TEXAS TOURISM

Texas is the 7th most fun state in America, new study says

Floating the Guadalupe River is a quintessential Texas summertime activity.

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Texans already know our state is one of the best places for fun, niche hobbies like urban treasure hunting. Now, we're the overall No. 7 most fun state in the United States, according to a new report by personal finance website WalletHub.

The study analyzed 26 metrics across every state to determine which state has the greatest variety of enjoyment and recreational opportunities. A few of the categories that helped determine Texas' rank include access to national parks, performing arts theaters, and more.

Texas earned the top spot for the most amusement parks per capita, and tied for first place with California for the most movie theaters. With cutting-edge amusement parks like Six Flags over Texas and glorious and historic theaters like Dallas' Texas Theatre and Angelika Film Center, fun experiences aren't hard to come by.

The state also tied for No. 1 with California, Florida, and New York for the most restaurants, and ranked No. 3 for the most fitness centers.

In the category of most golf courses and country clubs per capita, Texas only ranked No. 17. The state also ranked outside the top 10 in No. 12 for the number of performing arts theaters.

Despite the unrelenting summer heat, other states that made it into the top 10 include popular tourism destinations like California (No. 1), Florida (No. 2), and Nevada (No. 3).

The top 10 most fun states in America are:

No. 1 – California
No. 2 – Florida
No. 3 – Nevada
No. 4 – New York
No. 5 – Illinois
No. 6 – Colorado
No. 7 – Texas
No. 8 – Washington
No. 9 – Minnesota
No. 10 – Louisiana

With traveling on the brain for most Americans during the summer of 2023, one expert says there are two things to consider for the upcoming tourism season. Dr. Samuel B. Stone, associate professor at California State University, Fullerton, mentioned that traveling will be "segmented" by a household's income and the effects of inflation.

"On the one hand, high inflation should have a big impact on discretionary household spending, which would include travel and tourism," said Dr. Stone. "On the other hand, the high prices for airfare and other tourism-related items seem to be a result, in part, of pent-up demand from reduced travel during the pandemic... Travel by households at lower income levels may be affected a lot by inflation while higher income households may not be affected very much."

The bottom five least fun states in America are Arkansas (No. 46), Rhode Island (No. 47), Delaware (No. 48), West Virginia (No. 49), and Mississippi (No. 50).

More information about the report can be found on wallethub.com.

texas reports WalletHub Fun Ideas

Merry & bright news

Dallas makes Santa's nice list as 2nd most festive U.S. city in 2025

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Dallas sparkles and shines for the holidays.

In merry and bright news, Dallas has landed a coveted spot near the top of a 2025 ranking of America's most festive cities.

Home services platform Thumbtack analyzed holiday light installation requests from customers from October 2024 to 2025 to determine the most festive U.S. cities. Rankings were based on the "relative frequency" of requests after being adjusted for the population of each state and metro area.

Dallas comes in at No. 2.

Dallas has been resting easy at the top of Santa's nice list since 2022. But the city's festive spirit has yet to dethrone Austin, which has held on to the top spot for four years in a row.

There's plenty of dazzling shows illuminating Dallas-Fort Worth for the holidays, including drive-thru light parks and CultureMap's very own ice rink at Main Street Garden in downtown Dallas.

Other festive holiday events happening around Dallas include many more local ice rinks, pop-up bars, plus volunteer opportunities to give back to the local community. Readers can also keep up with all of Dallas' holiday happenings in CultureMap's season-long editorial series.

Other big Texas cities like Houston and San Antonio also all landed top-10 spots, proving the Lone Star State is much more festive than the rest of the country.

"From Texas to Florida, the South is setting the standard for holiday spirit, and in true Texas fashion, bigger is definitely brighter," the report said. "Mild winters and a strong sense of community keep the Lone Star State shining at the top."

Thumbtack's top 10 most festive U.S. cities in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Austin, Texas
No. 2 – Dallas, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 5 – Sacramento, California
No. 6 – Houston, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 9 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 10 – Atlanta, Georgia

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