Calling all snowbirds: Houston has landed among the top 10 best warm-weather winter destinations in America for 2025.
WalletHub's collection of the "Best Winter Holiday Destinations" is an annual ranking of the largest 69 U.S. metros to determine the ultimate "warm" and "cold" weather destinations for the upcoming winter season. Every metro was analyzed using 37 relevant metrics across six key dimensions, such as travel costs and hassles, local costs, attractions, weather, activities, and safety.
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada, retained its position as the No. 1 best warm-weather winter destination for the fourth consecutive year. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California, claimed No. 2 for the third year in a row.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked No. 6 for the second year in a row, which is a two-spot improvement over its former No. 8 rank in 2023.
According to the report's findings, the Houston metro has the No. 1 lowest "travel costs and hassles" for the winter season out of all U.S. cities.
This is how the report broke down Houston's rank across the remaining five key dimensions:
- No. 6 – Attractions
- No. 7 – Warm-weather activities
- No. 9 – Local costs
- No. 23 – Weather
- No. 33 – Safety
In all, Texas metros dominated the top 10. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown ranked as the No. 3 best warm-weather destination this year, Dallas-Fort Worth ranked 4th, and San Antonio-New Braunfels ranked 9th on the list.
Other Texas metros that landed on the list include: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (No. 24), Killeen-Temple (No. 29), Beaumont-Port Arthur (No. 31), Brownsville-Harlingen (No. 35), and Corpus Christi (No. 36).
“When the mercury drops, some Americans welcome the chill while others follow the sun,” the report said. “This year, the winter promises to be a warmer one. The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts a temperate and uneventful winter across most of the U.S.”
Meanwhile, WalletHub named Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin as the No. 1 best cold-weather destination for 2025.
For the purpose of the study, warm and cold cities were based on their 50-year average December temperatures. "Cold" weather was determined to be less than or equal to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, while "warm" weather was greater than or equal to 57 degrees.
The top 10 best warm-weather winter destinations in 2025 are:
- No. 1 – Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada
- No. 2 – San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California
- No. 3 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
- No. 4 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
- No. 5 – Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
- No. 6 – Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
- No. 7 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
- No. 8 – San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California
- No. 9 – San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas
- No. 10 – Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
