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The 10 Best Cities for Celebrating St. Patrick‘s Day

Whether you’re into parades or pub crawls, here are the top U.S. cities for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
ByCaLea Johnson|
You can see the Chicago River turn green on St. Patrick‘s Day.
You can see the Chicago River turn green on St. Patrick‘s Day. | Yannick Tylle/GettyImages

There are many fun St. Patrick’s Day traditions, from wearing green or orange clothing to “drowning the shamrock.” Some of the best ways to celebrate the holiday are with a parade and a pub crawl. According to the personal finance website WalletHub, some cities are better suited than others for partying on St. Paddy’s Day.  

Data analysts examined 200 of the most populated U.S. cities to determine which ones are best for the Irish holiday. WalletHub compared each city by weighing 15 metrics under four main categories (St. Patrick’s Day Traditions, Costs, Safety and Accessibility, and St. Patrick’s Day Weather). The site then calculated each city’s weighted average to determine its final score.

WalletHub found that Boston is the best place to be for St. Partick’s Day, with an overall score of 70.71 out of 100. The obvious reason for its high ranking is its gigantic St. Patrick’s Day parade, bringing in tons of people yearly. If bar hopping is your thing, the Massachusetts city is ideal: It has the most Irish pubs and restaurants per capita behind New York; Tampa, Florida; and San Francisco.

Reno, Nevada, comes in second, with 69.41 points. The city embraces the St. Patrick’s Day spirit with several exciting events. You can tour bars during the Reno Leprechaun Crawl and enjoy discounts on your favorite drinks, or join the Annual Leprechaun Race 5K to break a sweat in green attire. 

Rounding out the top three cities on this list is Savannah, Georgia (63.82). The southern city is known for the Celtic Cross ceremony, during which Irish-Catholic families walk to Emmett Park to see the traditional wreath mounted in front of the Celtic Cross monument. Additionally, Savannah has the most bars per capita of any U.S. city.

The rest of the best cities for St. Patrick’s Day are below:

  1. Boston
  2. Reno, Nevada
  3. Savannah, Georgia
  4. Santa Rosa, California
  5. Worcester, Massachusetts
  6. Chicago
  7. New York City
  8. Henderson, Nevada
  9. Buffalo, New York
  10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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