These 2 Cities Have More Holiday Spirit Than NYC

NEW YORK — From the Rockefeller Center tree to the Rockettes, New York City has plenty of vaunted holiday traditions. But they apparently weren't enough to put the Big Apple at the top of WalletHub's new list of the nation's best places for Christmas celebrations.

The personal finance website ranked the 100 most populous U.S. cities based on 31 Christmas-related factors in five categories: Traditions and fun, observance, generosity, shopping and costs. The ranking published Tuesday used data from federal government agencies and several other sources, such as the travel websites Kayak and TripAdvisor.

New York city placed third overall, falling behind No. 2 Las Vegas and No. 1 Orlando, Florida despite grabbing the top honor for traditions and fun.

Holiday attractions are plentiful here, the report shows — the city took first place for the per-capita numbers of Christmas events and Christmas tree farms, as well as Google search interest for Christmas celebrations.

But New York is far more expensive than other spirited locales, WalletHub found. The city was ranked 94th overall in the report's costs category, while Las Vegas and Orlando placed third and fifth, respectively.

The nation's second-highest average beverage price and fifth-highest average meal costs can be found in the five boroughs, according to WalletHub. The city also ranked 75th for the average price for a pair of theater tickets ($344, according to the site).

New York did outperform its neighbors across the Hudson River — Jersey City and Newark, New Jersey placed 73rd and 79th on WalletHub's ranking, respectively. New Yorkers who hate the holidays should head south to Hialeah, Florida, which ranked dead last on the list.

Here are the nation's top 10 places for Christmas celebrations, according to WalletHub. See the full report here.

1. Orlando, Florida
2. Las Vegas
3. New York City
4. Atlanta
5. Pittsburgh
6. San Francisco
7. Los Angeles
8. Chicago
9. Seattle
10. Dallas

(Lead image: Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)