2021's Best Places for Valentine’s Day

Adam McCann, Financial WriterFeb 2, 2021

Adam McCann, Financial Writer
Feb 2, 2021

As the saying goes, “money can’t buy love.” But it certainly can express it. This year, Americans collectively will spend more than $21.8 billion on Valentine’s day gifts — from greeting cards to jewelry to a special night out — with the average lovebird shelling out $164.76.

You don’t need to empty your wallet just to show your romantic side, though. Depending on where you go and what you do, a sweet evening can be inexpensive and still have the same quality. Plus, staying in may be the better choice this year, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that we’re still a few months away from widespread vaccination.

With love in the air, WalletHub played cupid to determine the most romantic and cost-effective cities for Valentine’s Day. We compared 100 of the largest U.S. cities across 14 key metrics, ranging from florists per capita to COVID-19 cases to high-quality takeout food. For interesting stats about the holiday, check out WalletHub’s Valentine’s Day Fun Facts infographic.

Table of Contents

Main Findings Ask the Experts Methodology

Main Findings

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Best Places to Go on Valentine’s Day

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Safety	Budget & Activities	Gift Accessibility	Weather Forecast
1	San Francisco, CA	83.28	2	1	7	27
2	Honolulu, HI	79.66	1	12	4	93
3	Portland, OR	78.09	3	3	10	54
4	Seattle, WA	75.99	5	4	9	70
5	San Jose, CA	70.13	13	5	23	5
6	San Diego, CA	70.05	22	8	5	10
7	Austin, TX	68.53	14	11	21	49
8	Oakland, CA	67.58	6	9	53	49
9	Orlando, FL	67.18	24	58	2	61
10	Sacramento, CA	66.06	17	30	22	2
11	Fremont, CA	64.82	6	7	99	19
12	Raleigh, NC	63.92	11	59	43	29
13	Virginia Beach, VA	63.51	8	25	47	93
14	Kansas City, MO	63.49	4	81	57	29
15	Atlanta, GA	63.23	30	43	6	75
16	Houston, TX	62.75	26	37	17	61
17	Durham, NC	61.28	9	66	69	36
18	Plano, TX	60.97	15	16	71	70
19	Cincinnati, OH	60.73	21	80	15	75
20	Denver, CO	59.90	50	14	20	5
21	Madison, WI	59.48	16	29	73	79
22	Dallas, TX	58.76	39	56	16	49
23	Pittsburgh, PA	58.67	40	78	8	70
24	Tampa, FL	58.60	31	49	25	61
25	Chesapeake, VA	58.47	12	34	94	80
26	Washington, DC	58.18	43	15	27	60
27	Irvine, CA	58.18	32	6	59	19
28	Columbus, OH	57.98	19	71	37	80
29	Santa Ana, CA	57.97	32	10	63	19
30	Charlotte, NC	57.61	27	64	33	69
31	Colorado Springs, CO	57.01	37	32	52	1
32	St. Louis, MO	56.89	44	75	13	61
33	Norfolk, VA	56.80	10	85	83	91
34	Oklahoma City, OK	56.12	36	38	45	36
35	Chula Vista, CA	56.04	22	39	91	15
36	Anaheim, CA	55.89	32	28	67	29
37	Albuquerque, NM	55.25	47	57	26	47
38	San Antonio, TX	55.16	57	65	18	10
39	Lincoln, NE	54.49	28	63	82	10
40	Las Vegas, NV	54.42	73	54	1	44
41	Lexington-Fayette, KY	54.23	29	47	66	86
42	Fort Worth, TX	53.32	46	35	49	49
43	Greensboro, NC	52.57	18	93	70	86
44	Jacksonville, FL	52.48	48	60	40	61
45	Wichita, KS	52.44	38	74	65	4
46	Anchorage, AK	51.95	20	36	77	100
47	Bakersfield, CA	51.65	41	68	72	9
48	Tulsa, OK	50.82	49	79	46	36
49	Baltimore, MD	50.67	54	73	35	54
50	Boise, ID	50.56	53	46	62	42
51	Chicago, IL	50.13	82	18	12	61
52	Aurora, CO	49.84	42	69	93	3
53	Los Angeles, CA	49.65	84	19	14	19
54	Fresno, CA	49.36	56	67	55	29
55	Louisville, KY	49.13	52	84	39	86
56	St. Petersburg, FL	49.10	51	52	75	70
57	Minneapolis, MN	49.09	59	40	31	96
58	Cleveland, OH	48.95	35	100	30	80
59	Omaha, NE	48.60	65	31	61	5
60	Irving, TX	48.44	58	21	88	49
61	Winston-Salem, NC	48.36	25	98	87	86
62	Philadelphia, PA	48.26	77	33	19	68
63	New York, NY	47.66	92	44	11	36
64	Arlington, TX	47.64	60	24	79	61
65	Buffalo, NY	47.58	62	92	24	46
66	Garland, TX	46.58	45	70	100	54
67	Stockton, CA	46.07	55	86	78	15
68	Reno, NV	45.82	68	48	68	29
69	Riverside, CA	45.24	72	41	56	29
70	Nashville, TN	44.88	70	83	32	54
71	St. Paul, MN	44.46	63	53	41	97
72	Indianapolis, IN	44.38	76	51	34	92
73	Long Beach, CA	43.87	84	22	54	10
74	Memphis, TN	43.60	64	91	51	54
75	Scottsdale, AZ	43.57	86	45	29	15
76	Phoenix, AZ	43.52	86	42	36	8
77	Boston, MA	43.47	93	23	28	36
78	Baton Rouge, LA	43.37	67	88	60	26
79	Tucson, AZ	43.22	80	62	38	54
80	Henderson, NV	41.65	73	50	90	15
81	Milwaukee, WI	41.64	71	87	50	75
82	San Bernardino, CA	40.93	61	95	96	36
83	Gilbert, AZ	40.73	86	2	97	19
84	Corpus Christi, TX	40.51	83	27	76	27
85	Birmingham, AL	40.48	69	96	42	80
86	Chandler, AZ	40.44	86	17	86	19
87	New Orleans, LA	39.68	79	89	44	70
88	Toledo, OH	39.56	66	76	92	86
89	Fort Wayne, IN	39.18	78	77	64	75
90	Glendale, AZ	39.09	86	20	95	19
91	Mesa, AZ	37.50	86	61	81	29
92	Jersey City, NJ	36.34	95	13	80	47
93	North Las Vegas, NV	36.32	73	72	98	44
94	Miami, FL	34.45	96	97	3	99
95	Detroit, MI	32.21	81	99	58	97
96	Newark, NJ	30.99	94	94	89	42
97	El Paso, TX	30.06	98	55	48	80
98	Hialeah, FL	26.98	96	90	74	95
99	Lubbock, TX	26.67	98	82	85	10
100	Laredo, TX	26.62	98	26	84	80

