As families across the country draw up their summer agenda, many will try and include some sort of vacation in their plans.
Despite the temptation to go abroad, there are a variety of exciting trips that people can take within the U.S. From catching some rays on a top beach, to seeing one of the NFL teams’ pre-season fixtures or a live MLB game, to deciding to explore a new patch of natural beauty, the possibilities are endless.
To determine the top states, five different data points were analyzed – accommodation availability, accommodation affordability, crime rates, average sunshine and number of attractions. You can see the Top 20 US States To Vacation This Summer above, and the Top 20 States For Affordable Summer Accommodation, below.
North Carolina came in tied for 6th in the nation.
The Best US States To Vacation This Summer were ranked using the following five points:
- Accommodation Availability: The number of two-room accommodation options on Booking.com for two adults and two children (aged 10 & 12 years old), from 06/11/23 – 06/18/23.
- Accommodation Affordability: The % of the above Booking.com search results that are less than $200 per night.
- Crime Rate: The crime rate per 100,000 residents from World Population Review – with the states with the lowest crime rates having the highest scores (inverted).
- Average Sunlight: The annual sunlight per state, measured in (kJ/m^2) from Stacker.
- Landmarks & State Parks: The number of National Historical Landmarks and State Parks in each state – taken from National Park Service & State Parks.
- All five data points were measured out of 100 using the PERCENTRANK formula, and an average was found to create a ‘Final/ Summer Vacation Joker Score’. States were ranked from highest to lowest final score.
- All data was collected and correct on 04/26/2023.