Houston has slipped five spots on Santa's nice list of the best cities for celebrating Christmas in 2024.
The very merry Bayou City has fallen into the No. 41 spot on WalletHub's list, which annually ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities across five key dimensions: Traditions and fun, observance, generosity, shopping opportunities, plus travel and meal costs.
Houston previously ranked as the No. 36 best U.S. city for celebrating Christmas in WalletHub's 2023 report.
Here's how the city performed across the study's five main categories:
- No. 22 – Traditions and fun rank
- No. 22 – Shopping rank
- No. 24 – Costs rank
- No. 77 – Generosity rank
- No. 90 – Observance rank
Houston at least gets to cheer on as the fourth highest-ranked Texas city in 2024 thanks to its hoard of holiday happenings, including numerous light displays throughout town. From local restaurants and bars putting their all into creating festive feasts and delightful cocktail experiences, there is plenty to get Houstonians in the holiday spirit this year.
Smaller Central Texas towns like Smithville have also transformed into fun, festive escapes for city dwellers this time of year.
Houston households also have bigger holiday budgets in 2024 than they did the year before. According to a separate WalletHub study, the average Houston household is expected to spend about $1,334 on Christmas gifts this year, versus $1,296 in 2023.
"With inflation making Christmas celebrations, gifts, food and travel more expensive, certain cities are much better for your wallet than others during the holiday," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "In addition to being affordable, the best cities have a large number of people celebrating, plenty of places for Christians to worship, populations who give generously to charity, and plenty of fun activities to enjoy with family and friends."
In a separate report by home services provider Thumbtack, Houston was named the No. 4 most festive U.S. city in 2024.
Elsewhere in Texas, other festive cities that earned spots in the top 50 include Austin (No. 23), San Antonio (No. 30), and Dallas (No. 31).
The top 10 best places to experience Christmas in 2024 are:
- No. 1 – Atlanta, Georgia
- No. 2 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
- No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
- No. 5 – Orlando, Florida
- No. 6 – San Francisco, California
- No. 7 – St. Louis, Missouri
- No. 8 – Miami, Florida
- No. 9 – Chicago, Illinois
- No. 10 – New York, New York
