Boston, Massachusetts came out on top in a recent study of the best places to spend a popular Irish-centered holiday.
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2024’s Best Cities for St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations, as well as expert commentary.
To determine the best cities for celebrating Irish-American heritage, WalletHub compared 200 of the largest U.S. cities across 15 key metrics, ranging from Irish pubs and restaurants per capita to the lowest price for a three-star hotel on St. Patrick’s Day to the weather forecast.
Top 20 Cities for St. Patrick’s Day
Boston, Massachusetts was the number one city, followed by Chicago, IL; Savannah, GA; Reno, NV; Pittsburgh, PA; New York, NY; Worcester, MA; Buffalo, NY; Tampa, FL and, rounding out the top 10, Santa Rosa, CA.
The number 11 through 20 spots were held down by Naperville, IL at number 11, followed by Philadelphia, PA; Knoxville, TN; Columbia, SC; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Henderson, NV; Syracuse, NY; Las Vegas, NV; New Orleans, LA and, at number 20, Madison, WI.
Best vs. Worst
Naperville, Illinois, has the highest share of Irish population, which is 73 times greater than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest.
New York has the highest number of Irish pubs per capita, which is 29.3 times more than in Nashville, Tennessee, the city with the lowest.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has the lowest average beer price, which is 1.5 times less expensive than in Anchorage, Alaska, the city with the highest.
Naperville, Illinois, has the lowest violent-crime rate, which is 46.6 times lower than in Memphis, Tennessee, the city with the highest.
New York has one of the lowest number of DUI-related fatalities per capita, which is 60.4 times less than in McAllen, Texas, the city with the highest.
“St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the Irish, but it’s become a beloved cultural holiday for millions of Americans regardless of their ancestry. The best cities for St. Patrick’s Day combine rich traditions with tasty and affordable food, safe conditions to celebrate, and good weather. Celebrating in one of these cities will increase your chances of having a memorable holiday, as long as you don’t overdo it,” said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst. “Boston is the best city for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, and it’s known for its iconic parade, which has been around since 1724. Around 13 percent of the city’s residents have Irish roots, and Boston has the fifth-most Irish pubs and sixth-most Irish restaurants per capita.”
Expert Commentary
Why is St. Patrick’s Day so popular in the United States?
“Apart from cities with historically large populations descended from Irish immigrants (like Boston or Chicago), St. Patrick’s Day is popular because it breaks up the tedium of late winter, provides an excuse to party, particularly in public, and is a distraction during the long hiatus between the Valentine’s Day holiday and Memorial Day. Americans love holidays. St. Patrick’s Day is a secularized Saints Day. Before the Protestant Reformation eliminated nearly all Saints Days (of which there were dozens), early modern Europeans and Britons followed irregular patterns of work, taking time off for parades, feasts, and other rituals meant to commemorate Christian saints. Somehow or another, St. Patrick’s Day survived, probably due to the flourishing of forms of ethnic nationalism between the Civil War and the Cold War, and their intersection with machine politics in large American cities.”
Alexis McCrossen – Professor, Southern Methodist University
Are large St. Patrick’s Day celebrations an economic boom or drain for cities?
“Large groups of people focused on scheduled activities can be – and usually are – booms to cities. There is an eagerness to celebrate, and that can generate a substantial amount of dollars for communities.”
Robert Schmuhl – Professor emeritus, University of Notre Dame; author of Ireland’s Exiled Children
