Life

Study Of Most Fun Cities in America Ranks Wilmington 135th

- by Staff Writer

Everyone likes to have fun. But we all prefer our personal brand of a good time. Some people like trying new restaurants, traveling, going to bars and clubs or playing outdoor sports. Others enjoy riding roller coasters, going to the movies, or playing video games. But having fun can be expensive – the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average American spends nearly $3,000 on entertainment per year.

With such different preferences, what, then, makes a fun city? WalletHub defines such a place as one that packs a little bit of everything for everyone — except maybe people seeking the most extreme of thrills. In a city with enough variety, you won’t have to compromise with your friends, your family or even yourself about the next fun activity to do alone or together.

To help Americans find the cities with the greatest number and variety of fun yet cost-effective options, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 66 key metrics. They range from fitness centers per capita to movie costs to average open hours of breweries.

Read on for the winners, money-saving advice from experts and a full description of how we ranked the cities.

Rank City Score ‘Entertainment & Recreation’ Rank ‘Nightlife & Parties’ Rank ‘Costs’ Rank
1 Las Vegas, NV 72.39 5 1 71
2 Orlando, FL 64.3 2 3 17
3 New York, NY 57.62 1 2 182
4 Miami, FL 56.41 9 4 125
5 Chicago, IL 55.22 7 6 144
6 Atlanta, GA 53.95 14 5 100
7 San Francisco, CA 53.85 4 8 177
8 Portland, OR 52.37 13 7 117
9 San Diego, CA 51.38 3 17 142
10 Los Angeles, CA 50.78 8 12 159
11 Austin, TX 50.23 17 11 69
12 New Orleans, LA 50.22 18 9 131
13 Honolulu, HI 49.92 6 18 158
14 Denver, CO 48.82 16 13 114
15 Washington, DC 47.92 11 10 174
16 Tampa, FL 47.7 12 21 70
17 Seattle, WA 47.54 10 14 175
18 St. Louis, MO 46.45 27 16 23
19 Houston, TX 45.27 34 15 38
20 Philadelphia, PA 44.61 22 19 101
21 Cincinnati, OH 44.02 19 32 41
22 Salt Lake City, UT 42.69 25 28 49
23 San Antonio, TX 42.02 37 25 9
24 Fort Lauderdale, FL 41.65 15 31 133
25 Tucson, AZ 41.54 26 47 3
26 Dallas, TX 41.42 36 23 52
27 Minneapolis, MN 40.75 23 36 94
28 Pittsburgh, PA 40.18 24 38 84
29 Nashville, TN 40.01 38 24 88
30 Scottsdale, AZ 39.77 30 40 34
31 Portland, ME 39.68 45 26 96
32 Sacramento, CA 39.64 28 22 157
33 Reno, NV 39.53 40 30 68
34 Omaha, NE 39.45 41 39 13
35 Raleigh, NC 39.44 69 27 22
36 Indianapolis, IN 39.39 63 35 10
37 Charleston, SC 39.35 21 76 56
38 Boston, MA 39.02 20 20 179
39 Columbus, OH 38.96 49 42 5
40 Jacksonville, FL 38.95 35 49 15
41 Milwaukee, WI 38.77 44 44 11
42 Knoxville, TN 38.02 43 54 19
43 Richmond, VA 37.45 54 43 63
44 Cleveland, OH 36.96 46 48 39
45 Rochester, NY 36.91 33 53 91
46 St. Petersburg, FL 36.81 29 70 72
47 Oklahoma City, OK 36.79 80 51 2
48 Phoenix, AZ 36.64 53 67 8
49 Charlotte, NC 36.29 59 41 87
49 Louisville, KY 36.29 57 58 33
51 Tempe, AZ 36.26 55 72 37
52 Henderson, NV 35.92 73 46 12
53 Kansas City, MO 35.9 83 34 50
54 Fort Worth, TX 35.86 81 33 80
55 Buffalo, NY 35.78 52 52 78
56 Birmingham, AL 35.66 79 50 35
57 Columbia, SC 35.3 51 71 77
58 Baton Rouge, LA 35.26 66 66 44
59 Boise, ID 34.98 64 82 26
60 Virginia Beach, VA 34.87 39 84 83
61 Mobile, AL 34.85 130 37 47
62 Grand Rapids, MI 34.71 82 69 18
63 Albuquerque, NM 34.7 31 103 89
64 Colorado Springs, CO 34.6 47 88 46
65 Lincoln, NE 34.5 68 65 73
66 Memphis, TN 34.35 108 55 7
67 Detroit, MI 34.01 84 60 31
68 Baltimore, MD 33.72 50 56 120
69 Madison, WI 33.64 42 68 121
70 Chattanooga, TN 33.41 67 63 110
71 Tulsa, OK 33.27 70 80 64
72 El Paso, TX 33.08 77 102 6
73 Oakland, CA 32.85 65 29 172
74 Springfield, MO 32.5 125 85 20
75 Gulfport, MS 32.43 157 73 28
