2023’s Best Places for Valentine’s Day

Originally published by WalletHub.

As the saying goes, “money can’t buy love.” But it certainly can express it. This year, Americans collectively will spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s day gifts — from greeting cards to jewelry to a special night out — with the average lovebird shelling out $193.

But you don’t need to empty your wallet just to show your romantic side. Depending on where you go and what you do, a sweet evening can be inexpensive and still have the same quality. You just need to be in the right place with the right budget.

With love in the air, WalletHub played cupid to determine the most romantic and cost-effective cities for celebrating Valentine’s Day. We compared 100 of the largest U.S. cities across 26 key metrics, ranging from florists per capita to forecasted precipitation to the cost of a three-course meal for two.

Main Findings

Best Places to Go on Valentine’s Day

Overall Rank  City Total Score  Budget  Activities  Gift Accessibility  Weather Forecast 
1 San Francisco, CA 83.35 3 2 7 23
2 Seattle, WA 75.91 5 6 12 77
3 San Diego, CA 74.75 11 12 8 12
4 Las Vegas, NV 73.41 38 10 1 19
5 Portland, OR 72.49 14 9 10 57
6 Scottsdale, AZ 72.35 6 34 14 5
7 Honolulu, HI 71.04 47 11 4 33
8 Orlando, FL 69.70 71 4 2 40
9 Denver, CO 69.23 13 15 16 59
10 Washington, DC 69.05 18 5 24 39
11 San Jose, CA 67.54 4 41 34 28
12 New York, NY 67.19 67 7 9 25
13 Atlanta, GA 67.06 53 19 5 67
14 Austin, TX 66.00 15 24 20 71
15 Chicago, IL 65.89 58 3 6 90
16 Los Angeles, CA 63.94 74 13 11 12
17 Phoenix, AZ 61.28 39 50 21 6
18 Boston, MA 61.28 33 14 25 80
19 Fremont, CA 60.65 2 73 97 22
20 Virginia Beach, VA 60.54 12 55 45 31
21 Gilbert, AZ 60.29 1 92 95 1
22 Colorado Springs, CO 60.06 21 47 43 12
23 Minneapolis, MN 59.98 24 20 33 81
24 Tampa, FL 59.86 72 23 17 37
25 Raleigh, NC 59.64 22 39 44 33
26 Pittsburgh, PA 59.58 68 17 13 91
27 Charlotte, NC 59.32 28 45 30 46
28 Sacramento, CA 59.14 45 35 28 38
29 San Antonio, TX 58.52 63 29 22 68
30 Irvine, CA 58.28 10 72 68 25
31 Plano, TX 57.91 8 75 60 75
32 Miami, FL 57.89 95 1 3 49
33 Houston, TX 57.58 79 21 18 64
34 Chandler, AZ 57.42 9 83 81 1
35 Oakland, CA 57.05 31 32 57 23
36 Anaheim, CA 56.55 20 51 78 19
37 Albuquerque, NM 56.18 70 38 26 51
38 Reno, NV 56.01 29 48 51 53
39 St. Petersburg, FL 55.99 40 40 48 40
40 Dallas, TX 55.86 76 33 19 71
41 Jersey City, NJ 55.64 17 54 83 25
42 Boise, ID 55.38 25 64 53 55
43 Santa Ana, CA 55.06 26 71 72 12
44 Omaha, NE 54.58 32 42 75 47
45 Durham, NC 54.18 34 52 70 30
46 Fort Worth, TX 53.96 27 66 58 61
47 El Paso, TX 53.90 48 43 55 58
48 Nashville, TN 53.87 44 30 31 100
49 St. Louis, MO 53.51 83 16 15 98
50 Tucson, AZ 53.51 84 26 29 11
51 Chula Vista, CA 53.49 19 81 96 9
52 Oklahoma City, OK 53.41 37 61 52 61
53 Chesapeake, VA 53.21 7 97 93 40
54 Anchorage, AK 52.30 16 65 67 97
55 Jacksonville, FL 52.27 69 59 41 40
56 St. Paul, MN 51.65 59 37 50 79
57 Bakersfield, CA 51.65 30 91 80 18
58 Glendale, AZ 51.32 42 84 88 1
59 Kansas City, MO 51.25 51 58 73 59
60 Stockton, CA 51.16 36 95 66 29
61 Aurora, CO 51.12 23 80 90 54
62 Columbus, OH 51.09 56 46 42 95
63 Henderson, NV 51.09 35 82 91 7
64 Baltimore, MD 50.99 85 25 36 32
65 Madison, WI 50.79 50 36 74 82
66 Long Beach, CA 50.60 78 44 56 12
67 Mesa, AZ 50.59 54 86 79 1
68 Wichita, KS 50.33 49 85 71 52
69 Philadelphia, PA 50.24 87 18 27 68
70 Riverside, CA 50.15 61 88 69 9
71 Tulsa, OK 49.62 66 76 47 75
72 Lincoln, NE 49.45 55 67 86 47
73 New Orleans, LA 48.29 93 8 32 56
74 Cincinnati, OH 48.19 88 22 23 93
75 Corpus Christi, TX 47.98 52 90 77 68
76 Lexington-Fayette, KY 47.81 57 70 54 93
77 Fresno, CA 47.55 80 77 62 21
78 Indianapolis, IN 47.51 75 53 39 92
79 Greensboro, NC 47.36 77 62 63 36
80 Norfolk, VA 47.27 73 56 84 40
81 Arlington, TX 47.11 46 89 87 78
82 Irving, TX 46.77 41 93 94 61
83 Laredo, TX 45.90 43 68 89 64
84 Louisville, KY 45.64 81 49 38 99
85 Fort Wayne, IN 45.39 64 94 61 83
86 Milwaukee, WI 44.50 86 27 59 89
87 Lubbock, TX 44.47 60 99 85 71
88 Garland, TX 43.80 65 96 100 71
89 Winston-Salem, NC 43.65 82 60 82 50
90 North Las Vegas, NV 42.13 62 100 99 12
91 Baton Rouge, LA 40.86 90 79 46 64
92 Buffalo, NY 40.23 94 28 35 84
93 San Bernardino, CA 38.30 92 98 64 7
94 Memphis, TN 37.08 91 78 49 96
95 Hialeah, FL 35.49 97 57 65 40
96 Birmingham, AL 34.30 96 69 40 88
97 Toledo, OH 34.27 89 87 92 84
98 Cleveland, OH 30.27 100 31 37 84
99 Newark, NJ 29.57 99 63 98 33
100 Detroit, MI 27.98 98 74 76 87

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

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