Whether you love Valentine's Day, or whether you hate it and opt for something more inclusive like Galentine's Day instead, the love-laden holiday is right around the corner. In honor of V Day this year, WalletHub has put together a list of the best and worst cities to celebrate Valentine's Day in 2016. So if you live in one of the best cities, take pride in your contribution to the score; if you live in one of the worst, you'll know exactly how to make sure your Valentine's Day date stands out over the rest.
Of course, "best" and "worst" are relatively objective measures, so it's important to know what constitutes good and bad for this particular study. WalletHub analyzed the United States' 100 most populated cities across four categories: Valentine’s Day budget, Valentine’s Day activities, Valentine’s Day gift accessibility, and Valentine’s Day weather forecast. This analysis lead to a score (the methodology of which can be found here), with high scores corresponding to good cities for Valentine's Day and low ones corresponding to cities that may just not be feeling the love this year. It's also important to note that when talking about cities, WalletHub only takes data for this study from each city proper and not surrounding metro areas.
So without further ado, let's take a look at the top five best cities for Valentine's Day, followed by the five worst.
The Best Cities for Valentine's Day
5. Seattle, Wash.
Seattle, my home city, is not exactly known for being the mecca of love, but according to WalletHub, it has managed to slide itself into the number five slot for best cities to celebrate Valentine's Day. How? Apparently it's due to its high scores for the "Valentine's Day Budget Rank" and weather categories (it might not rain!).
4. Orlando, Fla.
You can't really go wrong with love in a city with Disney World, Harry Potter World, and Universal Studios. As you can imagine, none of this is particularly cheap, which is why Orlando is probably ranked as having the highest Valentine's Day budget in the top 10 best states.
3. Honolulu, Hawaii
Go for the love, beaches, and extraordinary nature experiences, and stay for... well, the love, beaches, and extraordinary nature experiences. Honolulu slides into the number three best place for V Day, scoring a total of six points over Orlando and seven over Seattle.
2. Scottsdale, Ariz.
This is the first time I'm hearing about anything in Arizona that is being described as "romantic" instead of "hot" and "The Grand Canyon." But apparently, Scottsdale has been killing the Valentine's Day gift game for a while now, since it moved up in one year from number eight in 2015 to number two in 2016.
1. San Francisco, Calif.
This NorCal gem is much more than tech startups (maybe); apparently it's also the best place to spend Valentine's Day 2016. The biggest reason? Wallet size. People from San Fran don't mind spending a lot of money on their hunnies.
The Worst Cities for Valentine's Day
5. Newark, NJ
Unfortunately, there's not much going on in this New Jersey city for Valentine's Day cheer, so it'll be really easy to one-up other people if you're doing something romantic for your date. Many people commute from Newark to New York City for work, nightlife, and adventures, but it won't make a huge different for Valentine's Day; NYC doesn't make the cut for good cities to be in, either. Sorry Tri-Staters.
4. San Bernardino, Calid.
This California city was also ranked in the bottom five last year, but at least San Bernardino will probably have sunshine on V Day; people celebrating in the aforementioned Newark will have to protect themselves against East Coast winter weather.
3. Cleveland, Ohio
Like many cities in the bottom five, Cleveland wasn't always so bad at Valentine's Day, but over time, its distaste in the holiday has crept in deeper, moving the city to the very bottom of the barrel. Luckily though, people from Ohio can head to neighboring state Minnesota, where Minneapolis ranks as one of the top 15 cities to be for V Day.
2. Detroit, Mich.
In defense of Detroit, I will say that some of the best food I've ever had has been from this midwestern city. So, if nothing else, take your date to some Southern-style BBQ make some bellies happy.
1. Hialeah, Fla.
Sorry to break it to you, Hialeah, but you've managed to be the worst big city in the United States to celebrate Valentine's Day. I get it. I totally do. V Day is not for all of us. Plus, your tourism industry might get a little bit of a boost from people who want nothing to do with the holiday at all! There's always a positive side.
