We Have More Fun Here In California: Study

By now you probably have seen the commercials from the California Office of Tourism touting the Golden State as a fun place to visit. Well, a recent study by the personal-finance website WalletHub backs up that assertion.

In its report on 2017’s Most Fun States in America, California was ranked 15th.

While that seems a bit low for our fun-loving state, it's the dearth of nightlife in the state that dragged our score down. California was ranked 49th for nightlife. The reason could be because most of the nightlife activities seem to be concentrated on the coast, leaving the inland areas a bit starved for entertainment.

California, however, makes up for that by ranking higher than average on:

• Restaurants per Capita (22nd)
• Performing-Arts Theaters per Capita (22nd)
• Fitness Centers per Capita (28th)
• Casinos per Capita (27th)
• Skiing Facilities per Capita (26th)
• Personal Spending on Recreation Services per Capita (22nd)
• State & Local Direct General Expenditures on Parks & Recreation per Capita (18th)

In order to determine the most fun states in America, WalletHub’s compared the states across two key categories, “Entertainment & Recreation” and “Nightlife.” The data set ranges from movie costs to accessibility of national parks to casinos per capita. Nevada was ranked No. 1 in the study (One wonders why).

If California is too raucous for you, and you'd prefer a quieter, more low-key lifestyle, there's always Mississippi. The state ranked dead last on WalletHub's list.

— Photo credit: Renee Schiavon, Patch.