Study ranks best U.S. cities for staycations

Kennewick — Schools are closing for summer, temperatures are rising and pools are opening. The summer season has technically arrived in practice, though the calendar start of summer is still around the corner.

With summer comes vacation season. Families, individuals, friend groups and more will all take off to visit somewhere new or fun. Whether you take the same trip every year, or go somewhere new every chance you get, many look forward to their annual summer trips.

But summer is also a great time for the vacation’s hometown counterpart, the staycation. Spending time in your own backyard, with no work or school, simply enjoying the leisure and recreation options right here at home.

The personal finance site WalletHub recently released a ranking of some of the best places for staycations in the United States, including a few in Washington state.

Best staycation cities in America

The study looked at 182 cities across the country, including the 150 most populated cities in the U.S. and at least two of the most populated cities in each state. The Evergreen State had four cities considered: Spokane, Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver.

This means much of the state was not considered in the study.

The cities considered were evaluated on individually-weighted 42 factors across three major categories: recreation, food and entertainment, and rest and relaxation. The factors were then totaled on a 100-point scale.

The top 10 cities in the ranking are:

1. Orlando, Fla. — 61.85

2. Honolulu, Hawai’i — 60.92

3. Cincinnati, Ohio — 60.79

4. Las Vegas, Nev. — 60.72

5. Tampa, Fla. — 58.38

6. Chicago, Ill. — 57.50

7. San Diego, Calif. — 57.23

8. Atlanta, Ga. — 56.21

9. New Orleans, La. — 55.97

10. Tucson, Ariz. — 55.70

Honolulu had the highest score in the recreation category, and Orlando had the highest for food and entertainment. The top city in the rest and relaxation category went to Shreveport, La., which ranked 31 overall. Despite its top rank in rest and relaxation, it ranked 71 in food and entertainment and 166 in the recreation category.

Top Washington staycation locations

So, where did Washington’s cities rank?

Seattle ranked the highest of all cities in the Evergreen State in the WalletHub study at number 27. Its total score was 50.74, just .06 points under number 26, Houston, Texas. Seattle ranked 13 in recreation, 15 in food and entertainment and 146 in the rest and relaxation category.

Vancouver ranked 66 with a total score of 44.75. It ranked 108 in recreation, 87 in food and entertainment and 55 in rest and relaxation.

Spokane wasn’t far behind at number 70 with a total score of 44.50, a quarter of a point less than Vancouver. It ranked 97 in recreation, 88 in food and entertainment and 26 in rest and relaxation.

The last Washington inclusion, Tacoma, ranked 105 with a total score of 41.43. It ranked 173 in recreation, 81 in food and entertainment and 76 in rest and relaxation.

Outside of the study, there are many places in Washington with ideal conditions for a staycation. Across the Evergreen state, people live in the middle of wine country, on islands, near lush forests and in other desirable locations.