76 Arlington, TX 32.27 87 45 124
77 Durham, NC 32.16 105 75 40
78 Long Beach, CA 31.93 56 59 155
79 Huntington Beach, CA 31.81 71 61 140
80 Tallahassee, FL 31.75 109 81 90
81 Wichita, KS 31.65 132 83 21
82 Plano, TX 31.64 74 74 112
83 Huntsville, AL 31.46 136 62 82
84 Chandler, AZ 31.28 94 97 27
85 Irvine, CA 31.18 32 94 171
86 Mesa, AZ 31.09 103 134 4
87 Providence, RI 31.07 76 64 136
88 Rapid City, SD 31.06 99 92 54
89 Glendale, AZ 30.97 96 91 25
90 Anaheim, CA 30.82 72 57 156
91 Greensboro, NC 30.8 90 112 16
92 Sioux Falls, SD 30.73 131 87 76
93 Chesapeake, VA 30.66 93 153 53
94 St. Paul, MN 30.36 58 122 105
95 Billings, MT 30.32 102 90 86
96 Bakersfield, CA 30.24 115 96 45
97 Norfolk, VA 30.18 61 115 126
98 Spokane, WA 30.09 88 120 67
99 Lexington-Fayette, KY 30.05 98 98 61
100 Akron, OH 29.98 121 107 62
101 Amarillo, TX 29.85 156 174 1
102 Cape Coral, FL 29.8 75 118 51
103 Des Moines, IA 29.54 145 95 43
104 Corpus Christi, TX 29.29 85 138 60
105 Missoula, MT 29.22 104 79 128
106 Garden Grove, CA 29.19 78 77 162
107 Fort Smith, AR 29.13 165 143 24
108 Gilbert, AZ 29.07 151 127 14
109 San Jose, CA 29.05 62 86 164
110 Overland Park, KS 28.86 144 124 85
111 Toledo, OH 28.74 97 149 30
112 Fort Wayne, IN 28.53 128 142 32
113 Fayetteville, NC 28.51 142 121 59
114 Las Cruces, NM 28.44 146 173 36
115 Winston-Salem, NC 28.43 110 117 102
116 Tacoma, WA 28.14 114 100 113
117 Little Rock, AR 28.13 153 126 48
118 Jersey City, NJ 27.81 92 93 150
119 Lubbock, TX 27.65 113 140 57
120 Shreveport, LA 27.55 168 114 75
121 Columbia, MD 27.42 134 123 123
122 Modesto, CA 27.36 149 108 119
123 Newport News, VA 27.27 159 109 103
124 Aurora, CO 27.25 129 110 111
125 Riverside, CA 27.16 100 101 139
126 Huntington, WV 27.11 150 170 79
127 North Las Vegas, NV 26.97 119 106 106
128 San Bernardino, CA 26.86 135 78 153
129 Burlington, VT 26.77 101 111 145
130 Anchorage, AK 26.75 48 172 169
131 Hialeah, FL 26.75 112 119 138
132 Montgomery, AL 26.57 179 150 42
133 Garland, TX 26.55 126 146 109
134 Manchester, NH 26.5 155 105 130
135 Wilmington, DE 26.47 107 99 154
136 Newark, NJ 26.45 106 133 137
137 Stockton, CA 26.44 91 152 129
138 Cedar Rapids, IA 26.39 173 131 74
139 Glendale, CA 26.39 86 116 168
140 Fargo, ND 26.36 141 148 99
141 Casper, WY 26.22 139 179 66
142 Augusta, GA 26.22 171 135 97
143 Port St. Lucie, FL 26.09 147 156 65
144 Fresno, CA 25.96 120 144 81
145 Irving, TX 25.94 143 162 104
146 West Valley City, UT 25.94 124 160 107
147 Pembroke Pines, FL 25.78 95 155 141
148 Oceanside, CA 25.73 117 145 127
149 Salem, OR 25.69 163 89 134
150 Jackson, MS 25.62 178 161 92
151 Vancouver, WA 25.55 122 141 122
152 Santa Clarita, CA 25.36 111 129 160
153 Grand Prairie, TX 24.74 162 166 115
154 Peoria, AZ 24.66 161 147 98
155 Columbus, GA 24.63 176 171 93
156 Cheyenne, WY 24.6 180 175 58
157 Charleston, WV 24.54 167 163 108
158 Santa Ana, CA 24.4 127 125 146
159 Ontario, CA 24.34 138 136 132
160 Warwick, RI 24.26 137 113 161
161 Worcester, MA 24.06 175 104 148
162 Bismarck, ND 24.01 172 176 95
163 Nashua, NH 23.53 174 132 135
164 Dover, DE 23.31 166 167 143
165 Laredo, TX 23.27 158 180 29
166 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 23.09 123 151 147
167 Moreno Valley, CA 22.97 148 128 166
168 Juneau, AK 22.94 60 169 180
169 Fontana, CA 22.82 140 159 151
170 Fremont, CA 22.62 89 154 176
171 Chula Vista, CA 22.6 154 130 163
172 Nampa, ID 22.48 181 157 116
173 Lewiston, ME 22.27 169 181 118
174 Aurora, IL 21.81 152 168 152
175 New Haven, CT 21.65 160 137 170
176 South Burlington, VT 21.59 116 178 149
177 Brownsville, TX 20.55 182 182 55
178 Bridgeport, CT 19.93 177 165 165
179 Santa Rosa, CA 19.59 118 139 181
180 Yonkers, NY 19.2 133 158 178
181 Oxnard, CA 19.2 170 164 167
182 Pearl City, HI 19.09 164 177 173