--- description: A majority of the spots are sprinkled throughout the South, with a few wildcards here and there title: These Are the Best and Worst American Cities for a Staycation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafd922061e8b1afe/69885f9ee20a87a423a8cc92/friendly0415-atlanta.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Are the Best and Worst American Cities for a Staycation by [Erika Owen / Travel + Leisure](/author/travel-leisure/) ## Erika Owen / Travel + Leisure Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 17, 2015 6:23 PM CUT  James Duckworth—AtlantaPhotos.com by [Erika Owen / Travel + Leisure](/author/travel-leisure/) ## Erika Owen / Travel + Leisure Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 17, 2015 6:23 PM CUT You don’t need to [burn any miles](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/milez-frequent-flyer-miles-calculator "undefined") to get in a solid summer vacation—or at least a killer Summer Fridays Personal finance website [WalletHub](http://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-staycations/4341/ "undefined") has shared its [yearly list of best (and worst) spots](http://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/the-top-10-cities-for-taking-time-off-but-staying-at-home.html?cid=sf01001 "undefined") to spend those personal days. WalletHub defines a staycation as a time lasting about four days (hello, long weekend). The destinations on its lists are derived from a 100-city ranking of America’s most densely populated cities using 17 metrics, including number of swimming pools, tennis courts, public golf courses, zoos, museums, and more. Based on these metrics, each city is assigned three numerical rankings: Recreation, Food & Entertainment, and Rest & Relaxation. A majority of the spots are sprinkled throughout the South, but there are a few wildcards thrown in here and there (ahem, Boise). **10 Worst U.S. Cities for Staycations** 10\. Laredo, Texas * Recreation Rank: 92 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 99 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 39 9\. Newark, New Jersey * Recreation Rank: 82 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 87 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 90 8\. North Las Vegas, Nevada * Recreation Rank: 94 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 84 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 67 7\. Hialeah, Florida * Recreation Rank: 93 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 96 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 71 6\. San Bernardino, California * Recreation Rank: 97 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 90 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 57 5\. Jersey City, New Jersey * Recreation Rank: 99 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 95 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 69 4\. Fremont, California * Recreation Rank: 90 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 100 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 86 3\. Anaheim, California * Recreation Rank: 98 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 94 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 84 2\. Santa Ana, California * Recreation Rank: 100 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 83 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 191 1\. Chula Vista, California * Recreation Rank: 95 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 97 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 100 **10 Best U.S. Cities for Staycations** 10\. Las Vegas, Nevada * Recreation Rank: 48 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 1 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 14 9\. Portland, Oregon * Recreation Rank: 16 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 3 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 38 8\. Tampa, Florida * Recreation Rank: 25 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 18 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 1 7\. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Recreation Rank: 9 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 2 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 24 6\. St. Louis, Missouri * Recreation Rank: 6 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 9 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 12 5\. Boise, Idaho * Recreation Rank: 2 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 20 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 7 4\. Scottsdale, Arizona * Recreation Rank: 21 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 4 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 5 3\. Cincinnati, Ohio * Recreation Rank: 1 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 10 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 16 2\. Atlanta, Georgia * Recreation Rank: 4 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 22 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 2 1\. Orlando, Florida * Recreation Rank: 13 * Food & Entertainment Rank: 7 * Rest & Relaxation Rank: 4 _This_ [_article_](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-us-cities-for-staycations?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Travel + Leisure_](http://www.travelandleisure.com "undefined") _More from Travel + Leisure:_ * [These Cities Offer the Best Deals for Summer Hotel Booking](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/cheapest-summer-hotels?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") * [Summer Adventures Ahead? Here’s Your Travel Prep 101](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/summer-adventures-ahead-heres-your-travel-prep-101?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") * [17 Unique Rental Homes Perfect For Group Getaways](http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/group-rental-homes-sleep-more-than-ten?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4000604/best-worst-american-cities-staycation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4000604/best-worst-american-cities-staycation/"},"headline":"These Are the Best and Worst American Cities for a Staycation","datePublished":"2015-08-17T18:23:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:17.119Z","description":"A majority of the spots are sprinkled throughout the South, with a few wildcards here and there","url":"https://time.com/4000604/best-worst-american-cities-staycation/","keywords":["Living","Travel","Summer","vacation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafd922061e8b1afe/69885f9ee20a87a423a8cc92/friendly0415-atlanta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Erika Owen / Travel + Leisure"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafd922061e8b1afe/69885f9ee20a87a423a8cc92/friendly0415-atlanta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"atlanta","caption":"atlanta","creditText":"James Duckworth—AtlantaPhotos.com","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4000604/best-worst-american-cities-staycation/","name":"These Are the Best and Worst American Cities for a Staycation"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Snob on a Budget: Travel Tricks","description":"Snob on a Budget: Travel Tricks","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/OYB7Z6X7/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-16T21:33:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OYB7Z6X7.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4000604/best-worst-american-cities-staycation/","duration":"PT2M18S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4000604/best-worst-american-cities-staycation/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```