San Antonio is shining far above the rest of Texas on a new list ranking the best U.S. cities for celebrating New Year's Eve.

WalletHub ranked San Antonio the No. 1 best city in the Lone Star State to bring in the new year, and it ranked No. 28 nationally.

The annual study compared the 100 most populous U.S. cities based on 26 metrics across three main categories – entertainment and food, costs, and safety and accessibility – analyzing the popularity of the New Year's Eve holiday celebrations, fireworks shows, restaurant meal costs, and more.

Orlando, Florida, landed the top spot as the best place to celebrate New Year's, beating out popular destinations like New York City, New York (No. 3) and Las Vegas, Nevada (No. 2). Seattle, Washington (No. 4) and Los Angeles, California (No. 5) round out the top five.

San Antonio's entertainment and food scenes ranked as the 16th best in the country for New Year's Eve, and the report also determined it is one of the more affordable places to celebrate the holiday, as the city ranked No. 37 in the costs category. San Antonio also has the fourth cheapest price of a three-star hotel room over New Year's nationwide, the report found.

The city's safety and accessibility – which covered factors including walkability, the share of delayed flights, neighborhood security, among others – ranked 90th overall. As many San Antonians are already aware, it's always safer to book a rideshare than to drink and drive.

"The best cities for New Year’s celebrations have clear skies and some of the best fireworks displays around," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "The top cities also offer an abundance of highly-rated, affordable dining options, along with a vibrant nightlife and plenty of activities to make your transition into the new year a memorable one."

WalletHub says local businesses in popular destinations like New York City "are notorious for hiking up their prices when big crowds are in town" for major holidays like New Year's Eve. Budget-conscious tourists are abandoning their grandiose plans in search of affordable places that still provide just as much fun as the bigger cities.

"The last thing you want to do in the final hours of 2025 is wreck your finances over one night of festivities," the report's author wrote.

Here's how other Texas cities stacked up in the report's rankings of the best places to celebrate New Year's Eve:

• No. 32 – Plano
• No. 37 – Austin
• No. 46 – Houston
• No. 53 – Dallas
• No. 62 – El Paso
• No. 65 – Arlington
• No. 67 – Fort Worth
• No. 74 – Irving
• No. 75 – Corpus Christi
• No. 80 – Garland
• No. 91 – Laredo
• No. 94 – Lubbock