Seattle ranked No. 10 city in the country as a staycation destination | Washington
(The Center Square) – Seattle made the top 10 in 2022’s best cities for a staycation – a vacation where you stay at or near home – according to a new report by financial website WalletHub. The Emerald City ranked No. 10
WalletHub compared 182 cities in America across 44 categories, including nightlife options, diversity of restaurants, average cocktail price, massage costs, miles of available bicycle lanes, and summer weather quality. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing a location most amenable to staycationers.
Each city’s weighted average across all metrics was then used to calculate an overall score to determine rank order.
WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez explained Seattle’s 51.17 score.
“Seattle is the tenth best place for a staycation,” she reiterated in an email to The Center Square. “This is mostly due to its large number of beaches and parks per capita, and the fact that it’s a great area for biking. The city also has a lot of nightlife options, beer gardens and affordable restaurants to choose from.
The city ranked no. 5 for beer gardens per capita.
In total, four Washington cities made the list, including Tacoma (No. 75), Spokane (No. 84), and Vancouver (No. 113).
“Tacoma and Spokane rank in the top half best places for a staycation,” Gonzalez said. “Both cities scored particularly well in the food and entertainment category. This is especially due to the large number of zoos and aquariums and coffee and tea shops per capita, as well as the prevalence of affordable restaurants.”
Tacoma tied with Gulfport, Mississippi in ranking No. 1 in terms of most zoos and aquariums per capita.
Spokane ranked No. 5 for coffee and tea shops per capita.
Gonzalez then turned her attention to Vancouver on Washington’s southern border across from Portland, Oregon.
“Vancouver ranks in the bottom half, and isn’t a great place for a staycation,” she said. “The city doesn’t have that many recreation opportunities such as hiking trails, boat tours and water sports. It also has high bowling costs, a small number of nightlife options, museums, theaters and concert halls, and its restaurants lack diversity.”
She concluded, “Rest and relaxation is not that easily achieved in Vancouver either, due to the high costs of house cleaning services, massages and beauty salons.”
Staycations have become more popular due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That trend looks to continue this year with would-be vacationers’ wallets impacted by high gas prices, overall inflation, and supply chain challenges.
Thus far, Washington state’s government has given no indication that it will try to reduce the pain at the pump by either lowering or rebating gas taxes, as several other states have done.
The top 10 cities for staycations:
1. Honolulu, Hawaii
2.Orlando, Fla
3.Chicago, Illinois
4.Fort Lauderdale, Fla
5. Portland, Maine
6. Las Vegas, Nevada
7. San Francisco, California
8. New York, New York
9.San Diego, California
10.Seattle, Wash
The bottom 10 cities for staycations:
182. Pearl City, Hawaii
181. Chula Vista, California
180. Moreno Valley, California
179. Rancho Cucamonga, California
177. Oxnard, California
176. North Las Vegas, NV
175. Fontana, California
174. Irving, Texas
173. Garland, Texas
172. Fremont, California