Rustic Root in the Gaslamp Quarter
The Rustic Root restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter. Courtesy of the restaurant

Thanks to great weather and restaurants, San Diego ranks as the second best city for a New Year’s Eve celebration in 2023, according to a new holiday report.

Analysts at WalletHub, a Miami-based personal finance website, compared the 100 largest cities using 26 criteria from whether fireworks are legal to music venues per capita, wine prices, safety and forecast precipitation.

San Diego fell just behind theme park mecca Orlando but ahead of New York City with its iconic party in Times Square.

WalletHub said San Diego is “the place to be if you want clear skies so you can appreciate an outdoor get-together and fireworks show.” But there’s more.

“If you want to go out to a restaurant on New Year’s Eve, San Diego has a lot of great choices, and it’s tied with Orlando when it comes to the availability of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars,” according to the report, adding “there’s certainly no shortage of places to spend the holiday, from the San Diego Zoo to the Old Globe.”

Las Vegas, known for its year-round celebrations, ranked just fourth, followed by Atlanta at fifth.

Despite its equally good weather and growing restaurant choices, nearby Chula Vista didn’t do as well, ranking only 97th on the list.

Chris Jennewein is Editor & Publisher of Times of San Diego.