The 25 most fun cities in the US

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The 25 most fun cities in the US

las vegas

Dennis Hohl / EyeEm / Getty Images

Las Vegas ranked as the most fun city in the US.

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The next time you're scheduling a family vacation or weekend away, you may want to consider going to one of the most fun cities in the US.

Personal finance website WalletHub released their ranking for the most fun cities in America, based on a number of factors including entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and costs. Costs ranked from lowest to highest, with a No. 1 ranking indicating that the city had the lowest costs associated with it. For the other two categories, a No. 1 spot indicated the cities scored the most points for metrics relating to entertainment and recreation and nightlife and parties.

To determine how each city ranked according to those three main factors, the study analyzed over 66 metrics across more than 180 cities, including categories like number of attractions, the diversity of restaurants in that area, the numbers of dance clubs, public beaches, and movie theaters per capita, and the prevalence of affordable restaurant rated 4.5 stars and up.

Check out the top 25 most fun cities in the US to see if yours made the cut.

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25. Tucson, AZ

25. Tucson, AZ

Tucson, Arizona — home to the University of Arizona — was deemed the most affordable city in the top 25 most fun cities in America. It came in third for costs, overall.

24. Fort Lauderdale, FL

24. Fort Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale, Florida is known for its beaches, boating canals, and main promenade lined with upscale restaurants and shopping boutiques.

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23. San Antonio, TX

23. San Antonio, TX

San Antonio is the ninth-cheapest city on the list. The city has also been ranked as one of the best US cities for affordability and quality of life.

22. Salt Lake City, UT

22. Salt Lake City, UT

Nestled in a mountain valley between the Wasatch mountains to the east and north and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west, Salt Lake City scored 42.69 out of 100 across WalletHub's metrics.

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21. Cincinnati, OH

21. Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati, Ohio came in at No. 19 for entertainment and recreation. Main attractions there include the Cincinnati Zoo, Findlay Market, and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

20. Philadelphia, PA

20. Philadelphia, PA

Home of the Philly Cheesesteak, Philadelphia is a destination for pop culture fanatics and history nerds alike. Visitors can see the Liberty Bell and climb the stairs made famous by the 1976 classic film "Rocky."

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19. Houston, TX

19. Houston, TX

Houston is the largest city in the South and the Southwest, and the fourth-most populated city in the country. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the world's largest livestock show and has hosted performers like Jason Aldean, Beyoncé, Bon Jovi, and most recently Kacey Musgraves and Cardi B.

18. St. Louis, MO

18. St. Louis, MO

St. Louis attracts more than 25.88 million visitors each year. St. Louis offers more free major attractions than any other US city, apart from Washington D.C.

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17. Seattle, WA

17. Seattle, WA

Seattle, Washington came in tenth place for entertainment and recreation.

16. Tampa, FL

16. Tampa, FL

Domestic visitors to Tampa, Florida visitors make up 61.4 percent of the market. Tourism also supports more than 48,000 local jobs and $2 billion in wages.

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15. Washington, DC

15. Washington, DC

Washington D.C. has the highest number of free attractions in any US city. However, the city is still expensive to visit. It scored 174 points for categories relating to costs.

14. Denver, CO

14. Denver, CO

Visitors to and residents of Denver have access to a number of exciting and fun activities, including the Denver Art Museum and resorts in the nearby Rocky Mountains.

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13. Honolulu, HI

13. Honolulu, HI

Hawaii is the happiest state in the US, according to a recent report. Honolulu claims the top ranking for most festivals per capita.

12. New Orleans, LA

12. New Orleans, LA

New Orleans also ranks highly for the most festivals per capita, coming in third behind Honolulu and San Francisco. New Orleans' delicious food, annual Mardi Gras celebration, and rich cultural history attracted nearly 18 million visitors in 2017.

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11. Austin, TX

11. Austin, TX

Austin came in eleventh place for nightlife and parties.

10. Los Angeles, CA

10. Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles offers a number of exciting activities, from shopping to hiking and incredible dining options. The California city ranked as No. 8 in entertainment and recreation.

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9. San Diego, CA

9.  San Diego, CA

San Diego ranked third for entertainment and recreation.

8. Portland, OR

8. Portland, OR

Portland had the third-highest number of accessible bars, behind New York and Las Vegas.

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7. San Francisco, CA

7. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco tied for the highest number of dance clubs per capita with Las Vegas and Orlando, FL. The city came in fourth for entertainment and recreation overall.

6. Atlanta, GA

6. Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, Georgia boasts a thriving food scene — CNN Travel even questioned whether the Southern city will inevitably become one of America's "foodie capitals" in 2015.

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5. Chicago, IL

5. Chicago, IL

Known as "the Windy City," Chicago attracts visitors from across the country to try its legendary deep-dish pizza. The city also offers fun tourist attractions like the iconic Cloud Gate sculpture, otherwise known as the Chicago Bean, and Navy Pier.

4. Miami, FL

4. Miami, FL

Whether you want to eat delicious food, lounge on the beach, or go out dancing, Miami is the place to go. This fun city ranks fourth for nightlife and parties, living up to its "Miami Vice" reputation.

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3. New York, NY

3. New York, NY

New York City, the most populous city in the US, scored the top spot for entertainment and recreation and the second-highest ranking for nightlife and parties behind Las Vegas. New York City had the most restaurants per capita out of the cities analyzed in the report.

2. Orlando, FL

2. Orlando, FL

Home of popular theme parks such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, Orlando ranked No. 2 for entertainment and recreation and No. 3 for nightlife and parties. Costs to visit Orlando, Florida are also relatively low, coming in as the seventeenth-cheapest city.

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1. Las Vegas, NV

1. Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas landed the top spot for the most fun city in America, with very high rankings in both entertainment and nightlife.