San Antonio has climbed through the ranks to land as the No. 1 best city for celebrating Turkey Day festivities, according to a just-released WalletHub study.
WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" ranking compares the 100 largest U.S. cities to discover which have the ultimate Thanksgiving celebrations and traditions, and the best holiday weather, affordability, safety, and accessibility.
A total of 18 relevant metrics were measured for each city's ranking; factors that were considered include the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the share of delayed flights around the Thanksgiving holiday, the number of volunteer opportunities per capita, and more.
San Antonio has been on the rise since 2023, when it jumped from No. 32 to No. 14, and last year the city finally moved into the top 10 as the 7th best place to go for Thanksgiving.
WalletHub says the Alamo City is expected to have a 1 percent chance of precipitation on Thanksgiving Day, which earned the city No. 2 nationwide in the "weather forecast" category. San Antonio additionally earned top-10 ranks in the categories for affordability (No. 4) and celebrations and traditions (No. 9). The city's lowest-ranked categories were for safety and accessibility (No. 58) and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 71).
The report praised San Antonio for having the third-cheapest Thanksgiving dinner nationwide, and the city boasts an "extremely high number of restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars." Many of these highly-rated eateries are hosting their own Thanksgiving feasts for both dine-in guests and for those who prefer their meals to-go.
"San Antonio also helps make things festive with an abundance of pumpkin patches and holiday decoration shops," the report's author wrote. "In addition, San Antonio residents get very excited about Thanksgiving, searching Google for terms related to the holiday more than people in most other cities."
Other top-10 Turkey Day destinations in Texas
Overall, four Texas cities ranked among the top 10 best Thanksgiving destinations for 2025, and three more ranked just outside the top 10.
The North Texas cities of Dallas (No. 4), Irving (No. 6), and Plano (No. 7) all earned top-10 spots in the report, with Dallas' Thanksgiving celebrations and traditions ranking as the second-best in the nation. Corpus Christi (No. 11), Houston (No. 12), and Austin (No. 16) all landed among the top 20 best places to go for Thanksgiving.
Other Texas cities that made it in the top 100 include Garland (No. 21), Lubbock (No. 37), Arlington (No. 41), Fort Worth (No. 50), Laredo (No. 73), and El Paso (No. 77).
The top 10 best places to go for Thanksgiving in 2025 are:
- No. 1 – San Antonio, Texas
- No. 2 – Atlanta, Georgia
- No. 3 – Virginia Beach, Virginia
- No. 4 – Dallas, Texas
- No. 5 – Scottsdale, Arizona
- No. 6 – Irving, Texas
- No. 7 – Plano, Texas
- No. 8 – Louisville, Kentucky
- No. 9 – Las Vegas, Nevada
- No. 10 – Chesapeake, Virginia
