Tampa's A 'Fun City,' Study Says

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay residents looking for fun don’t have to leave their own backyard to find it. That’s according to a new study that ranks Tampa among the most fun cities in America.

Undertaken by the number crunchers at WalletHub, the website dedicated to all things personal finance, the study looked at such factors as festivals per capita, parks, restaurants and number of attractions to create a ranking. The analysis focused on the 150 biggest cities in America, measuring them based on 58 separate metrics. (For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

WalletHub’s analysts decided to dive into the topic because of the impending arrival of fall and cooler weather, explained spokeswoman Diana Popa. The season, she said, also tends to bring an uptick in activities – indoor and out – in communities across America.

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When the number crunching was finished, Tampa earned a No. 15 ranking. Las Vegas scored the top spot, followed by Orlando in the No. 2 position. New York, Miami and Portland rounded out the top five. Other Florida cities on the list included:

• Fort Lauderdale, No. 22
• St. Petersburg, No. 48
• Tallahassee, No. 81
• Pembroke Pines, No. 93
• Hialeah, No. 121
• Port St. Lucie, No. 123
• Cape Coral, No. 129

Oxnard, California, earned 150th-place ranking.

Tampa stood out on such metrics as:

• Festivals per capita – 3rd place
• Restaurants per capita – 13th place
• Fitness centers per capita – 16th place
• Dance clubs per capita – 17th place

Data used in the study was pulled from such sources as the U.S. Census Bureau, the Trust for Public Land, Yelp, Eventbrite and TripAdvisor, among others. To read more about the methodology used, visit WalletHub online.

The full study may be viewed on WalletHub.

Photo via the City of Tampa’s Facebook page