As the personal finance website WalletHub noted, in certain states fun is not just an option but also a way of life. With that in mind, the company Monday released the results of its survey of the most fun-filled states, and Virginia landed in the number-29 spot.
The most fun-filled states, WalletHub said, offer such a variety of activities that everyone will be able to find something that excites them. While Americans were limited in their recreation opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the distribution of the vaccine has helped the leisure and hospitality sectors start to recover, and there are plenty of options now.
With pure enjoyment in mind, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 26 key indicators of a jolly good time that won’t break the bank. Those indicators were divided into two key categories: entertainment and recreation and nightlife.
The indicators in the entertainment and recreation category WalletHub used to determine its rankings were number of attractions; variety of arts, entertainment, and recreation establishments; ideal weather (based on WalletHub’s “cities with the best and worst weather” ranking); restaurants per capita; amusement parks per capita; golf courses and country clubs per capita; movie theaters per capita; arcades per capita; fitness centers per capita; skiing facilities per capita; marinas per capita; shoreline mileage (This metric includes offshore islands, sounds, bays, rives, and creeks to the head of tidewater.); beach quality (This metric includes the beach access, water quality, and the status of surfing areas.); access to scenic byways (This metric includes both the number of scenic byways and the length of scenic byways.); number of state fairs and events per capita; access to national parks (This metric includes both the number and the gross area of national parks per capita); personal spending on recreation services per capita; and state and local direct general expenditures on parks and recreation per capita.
The indicators in the nightlife category WalletHub used to determine its rankings were average beer and wine price; movie costs; nightlife options per capita; access to bars (This metric uses a combination of bars per capita and bars per square mile, a measure of both availability and proximity.); time of last call; music festivals per capita; performing arts theaters per capita; and casinos per capita.
According to WalletHub’s survey, the ten most fun-filled states are 1) California 2) Florida 3) Nevada 4) New York 5) Illinois 6) Colorado 7) Washington 8) Texas 9) Minnesota and 10) Pennsylvania.
The ten least fun-filled states in WalletHub’s survey were 41) Kansas 42) Kentucky 43) Connecticut 44) Alabama 45) Vermont 46) Rhode Island 47) Arkansas 48) Delaware 49) Mississippi and 50) West Virginia.