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FILE-Travellers pass through O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on Nov. 21, 2023, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Thanksgiving is not only a time to spend time with family and friends, but it is also a time when many people travel for a holiday vacation.

Whether you’re planning to drive or fly for a getaway, a recent report has a list of the top destinations to go to, based on research from WalletHub.

WalletHub created their list of the best places to travel on Thanksgiving, comparing 100 of the nation’s most populous cities using five key categories: Thanksgiving holidays and traditions, affordability, safety and affordability, Thanksgiving, and the Thanksgiving weather forecast.

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That’s how each category is described in the report, according to WalletHub.

Thanksgiving holidays and traditions in the report include pumpkin patches per capita, Google search interest for Thanksgiving holidays, and holiday decoration stores per capita.

Affordability takes into account the cost of Thanksgiving dinner, the prevalence of accessible restaurants with ratings, and the lowest price for a three-star hotel room for a Thanksgiving holiday.

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Safety and accessibility consists of a city’s crime rate, perception of safety (walking safely during the day and at night), pedestrian deaths per capita, DUI deaths in motor vehicle crashes around Thanksgiving, share of flights delayed around the Thanksgiving holiday. , and traffic congestion.

WalletHub also describes contentment based on volunteer opportunities per capita, volunteer hours per capita, charities per capita, and share of income donated to charities.

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And the Thanksgiving weather forecast takes holiday temperatures into account compared to the average temperature and forecasted Thanksgiving precipitation.

The the team then rated those categories using 18 metrics that were scored on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for a Thanksgiving feast.

The Best Places to Go on Thanksgiving

1. San Diego
2. Atlanta
3. San Francisco
4. San Jose, California
5. Dallas
6. Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
7. San Antonio
8. Las Vegas
9. Louisville, Kentucky
10. Orlando
11. Scottsdale, Arizona
12. St. Paul, Minnesota
13. Cincinnati
14. Chesapeake, Virginia
15. Houston
16. Virginia Beach, Virginia
17. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
18. Charlotte
19. Irving, Texas
20. Los Angeles

What to know about the top three cities to visit for Thanksgiving

San Diego, CA

San Diego ranked first as the best place to go for Thanksgiving in 2024, highlighted by a large number of restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars, and the city is also doing things celebratory in a big way of pumpkin patches and holiday decoration stores.

Area residents also do a lot of Google searches for terms related to Thanksgiving, more than people in other locations, and San Diego also ranks 11th for charities per capita , according to WalletHub.

Furthermore, the city is forecast to have only a 1% chance of rain during Thanksgiving.

Atlanta

Atlanta is second on the list, mainly due to its high number of holiday decoration stores and highly rated restaurants per capita. WalletHub noted that area residents do a lot of Google searches about Thanksgiving.

In terms of travel, Atlanta has only 10% of flights arriving or departing the city that were delayed in November 2023, which is the third lowest in the US.

According to WalletHub, the city also ranks among the top cities in the US for the number of charities per capita, and Atlanta residents give about 5.5% of their income to charity on average, which is 17th highest percentage in the country.

San Francisco

WalletHub ranked San Francisco as the third best city to go to for Thanksgiving in 2024 due to its affordable hotel prices, with the lowest costs for a 3-star hotel room in San Francisco on Thanksgiving being just $60 USD, which is second. the cheapest rate in the US

The city also has a large number of pumpkin patches and holiday decoration shops and quality restaurants with ratings of 4.5 stars or higher. San Francisco is also expected to have nice Thanksgiving weather with no rain in the forecast.

To see the full list of top Thanksgiving spots, click here.

What are the travel prospects for Thanksgiving this year?

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, a recent survey provided insight into what people might be planning for the holidays.

In a survey published by Tourista travel agency specializing in theme park trips, cruises and resort vacations, the company noted that more than 50 percent of people surveyed said they planned to travel during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For holiday travelers this year, about 22% are only taking a trip on Thanksgiving, while nearly 29% plan to travel on both Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

Separately, AAA has not yet released data on its travel outlook for Thanksgiving 2024, but FOX Weather noted that last year, AAA estimated that 55.4 million people would travel on Thanksgiving and another 115.2 million would travel for the Christmas period – the second highest number since 2000.