July 4th Fizzle
Apparently these North Texas cities are a bust on the 4th of July
We've got a pretty impressive list of Fourth of July fun on tap, but there are a few North Texas cities you may want to steer clear of on America's birthday.
Specifically Irving, Arlington, and Garland, which land in the bottom 10 on WalletHub's ranking of the best and worst cities for Fourth of July celebrations.
To come up with the rankings, the personal finance site looked at how well the cities balance holiday cost and fun, using 16 different metrics, such as the duration of fireworks shows, average gas prices, weather forecasts, and more.
It's no surprise to anyone who's been to North Texas in the summer that we fare poorly in the weather category. Garland and Arlington tie at No. 93, while Irving ranks even lower, at No. 96. For attractions and activities, Irving once again sits at No. 96. Arlington and Garland are nearby, at Nos. 92 and 88, respectively.
Arlington makes an impressive though not so surprising jump up in the entertainment and food rankings, with the area's amusement parks, water parks, and sports stadiums elevating it to No. 57. The other two also have their best showings here — No. 72 for Irving, No. 75 for Garland — but it's still not worth lighting sparklers for.
The Texas city that shows up highest on the list is Austin, at No. 31, with Houston (No. 41) and Dallas (No. 42) not far behind. Dallas gets first place for entertainment and food, but we get one of the worst rankings for weather. Fort Worth is all the way down at No. 75.
Seattle, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Washington, and Portland are the best cities for Fourth of July celebrations.
While North Texas may not be in the running with the nation's capital, at least we're not Laredo, which comes in dead last. The only thing it has going for it is the country's lowest average prices on beer and wine.