5 cities where people have the biggest holiday budgets — and 5 with the smallest
Analysts say that, depending on the city, an American’s holiday budget this year can range from just over $200 to more than $4,000
Nina Westervelt / Getty Images
The holidays are here. And so are the budget woes.
Sales this holiday season are expected to rise, with Americans planning to shell out more than a whopping $1 trillion. At the same time, the average household already has more than $10,000 in credit card debt, a number that’s likely to increase once the holidays are over.
That’s why WalletHub set out to find the cities with the biggest and smallest holiday budgets. To do so, it looked at more than 550 cities across five categories: income, age, debt-to-income ratio, monthly income-to-expenses ratio, and the monthly savings-to-expenses ratio. After crunching the numbers, it calculated an average holiday budget for residents in each of the cities.
“Depending on the city, an American’s holiday budget this year can range anywhere from just over $200 to more than $4,000, taking into account residents’ income, their existing debt obligations and the cost of living,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
Lupo said that no matter how well you’re doing, he recommends you set a holiday budget “so you don’t rack up unsustainable debt and end up in a bad position after the holidays.”
“There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money, like hosting potlucks or giving handmade gifts,” he said.
Continue reading to see the five cities where people can spend the most—and the least—on the holidays, according to WalletHub.
1 / 10
5th highest: Kirkland, Washington
Merrill Images / Getty Images
Residents in Kirkland, Washington, a Seattle suburb and the namesake to Costco’s “Kirkland Signature” brand, have the fifth-highest budget at $3,866.
2 / 10
4th highest: Flower Mound, Texas
Residents in Flower Mound, Texas, a Dallas suburb, have the fourth-highest budget at $3,941.
3 / 10
3rd highest: Newton, Massachusetts
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
Residents in Newton, Massachusetts, a leafy Boston suburb, have the third-highest budget at $4,069.
4 / 10
2nd highest: Mountain View, California
yujie chen / Getty Images
Residents in Mountain View, California, a Silicon Valley city home to Google’s HQ, have the second-highest budget at $4,266.
5 / 10
Highest: Palo Alto, California
Steve Proehl / Getty Images
Residents in Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley, have the highest budget at $4,485.
6 / 10
5th lowest: Reading, Pennsylvania
Alex Potemkin / Getty Images
Residents in Reading, Pennsylvania, the state’s fourth most populous city, have the fifth-lowest budget at $613.
7 / 10
4th lowest: Harlingen, Texas
DavieJones13 / Getty Images
Residents in Harlingen, Texas, a city in the Rio Grande Valley just 30 miles from the U.S./Mexico border, have the fourth-lowest budget at $580.
8 / 10
3rd lowest: Passaic, New Jersey
Screenshot: Google Maps
Residents in Passaic, New Jersey, a city about 15 miles west of New York City, have the third-lowest budget at $510.
9 / 10
2nd lowest: Hartford, Connecticut
DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
Residents in Hartford, Connecticut, the state’s capital, have the second-lowest budget at $332.
10 / 10
Lowest: Elizabeth, New Jersey
johnemac72 / Getty Images
Residents in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the state’s fourth most populous city just south of Newark, have the lowest budget at $212.