Dallas skyrockets up list of best cities to celebrate 4th of July

Dallas is quite the star-spangled place to celebrate the 4th of July this year. A recent report by personal finance website WalletHub ranks the best and worst places to celebrate Independence Day. Dallas comes in as 11th best, skyrocketing up from 41st in 2017.

Using 19 key metrics such as length of fireworks show, beer and wine prices, weather forecast, and safety, the website bases rankings on how well the 100 largest cities balance cost and fun.

Dallas now ranks as one of the best for celebrations (No. 3, up from No. 18 last year). Although affordability has fallen a tad (No. 18, down from No. 11 last year), the city ranks in the top 50 percent for attractions and activities, as well as weather. Clearly, these surveyors like heat and humidity.

Other DFW cities have also improved in the rankings. Fort Worth is No. 42 (up from No. 81 last year), Arlington is No. 62 (No. 75 last year), and Irving closely follows at No. 67 (No. 80 last year). Plano fell a bit, from No. 52 last year to No. 58 in 2018. And poor Garland just barely makes the list, coming in at No. 96.

Austin, also, can celebrate moving from No. 48 to No. 25, beating Dallas in affordability (No. 10), but trailing in celebrations (No. 13) and weather (No. 62). But ATX redeems itself with safety, landing in the top 5 for fewest DUI-related fatalities per capita.

Also showing improvement since last year, San Antonio comes in at No. 40, and Houston, at No. 29.

Typically on the 4th of July, Americans spend about $6.9 billion on food and more than $825 million on fireworks. A staggering 150 million hot dogs are devoured on the holiday, and 46.9 million people travel more than 50 miles from home to celebrate, WalletHub says.

If you want to celebrate in the best city in the U.S. of A., New York is the place to go, the survey says, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Seattle. But steer clear of San Bernardino, California, which comes in last at No. 100.

If you’re content staying closer to home, check out Kaboom Town in Addison. Another new survey by the Travel Channel ranks Addison the 4th best small town in which to celebrate the nation’s birthday.

And if you're still without plans, check out our official list of top 4th of July events in Dallas-Fort Worth.