When booking a vacation, a destination's affordability can be top of mind—especially as costs of living rise all over the country.
From flight prices to car rentals rates, restaurant and hotel room costs, there is a lot to keep track of—which is why we're paying particular attention to a new Forbes Advisor report titled "The U.S. Cities Becoming the Most Expensive to Visit in 2025."
The new survey analyzes 75 major U.S. cities to figure out which are becoming the most expensive—the ones that, for whatever reason, are seeing a higher percentage of cost increases. The report is based on visitor costs and covers data from the last three years (post pandemic, which is helpful). If you’re planning to travel, it’s good to be armed with knowledge imparted by the report.
Tied in first place are Detroit and Chicago. To be clear: these aren’t the most expensive cities overall (have you ever been to New York?) but they are the top two towns where prices are, overall, on the upswing. In third place is Atlanta, followed by Denver and then Charleston. None of these are cities we traditionally associate with high prices, but something’s happening, according to the report.
Some other key facts to keep in mind: across all 75 cities, hotel costs have increased by an average of 3 percent, meal prices by an average of 24 percent and airfare by an average of 8 percent. That's rough to hear.
Meal prices leapt the highest in Charleston, by a shocking 92 percent. On the other side of the coin, lucky Pittsburgh saw its figure decrease by 20 percent.
Hotel costs increased by 27 percent in New York City, the highest on the list, while New Orleans saw its hotel prices decline by the same percentage. It's not all bad news, right?
As for airfare, Austin saw a rate hike of 21 percent, while in Knoxville, prices fell by 7 percent.
Here are the top 10 cities that have gotten more expensive in 2025:
1. Detroit, Michigan
1. Chicago, Illinois
3. Atlanta, Georgia
4. Denver, Colorado
5. Charleston, South Carolina
6. Birmingham, Alabama
7. Cleveland, Ohio
8. New York, New York
9. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
10. Kansas City, Missouri