Countdown Central: San Antonio Tops Texas NYE Celebration Rankings
WalletHub recently dubbed San Antonio the best city in Texas for NYE celebrations. Here’s why.
According to an annual study conducted by WalletHub, San Antonio is the best city in Texas to celebrate New Year’s Eve. It also landed at the No. 28 spot overall for best US cities to ring in the new year. The study compared 100 cities across the country and used 26 different metrics (spread across three categories) to determine its ranking. Those categories included safety and accessibility, costs, and entertainment and food.
The WalletHub team looked into how each of those designated areas celebrated the holiday, including whether there were fireworks displays and how much restaurants typically charged for meals and drinks that evening. One of the analysts contributing to the study, Chip Lupo, said, “The best cities for New Year’s celebrations have clear skies and some of the best fireworks displays around.” He added, “The top cities also offer an abundance of highly-rated, affordable dining options, along with a vibrant nightlife and plenty of activities to make your transition into the new year a memorable one.”
Let’s take a look at everything that made San Antonio stand apart from the rest of the pack—including other Texas cities that made the cut.
Here’s why San Antonio topped the list of TX cities
In addition to San Antonio, 12 other Texas cities made WalletHub’s list of the best US cities to celebrate New Year’s Eve: Plano, Austin, Houston, Dallas, El Paso, Arlington, Fort Worth, Irving, Corpus Christi, Garland, Laredo, and Lubbock. Plano and Austin were closest in ranking to San Antonio, coming in at No. 32 and No. 37, respectively.
WalletHub deemed San Antonio the best of the Texas bunch primarily for its food and entertainment scenes, which ranked 16th overall for New Year’s Eve in the US. The study also found that the Alamo City is one of the most affordable for holiday celebrations—it has the fourth-cheapest room prices for three-star hotels during that period.
Other factors, such as safety, walkability, and accessibility, were taken into consideration. Culture Map notes that since San Antonio ranked 90th overall for these, it’s important to remember that booking a rideshare is the safest way to get home on New Year’s Eve, especially if you’ve been drinking.
Where to celebrate NYE
Now, if you’re looking for somewhere to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the best city in Texas, numerous events are scheduled throughout the day and evening. Visit San Antonio has a complete calendar breakdown for you here, but let’s go over a few options together first.
Families can enjoy a kid-friendly celebration, Kids Countdown, at The DoSeum – San Antonio’s Museum for Kids on December 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Click here for pricing and additional details.
The Rah! Rah! Room, located at 6322 San Pedro, is hosting CHROMATIQA, a queer New Year’s Eve celebration starting at 8 p.m. and running right into the new year before wrapping up at 1 a.m. This link tells you everything you need to know about the LGBTQ+ extravaganza.
And for a free way to spend the holiday, there’s the Celebrate SA event in Hemisfair, which kicks off around 6 p.m. and takes you straight through until midnight. There’s food, music, dancing, games, kid-friendly activities, and a fireworks show. Here’s all the info.
Regardless of how you choose to celebrate, remember to have fun and be safe!
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
