While many people head home for Thanksgiving with family, the holiday also offers an opportunity to travel. You might immediately think of NYC as the top spot for a destination Thanksgiving —the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is a bucket-list event—but according to WalletHub, another U.S. city is top turkey when it comes to Thanksgiving travel.
Based on several metrics, the personal finance site has determined that San Francisco is the best place for Thanksgiving in 2023. And it may come as a shock, but NYC didn’t even make the top ten. So, how did WalletHub settle on San Francisco? The rankings were determined by comparing the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 18 key metrics, including the cost of Thanksgiving dinner, share of delayed flights, volunteer opportunities per capita, forecasted precipitation and festive data points like number of pumpkin patches and holiday shops per capita.
The study reveals that San Francisco has a wealth of highly-rated yet affordable restaurants for dining out on Thanksgiving Day. The city offers plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs after a big meal, from Golden Gate Park to the JFK Promenade. Best of all, San Francisco has the second-most charity organizations per capita out of the cities studied, and many nonprofits in the area host street dinners and other events to get into the giving spirit.
Rounding out the top 10 places to celebrate Thanksgiving are San Jose, San Diego, Scottsdale, Raleigh, Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Greensboro (NC) and Virginia Beach. NYC came in well below at number 37.
Find the full study with more insight here.