The season of giving is here, and from travel plans to charity donations, it can quickly get expensive.
Costs continue to be high across the United States, and some families may be rethinking their plans for the long Thanksgiving weekend this year based on their wallet.
Americans spent $338 on average between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday last year across flights, dinner plans and more, according to WalletHub.
Now, the personal finance gurus are sharing the best cities in America to celebrate the historic holiday without breaking the bank.
Atlanta Is Second-Best City to Celebrate Thanksgiving
“The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a Nov. 10 statement. “Other features make individual cities stand out; for example, Dallas has great weather, Atlanta has a fantastic track record for on-time flights and San Antonio has some of the cheapest Thanksgiving dinners.”
Analysts compared the top 100 largest American cities across 18 metrics, from the cost of Thanksgiving dinner to flight reservations to precipitation to pick the best spots.
Here are the top ten cities to celebrate Thanksgiving:
- Dallas, Texas
- Atlanta, Georgia
- San Antonio, Texas
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Houston, Texas
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Chesapeake, Virginia
Atlanta residents were seen as excited for the holiday based on recent Google search history, and there are also a large number of stores for holiday decorations and lots of highly rated restaurants. But the biggest win comes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“One of thee biggest stressors when traveling for a holiday is whether your flights will be on time, and Atlanta has a great track record,” according to WalletHub. “Only 16% of flights arriving or departing from Atlanta were delayed last November, the 11th-lowest percentage in the country.”
Atlanta also has a high number of charities per capita and residents give 5.1% of their income to charities, on average, making them one of the more generous major U.S. cities.
Thanksgiving Dinner May Actually Be Cheaper This Year
For families who are crunching the numbers before Nov. 26 this year, the higher prices at the grocery store might not translate to Thanksgiving Dinner.
According to an analysis from the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, the price of a Thanksgiving meal for 10 people will actually be 0.4% cheaper this year compared to 2025.
Prices on items like fresh and frozen turkeys, cranberries and frozen vegetables are down, according to the report. Other holiday items, like pumpkin, gravy and potatoes, however, have gone up in price since last year.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].
Reporting by Irene Wright, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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