OPEN YOUR WALLET
San Antonio is the second most affordable U.S. city for a night out, study finds
Inflation isn’t the only thing bringing down the vibes (and the balance) of your bank account. However, San Antonio is a far cry from the most expensive city in the country if you want to have a few drinks on a night out.
In fact, San Antonio is the No. 2 most affordable U.S. city for a night out and the most affordable in Texas. That’s according to a new study by price-monitoring website PriceListo.
The study looked at cost-of-living data from U.S. cities with populations over 500,000 to discover the average prices of a cocktail, cab fare, bottle of wine, and a pint of beer. They also collaborated with hotel deal-finders Vio to determine the median price for a single-night stay in the city.
Here's how the Alamo City stacks up: The median single-night price for a hotel stay in the city will set you back $94.71, while the cost of a three-mile cab fare is $7.58. One cocktail at a downtown club costs an average of $8, while a bottle of good-quality red wine for the table is $12. If you cap off the night at a pub, a pint of beer is just $3.27. And if you need to eat some food to offset the impending hangover, a McDonald’s combo meal costs $9. All of that adds up to the second most affordable night out in the United States. But don't forget to close out your tabs.
One U.S. city was slightly more affordable than San Antonio: Las Vegas. A night out in Sin City costs $120.76. Fort Worth was the only other Texas city to appear in the top 10 most affordable nights out, ranking No. 9 with their price for a night out at $172.14.
The top 10 cities that are the most affordable for a night out include:
- No. 1: Las Vegas, Nevada – $120.76
- No. 2: San Antonio, Texas – $134.56
- No. 3: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – $136.98
- No. 4: San Francisco, California – $142.94
- No. 5: Fresno, California – $145.55
- No. 6: Albuquerque, New Mexico – $157.47
- No. 7: Jacksonville, Florida – $162.42
- No. 8: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $168.74
- No. 9: Fort Worth, Texas – $172.14
- No. 10: Chicago, Illinois – $173.81
Other Texas cities fared worse than San Antonio. In a comparison of the most expensive U.S. cities for a night out, Austin ranked as the third most expensive, with the overall cost adding up to $221.23. San Diego (No. 1) and Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 2) had slightly higher costs for their single-night outings, at $225.27 and $224.75, respectively.
Houston is home to the No. 9 most expensive city for a night out with their overall cost adding up to $209.54. Dallas, on the other hand, ranked No. 24 with the most expensive price for a cocktail ($25) but the cheapest three-mile cab fare at $5.41.
The top 10 most expensive cities for a night out are:
- No. 1: San Diego, California – $225.27
- No. 2: Charlotte, North Carolina – $224.75
- No. 3: Austin, Texas – $221.23
- No. 4: Memphis, Tennessee – $216.25
- No. 5: Columbus, Ohio – $212.47
- No. 6: Boston, Massachusetts – $211.16
- No. 7: Seattle, Washington – $210.61
- No. 8: Washington, D.C. – $210.39
- No. 9: Houston, Texas – $209.54
- No. 10: Tucson, Arizona – $203.39