Four cities in New York made WalletHub's "Best & Worst Cities for Staycations" list.
According to WalletHub, inflation may force many people to adapt their plans to more budget-friendly vacation options. This could include taking a staycation, where you plan a trip in your home city, making it a more affordable and accessible vacation.
"It’s fun to visit an exotic location on vacation, but during rougher economic times, a staycation can save you a lot of money while being just as memorable," WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. "Not only do you avoid the cost of overnight accommodations and minimize travel costs, but you can also discover all kinds of fun activities close to home that you might not have tried out otherwise."
To determine which cities
offer the best experiences for staycations, WalletHub compared 182 cities across 41 indicators, like parks per capita and average meal prices.
Here is how the NY cities ranked.
Do NY cities offer good staycations?
Yes, and no, according to WalletHub.
While New York City ranked as the 22nd-best city for a staycation, Yonkers ranked as the second-worst city for a staycation.
Yonkers ranked No. 181 out of 182 cities in the study, with an overall score of 26.23. It scored the No. 123 spot for the recreation rank, No. 182 for the food & entertainment rank and No. 170 for the rest & relaxation rank.
New York City ranked No. 22 out of 182 cities with an overall score of 53.66. The Big Apple scored the No. 4 spot for the recreation rank, No. 44 for the food & entertainment rank and No. 146 for the rest & relaxation rank.
Other NY cities in the list include Rochester at No. 54, with an overall score of 48.09, and Buffalo at No. 85 with an overall score of 44.22.
Rochester scored the No. 52 spot for the recreation rank, No. 40 for the food & entertainment rank and No. 128 for the rest & relaxation rank.
Buffalo scored the No. 51 spot for the recreation rank, No. 56 for the food & entertainment rank and No. 155 for the rest & relaxation rank.
WalletHub's 10 best cities for staycations
- Orlando
- Cincinnati
- Las Vegas
- St. Louis
- Honolulu
- Salt Lake City
- Atlanta
- Tampa, Florida
- Chicago
- Portland, Maine
WalletHub's 10 worst cities for staycations
- No. 182: Pearl City, Hawaii
- No. 181: Yonkers, New York
- No. 180: Fremont, California
- No. 179: Chula Vista, California
- No. 178: Irving, Texas
- No. 177: Laredo, Texas
- No. 176: Hialeah, Florida
- No. 175: Newark, New Jersey
- No. 174: Santa Ana, California
- No. 173: Oakland, California
How WalletHub assessed best cities for staycations
To determine the best and worst staycation spots, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities, including the 150 most populated cities, with at least two of the most populated cities in each state, across three dimensions: recreation, food & entertainment and rest & relaxation.
The recreation category analyzed these factors:
- Public golf courses per capita
- Tennis courts per capita
- Swimming pools per capita
- Basketball hoops per capita
- Baseball & softball diamonds per capita
- Parks per capita
- Playgrounds per capita
- Walk score
- Bike score
- Bike rental facilities per capita
- Hiking trails per capita
- Shopping centers per capita
- Water & amusement parks per capita
- Boat tours & water sports per capita
- Miles of bicycle lanes, paths and routes per square mile
The food & entertainment category analyzed these factors:
- Movie costs
- Average price for two tickets to the theater
- Bowling costs
- Average cocktail price
- Nightlife options per capita
- Casinos per capita
- Festivals per capita
- Museums per capita
- Zoos & aquariums per capita
- Paintball fields per capita
- Arcades per capita
- Presence on TripAdvisor's "Top 25 Amusement Parks or Water Parks" list
- Theaters & concert halls per capita
- Coffee & tea shops per capita
- Ice cream & frozen yogurt shops per capita
- Beer gardens per capita
- Restaurants per capita
- Restaurant meal costs
- Prevalence of affordable restaurants with 4.5+ stars
- Diversity of restaurants
The rest & relaxation category analyzed these factors:
- Cost of house cleaning service
- Spas and wellness centers per capita
- Massage costs
- Beauty salon costs
- Public beaches per capita
- Idealness of summer weather
Data used to create the ranking was collected as of May 11, 2026, and was sourced from multiple entities, including WalletHub research, the U.S. Census Bureau, TripAdvisor and Yelp.
—Madison Scott is a New York Connect reporter, covering entertainment, breaking and consumer news, and trending topics with a focus on stories that matter to readers across New York state. She also has an interest in how the system helps or doesn't help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@USATodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Which New York cities are best for a staycation?
