populations to create a ranking. This determined each city’s weighted average vs 2022 population figures across attractions, events, and the number of bars to calculate its overall score. They used the end scores to rank-order the sample.
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