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
artwork 2021 best and worst cities for valentine day

Ask the Experts

Planning a date or buying gifts on Valentine’s Day shouldn’t break the bank. You can display your affection for that special someone while remaining smart about your finances. To help consumers stay within their budgets this year, we turned to a panel of experts for their thoughts on the following key questions:

What can Valentine’s Day spending trends tell us about consumer confidence and the health of the overall economy?
What are some tips for celebrating Valentine’s Day on a budget?
What are some ways for people to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, given the currently limited opportunities?
Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year. How might this impact how people plan to celebrate?
Who spends more on Valentine’s Day, men or women?
What post-Valentine’s Day deals should savvy shoppers take advantage of?

Ask the Experts

: Casey Newmeyer
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Marketing; Design & Innovation, Weatherhead School of Management – Case Western Reserve University
Read More

: Shreyans Goenka
Assistant Professor of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business – Virginia Tech
Read More

: Michal Strahilevitz
Marketing Department – Saint Mary's College of California
Read More

: Paul Rose
Ph.D. – Associate Dean & Professor of Psychology, School of Education, Health and Human Behavior – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Read More

: Cara Peters
Ph.D. – Professor of Marketing, College of Business Administration – Winthrop University
Read More

: Kevin McEvoy
Ph.D., MBA – Marketing Department, University of Connecticut
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to determine the best cities for Valentine’s Day, WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated cities across four key dimensions: 1) Safety, 2) Budget & Activities, 3) Gift Accessibility and 4) Weather Forecast. Our sample considers only the city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.

We evaluated the four dimensions using 14 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for celebrating Valentine’s Day. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Safety - Total Points: 40

Average COVID-19 Deaths per Capita: Triple Weight (~24.00 Points)
Average COVID-19 Cases per Capita: Double Weight (~16.00 Points)

Budget – Total Points: 30

Note: All of the following cost metrics were adjusted for the median household income of the city.

Cost of Three-Course Meal for Two: Double Weight (~8.57 Points)
Note: We assumed that the cost of a three-course meal for two would increase proportionally across all cities on Valentine’s Day.
Prevalence of Affordable 4.5+ Star Valentine Gift Opportunities: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
Note: This is a composite metric which includes the following Valentine Gift Opportunities: a) Jewelry; b) Florists; c) Chocolate Shops; d) Cards & Stationery and e) Gift Shops.
Average Beverage Price: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
Note: “Beverage” refers to wine, beer and cocktail prices.
Availability of Highly-Rated Takeout or Delivery Food: Double Weight (~8.57 Points)
Note: This is a composite metric which includes delivery and take-out restaurant options rated 4 stars or higher.
Walkability: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)

Gift Accessibility – Total Points: 20

Jewelry Stores per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Florists per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Chocolate Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Greeting-Card Stores & Gift Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Google Search Index for “Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas”: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures search interest for “valentine's gifts for him”, “valentine's gifts for her”, “valentine's day cards”, “valentine's day flowers” and “valentine's chocolate”.

Weather Forecast – Total Points: 10

Difference Between Forecasted and Normal Temperatures on Valentine’s Day: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
Note: For this metric, the city was penalized if its forecasted temperature on Valentine’s Day is colder than the holiday’s average temperature.
Forecasted Precipitation for Valentine’s Day: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, Numbeo, Google Ads, Walkscore.com, Yelp, AccuWeather, The New York Times and WalletHub research.

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