A new study determined that out of the 100 best cities for the Easter holiday, Fort Worth and Dallas ranked in the top 50.
“Some of the things that kept them from ranking even higher include the small number of churches per capita and the low share of vaccinated people that can keep residents from enjoying Easter with their friends and loved ones,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub.
The WalletHub 2022 Best Places to Celebrate Easter study ranked Fort Worth at No.34 and Dallas at No.43.
The study also found that Fort Worth was part of a three-way tie for second place for best Easter weather forecast, which accounts for 10% of the total score. Fort Worth shared the No.2 spot with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Henderson, Nevada.
“Fort Worth has no forecasted precipitation for Easter, and it’s estimated that the temperature will be ten degrees higher than average normal temperature for this period,” Gonzalez told The Dallas Express. “Dallas also has no estimated precipitation, and the temperature will be four degrees higher than normal.”
Pittsburgh, which earned the No.1 spot overall, has a 6% chance of precipitation, and the temperature will be ten degrees higher than usual.
“Pittsburgh is the best place to celebrate Easter because of its large share of Christian population at almost 54%, and large numbers of churches per capita,” Gonzalez said in an interview. “The city also has a lot of candy and chocolate stores and flower and gift shops per capita and is forecasted to have warm weather on Easter.”
Last place on the list went to the city of North Las Vegas, as it has a low share of Christians, a small number of churches per capita, and the lowest search interest for Easter celebrations.
“The city also has a small number of brunch restaurants, candy and chocolate stores, and flower and gift shops per capita,” Gonzalez added.
According to Gonzalez, the most important factors in determining each city’s score were the share of the Christian population and the number of churches. Dallas and Fort Worth tied at No.38, with 44.42% of the population identifying as Christian.
“To determine the best places to celebrate Easter, we looked at things like the number of Easter observers and holiday traditions for both children and adults,” she said.
Plano, Arlington, Irving, and Garland landed in the bottom half of the list at No.71, 78, 80, and 85, respectively.
“The small number of churches per capita is one of the things that kept the four Texas cities from ranking higher,” Gonzalez said. “Other factors that would need to improve for the four cities in order for them to catch up with Dallas and Fort Worth include search interest for Easter celebration and number of brunch chocolate stores, and flower and gift shops per capita.”