A new WalletHub analysis ranks Dallas as the top U.S. city for celebrating Thanksgiving this year, with San Antonio placing third, giving Texas two spots in the national top three. Atlanta, Georgia, landed in second place, while San Bernardino, California, ranked last among the 100 cities studied.
How the rankings were calculated
WalletHub evaluated the 100 most populous U.S. cities across five broad categories: Thanksgiving celebrations and traditions, affordability, safety and accessibility, charitable giving, and the holiday weather forecast. Within those categories, analysts drew on specific metrics such as the cost of a typical Thanksgiving dinner, traffic congestion levels, restaurant quality, availability of holiday decoration shops, and the number of charities per capita. The methodology combines consumer-cost data, public safety indicators, weather forecasting, and search-engine trends to produce a composite score for each city.
Why Dallas and San Antonio stood out
According to the report, Dallas earned the top ranking partly because of its unusually high concentration of restaurants rated 4.5 stars or higher, making it appealing for residents who prefer dining out rather than cooking. The city also has numerous stores selling holiday decorations and reportedly sees higher-than-average local Google search interest in Thanksgiving-related terms, which researchers used as a proxy for community enthusiasm. WalletHub also noted Dallas placed 25th nationally for charities per capita, a factor relevant to the "giving thanks" category.
San Antonio's third-place finish was attributed largely to affordability, with the report highlighting it as home to some of the least expensive Thanksgiving dinners among the cities studied. Atlanta's second-place showing was linked in part to a strong on-time flight record, a practical consideration for holiday travelers.
What the findings mean - and their limits
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo summarized the common traits of highly ranked cities: an abundance of quality restaurants, accessible decoration shopping, and high local enthusiasm as measured by search activity. However, the study is a consumer-research ranking rather than a scientific or governmental assessment, and its weighting of categories - such as search trends or flight punctuality - reflects WalletHub's own methodology choices rather than an objective standard. Readers planning Thanksgiving travel or gatherings may find the rankings a useful starting point for comparing costs, weather expectations, and dining options, but individual circumstances, family preferences, and local conditions will still shape where any given celebration makes the most sense.