A new report from WalletHub has named the metroplex the third-best warm and affordable winter holiday destination in the United States.
“When the mercury drops, some Americans welcome the chill while others follow the sun. To help people make their winter travel plans, WalletHub compared the cheapest U.S. destinations that are also the easiest to reach,” reads the WalletHub report.
The authors assessed 70 of the largest metro areas in the United States to produce the ranking. These areas were further divided into one of two groups: warm or cold. Warm weather destinations had 50-year average December temperatures of 57 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, while cold weather destinations averaged 46 degrees or less.
A total of 37 individual metrics were then used to grade each location.
“Whether you love to have a chill in your bones during the winter travel season or prefer to escape to somewhere sunny, the top travel destinations can cost as little as $200-$300 to reach by plane from major U.S. cities, with no connections. In addition to being affordable, the top cities also have an abundance of attractions that fit their weather patterns, along with high-quality restaurants and relatively low crime rates,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said in the report.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington earned 68.08 points out of 100 to place third. This was enough for the city to move up one position from fourth, where it had sat for the past three years.
Notably, the metroplex was ranked second in the Travel Costs & Hassles category, which assesses the cost of the cheapest available flights, the cost of the shortest flights, and the share of delayed flights, among other factors. The city also placed second in the weather ranking and scored reasonably well in three other main categories:
- Local Costs: 8th place
- Attractions: 12th place
- Warm-Weather Activities: 13th place
On the warm front, Las Vegas took the top spot, followed by San Diego. Austin secured fourth, with Phoenix taking fifth. Atlanta secured the No. 1 cold-weather destination, followed by New York, Washington, Chicago, and Cincinnati.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land was the only other Texas location to crack the top 10, coming in at sixth place. San-Antonio-New Braunfels, which was No. 5 on the list last year, dropped to No. 11 on the 2024 ranking.