STATEWIDE – WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranked California No. 1 on its 2023 Most Fun State in the US report. The company says they compared the 50 states across 26 good time key indicators — from people who crave the outdoors and athletics to those who would rather sit down for a film.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 indicating the greatest number and variety of fun and cost-effective options.
WalletHub scored California the highest out of the 50 states – 64.56, with Florida and Nevada taking the second and third spots.
California also came in the top spot for Entertainment and Recreation, Most Restaurants per Capita, Most Movie Theaters per Capita, and Most Fitness Centers per Capita.
Delaware, West Virginia and Mississippi came in bottom three making them the least fun states based on WalletHub’s criteria.
Photo credit: WalletHub| Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Entertainment & Recreation | Nightlife |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 64.56 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Florida | 61.72 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | Nevada | 58.19 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | New York | 56.44 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Illinois | 53.42 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | Colorado | 52.43 | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Texas | 52.16 | 5 | 13 |
| 8 | Washington | 50.59 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | Minnesota | 46.32 | 10 | 5 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 44.21 | 15 | 6 |
| 11 | Arizona | 42.62 | 9 | 23 |
| 12 | Oregon | 42.49 | 14 | 16 |
| 13 | Ohio | 41.81 | 18 | 12 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 41.71 | 21 | 10 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 41.10 | 12 | 25 |
| 16 | Missouri | 40.86 | 20 | 14 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 40.60 | 25 | 3 |
| 18 | Maryland | 40.38 | 11 | 32 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 39.12 | 16 | 28 |
| 20 | Alaska | 39.05 | 13 | 38 |
| 21 | Georgia | 38.17 | 17 | 30 |
| 22 | Michigan | 36.47 | 26 | 21 |
| 23 | Utah | 36.46 | 19 | 46 |
| 24 | Virginia | 36.06 | 22 | 42 |
| 25 | Tennessee | 35.60 | 30 | 19 |
| 26 | Hawaii | 35.48 | 23 | 39 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | 35.11 | 31 | 20 |
| 28 | Massachusetts | 34.64 | 29 | 24 |
| 29 | South Dakota | 34.61 | 33 | 17 |
| 30 | Alabama | 34.28 | 24 | 40 |
| 31 | New Mexico | 34.19 | 27 | 31 |
| 32 | Montana | 33.34 | 38 | 15 |
| 33 | Idaho | 33.17 | 32 | 29 |
| 34 | Iowa | 33.09 | 36 | 18 |
| 35 | Wyoming | 32.68 | 28 | 45 |
| 36 | New Jersey | 31.58 | 34 | 27 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 31.49 | 35 | 26 |
| 38 | Kansas | 30.36 | 37 | 35 |
| 39 | Indiana | 29.84 | 42 | 22 |
| 40 | North Dakota | 28.82 | 41 | 33 |
| 41 | Maine | 28.22 | 39 | 47 |
| 42 | Kentucky | 27.62 | 43 | 34 |
| 43 | Connecticut | 25.34 | 44 | 44 |
| 44 | New Hampshire | 25.11 | 40 | 50 |
| 45 | Vermont | 23.44 | 45 | 41 |
| 46 | Arkansas | 22.90 | 46 | 48 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 22.11 | 48 | 37 |
| 48 | Delaware | 21.40 | 47 | 49 |
| 49 | West Virginia | 19.35 | 50 | 36 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 19.18 | 49 | 43 |
California tourism’ impact on a slowing economy
Although WalletHub experts say inflation will have an impact on discretionary household spending – including travel and tourism, a recent study shows international travel may keep California tourism afloat.
According to the UCLA Anderson Forecast’s June 2023 report, China ending its zero-tolerance COVID policies should mean more Chinese tourists to California.
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“This increase in tourism will disproportionately affect California, New York and Nevada and will moderate any impact of a slowing economy relative to the average for the nation,” said UCLA.
Travel-related spending in 2022 supported 1.09 million jobs statewide.
To view WalletHub’s 2023 Most fun state in the US report visit https://wallethub.com/edu/most-fun-states/34665
