It's National Parks and Recreation Month: Here Are The Best & Worst Cities for Recreation, Survey

With July marking National Parks and Recreation Month, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its 2024 report on the Best & Worst Cities for Recreation.

Photo byPhoto by David Bartus

This report, complete with expert commentary, highlights the cities that excel in providing entertainment and activity options for their residents. WalletHub's study analyzed the 100 largest U.S. cities across 47 key indicators of recreation-friendliness. These indicators included the availability and cost of recreational activities, the quality of parks, and local weather conditions.

Here are the results:

Best Cities for Recreation

Las Vegas, NV

Orlando, FL

Tampa, FL

Cincinnati, OH

Honolulu, HI

Scottsdale, AZ

San Diego, CA

St. Louis, MO

Atlanta, GA

New Orleans, LA

Worst Cities for Recreation

Fort Wayne, IN

San Jose, CA

Jersey City, NJ

Durham, NC

Hialeah, FL

Newark, NJ

Fremont, CA

Irving, TX

Oakland, CA

Chula Vista, CA

Best vs. Worst Highlights

Walkable Park Access: San Francisco and Boston boast the highest share of the population with walkable park access, 3.1 times higher than in Indianapolis, the city with the lowest access.

Playgrounds: Las Vegas has the most playgrounds per square root of the population, 22.2 times more than Hialeah, FL.

Spending on Parks: Irvine, CA, has the highest spending on parks per capita, 46.7 times more than Newark, NJ.

Bike Rentals: San Francisco has the most bike rental facilities per square root of the population, 36.7 times more than Fresno, CA.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-for-recreation/5144