20 Best Places To Spend Your Holiday Vacation on a Budget

The holidays often bring time off that makes travel possible even when weather may not be ideal. But with holiday expenses such as gifts, entertaining and food, travel costs can be a burden if you don’t pick the right cities that fit your budget.

For people looking to keep costs low, it can help to visit cities where the overall cost of living is already lower and the livability score is high — meaning you’ll get all of the amenities you seek but without a ridiculous price tag.

To find 20 cities where your travel budget will stretch the furthest and you won’t sacrifice quality experiences, GOBankingRates analyzed popular vacation spots across the United States. Using the national average expenditure costs, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure cost for each location was calculated. The livability index (on a scale of 100) was sourced from AreaVibes for each location to help determine the quality of life. The weekly expenses do not include lodging.

Here are 20 cities where you can comfortably spend your holiday budget.

• The city with the cheapest expenses is Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• St. Petersburg, Florida, has the highest livability score of 86.
• Despite a reputation for high costs of living, four California cities made this list.
• Both Portlands (Oregon and Maine) made the top 10.

Here are the top 20 cities:

1. Portland, Maine
2. St. Petersburg, Florida
3. Austin, Texas
4. Charlotte, North Carolina
5. Santa Fe, New Mexico
6. Dallas
7. Orlando, Florida
8. Nashville, Tennessee
9. Portland, Oregon
10. Atlanta
11. Chicago
12. Seattle
13. Denver
14. San Diego
15. Boston
16. Philadelphia
17. Anaheim, California
18. Napa, California
19. Santa Monica, California
20. Washington, D.C.

• Average weekly expenses: $488
• Livability: 85

If you love lighthouses, lobsters and coastal charm, Portland offers lots to do and see in a city with a great livability score. Feel like a resident as you wander seaside establishments and know that your funds will stretch nicely here.

• Average weekly expenses: $526
• Livability: 86

If sunshine and beaches are your go-to for a vacation, you can’t go wrong in the big Florida city of St. Petersburg. Outdoors lovers and foodies will find much to do here, where the livability is a solid 86, and your dollars will go the extra mile.

• Average weekly expenses: $524
• Livability: 83

Austin is known for having approximately 300 days of sunshine every year and a milder climate than other Texas cities. You’ll appreciate a thriving food, music and tourist scene in this bustling city.

• Average weekly expenses: $502
• Livability: 80

Visit Charlotte for fun and find out why so many people move there for work, for its great schools and more. With a high livability of 80 and a decent cost of living, Charlotte makes a great trip for people who love to explore new things.

• Average weekly expenses: $465
• Livability: 74

Find out why Santa Fe is “400+ years of cultural fusion with echoes of the past alive in the present,” according to its visitor’s bureau. With a strong indigenous influence, New Mexico is a wonderland of arts, great food, outdoors activities and more — all possible on a budget.

• Average weekly expenses: $533
• Livability: 81

Come for the great BBQ, stay for the football, the history and the numerous ways to entertain yourself in Texas’ third largest city. For such a big city, it has a high livability score and a remarkably low cost of living that extends to travelers on budgets.

• Average weekly expenses: $535
• Livability: 81

Orlando is equally as famous for its citrus trade as it is for the Happiest Theme Park on Earth (among others). While many people come here for its theme parks and beaches, there’s lots to do and see for budget travelers of all kinds and ages.

• Average weekly expenses: $514
• Livability: 78

Whether you love music, Southern culture or the beautiful nature that abounds in Tennessee, Nashville welcomes budget travelers, with a high livability score of 78 and an affordable cost of living.

• Average weekly expenses: $536
• Livability: 78

Known for its chill vibe, food truck scene, and bucolic scenery overlooking the Willamette River, Portland maintains a livability of 78. This Pacific Northwestern town calls to budget travelers who love cooler temps and forests, mountains or rivers.

• Average weekly expenses: $544
• Livability: 78

Atlanta draws visitors for its rich cultural history (seat of the Civil Rights movement, for example), its Southern charm, great food and amenities. It has a livability score of 78, and the cost of living makes it possible for budget travelers to enjoy it without spending a mint.

• Average weekly expenses: $548
• Livability: 78

To visit the heartland of America, the riverside city of Chicago has much to offer budget travelers, from cuisine, to culture to history. A high livability score and a low cost of living add up to a great place for visitors without big bucks to spend.

• Average weekly expenses: $541
• Livability: 75

Whether you love cool climes, the famous Pike’s Place fish market, the Space Needle or the many other attractions that bring people to Seattle, you’ll definitely enjoy what gives it a livability score of 75. While not everything in Seattle is cheap, you can find many things to fit your budget.

• Average weekly expenses: $525
• Livability: 72

Skiers, outdoors enthusiasts and more flock to Denver if they can hack the elevation. Though weather can vary widely even in spring and summer, there’s plenty for tourists to do on a budget.

• Average weekly expenses: $553
• Livability: 75

Sunny San Diego has great weather almost all year long and many attractions that are low cost, such as Balboa Park, the famed San Diego Zoo and Cabrillo National Monument.

• Average weekly expenses: $587
• Livability: 77

Whether it’s sports, arts or history that brings you to the New England state of Massachusetts, you’ll find much to tickle your many fancies on a budget in Boston. While cost of living is not the lowest on this list, it’s low enough to make a budget trip totally possible.

• Average weekly expenses: $584
• Livability: 76

Another city steeped in American history, Philadelphia has one of the lowest costs of living on this list and a good livability score that will make this a memorable and budget-friendly city to visit.

• Average weekly expenses: $542
• Livability: 69

While California may not be known overall for its low cost of living, Anaheim, home to Disneyland, caters to a wide variety of budgets. There’s plenty of great shopping and eating to do as well.

• Average weekly expenses: $553
• Livability: 70

Napa is known for its incredible wines, but with a lower cost of living than nearby wine-country towns Sonoma and Glen Ellen.

• Average weekly expenses: $578
• Livability: 73

Another California city on this list is definitely not what you’d call cheap, but it offers the best of everything you can get in Los Angeles, with coastal access. You can’t beat the views.

• Average weekly expenses: $596
• Livability: 75

The nation’s capital is home to many working-class folks, which a low cost of living makes possible. It also draws tourists from all over the world, not only for its most famous house but for its historical monuments, outstanding museums and excellent cuisine.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed vacation spots across the United States to find the best places to spend your holiday vacation on a budget. GOBankingRates gathered the potential best vacation spots in the USA for 2024 from Travel + Leisure’s Family Vacations, Alex In Wanderland’s Best USA Travel Destinations and AAA’s Top Vacation spots in the U.S. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and include the grocery, healthcare, housing, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous cost of living. Using the cost of living indexes and the national average expenditure costs, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure cost for each location was calculated. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes for each location to help determine the quality of life. The expenditure cost was scored and weighted at 1.00 and the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00. The scores were sorted to show the best vacation spots in the USA on a budget. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Nov. 27, 2024.