Ahh, Valentine’s Day. It’s the one day of the year where the pressure is on to book a fancy Valentine’s Day dinner, indulge in chocolatey V-Day treats and show off the perfect floral bouquet from your main squeeze. But Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations can really do a number on your bank account. Personal finance website WalletHub found that sweethearts in America are planning to spend an average of $146.84 this year for Valentine’s Day, for a record total of $19.7 billion spent collectively on the occasion. The website also compared Valentine’s Day festivities in 100 of the most populated cities based on factors such as restaurant meal costs, the number of attractions and the number of florists per capita. Here’s what they found:
These are the 10 best cities to celebrate Valentine’s Day:
1. San Francisco, CA
2. Scottsdale, AZ
3. Honolulu, HI
4. Orlando, FL
5. Seattle, WA
6. Las Vegas, NV
7. Portland, OR
8. Irvine, CA
9. Chandler, AZ
10. Pittsburgh, PA
And the worst cities for Feb. 14 festivities include:
100. Hialeah, FL
99. Detroit, MI
98. Cleveland, OH
97. San Bernadino, CA
96. Newark, NJ
95. Philadelphia, PA
94. Toledo, OH
93. North Las Vegas, NV
92. Milwaukee, WI
91. Winston-Salem, NC
When it comes to specific categories, cities including Irvine, CA, and Chesapeake, VA, have the lowest restaurant meal costs, while cities such as Cleveland, OH, and Miami, FL have the highest.
If you’re planning on buying jewelry this Valentine’s Day, your best bet is cities such as Miami, FL, and your worst is North Las Vegas, NV. Miami has 45 times more jewelry stores per capita than North Las Vegas. The Nevada city is also the worst place to find a florist, while Miami and Orlando, FL, are the best. Are you a fan of chocolate? Then you’ll want to head to Orlando, which has 29 times more chocolate shops per capita than in Santa Ana, CA, which has the lowest.
WalletHub also found that the average wine price is highest in Cleveland, which is five times more expensive than in Irvine, which has the lowest cost. Who knew vino costs so much in Ohio?
Check out WalletHub’s full report here.
How are you planning to spend Valentine’s Day? Let us know @BritandCo.