With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024's Best Cities for St. Patrick's Day Celebrations as well as expert commentary.
To determine the best cities for celebrating Irish-American heritage, WalletHub compared 200 of the largest U.S. cities across 15 key metrics, ranging from Irish pubs and restaurants per capita to the lowest price for a three-star hotel on St. Patrick's Day to the weather forecast.
| Top 20 Cities for St. Patrick's Day |
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| 1. Boston, MA |
11. Naperville, IL |
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| 2. Chicago, IL |
12. Philadelphia, PA |
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| 3. Savannah, GA |
13. Knoxville, TN |
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| 4. Reno, NV |
14. Columbia, SC |
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| 5. Pittsburgh, PA |
15. Fort Lauderdale, FL |
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| 6. New York, NY |
16. Henderson, NV |
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| 7. Worcester, MA |
17. Syracuse, NY |
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| 8. Buffalo, NY |
18. Las Vegas, NV |
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| 9. Tampa, FL |
19. New Orleans, LA |
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| 10. Santa Rosa, CA |
20. Madison, WI |
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To view the report click here
Best vs. Worst
- Naperville, Illinois, has the highest share of Irish population, which is 73 times greater than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest.
- New York has the highest number of Irish pubs per capita, which is 29.3 times more than in Nashville, Tennessee, the city with the lowest.
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has the lowest average beer price, which is 1.5 times less expensive than in Anchorage, Alaska, the city with the highest.
- Naperville, Illinois, has the lowest violent-crime rate, which is 46.6 times lower than in Memphis, Tennessee, the city with the highest.
- New York, has one of the lowest number of DUI-related fatalities per capita, which is 60.4 times less than in McAllen, Texas, the city with the highest.
Expert Commentary
Why is St. Patrick's Day so popular in the United States?
"St. Patrick's Day is so popular in the United States because it has a long history of honoring the Irish as a people and their contributions to American life. There is, of course, recognition of Ireland's preeminent religious figure, but there is also celebration of the remarkable success of women and men of Irish heritage across so many fields - politics, commerce, education, sports, and all the rest. The most recent census determined that nearly 11 percent of the U.S. population (over 36 million people) count themselves of Irish descent, with over 2 million in both California and New York. The Irish are a proud people, and they are more than delighted to set one day aside to pay tribute to their shared background. Moreover, St. Patrick's Day is also a time for those who are not Irish to join in the activities of their fellow citizens with ties to Ireland. As the saying goes, everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. What other ethnic group can make such a claim?"
Robert Schmuhl - Professor emeritus, University of Notre Dame; author of Ireland's Exiled Children
"Apart from cities with historically large populations descended from Irish immigrants (like Boston or Chicago), St. Patrick's Day is popular because it breaks up the tedium of late winter, provides an excuse to party, particularly in public, and is a distraction during the long hiatus between the Valentine's Day holiday and Memorial Day. Americans love holidays. St. Patrick's Day is a secularized Saints Day. Before the Protestant Reformation eliminated nearly all Saints Days (of which there were dozens), early modern Europeans and Britons followed irregular patterns of work, taking time off for parades, feasts, and other rituals meant to commemorate Christian saints. Somehow or another, St. Patrick's Day survived, probably due to the flourishing of forms of ethnic nationalism between the Civil War and the Cold War, and their intersection with machine politics in large American cities."
Alexis McCrossen - Professor, Southern Methodist University
Are large St. Patrick's Day celebrations an economic boom or drain for cities?
"Large groups of people focused on scheduled activities can be - and usually are - booms to cities. There is an eagerness to celebrate, and that can generate a substantial amount of dollars for communities."
Robert Schmuhl - Professor emeritus, University of Notre Dame; author of Ireland's Exiled Children
How can local authorities promote safety and reduce alcohol-related accidents on St. Patrick's Day?
"Public service announcements that are widely circulated prior to St. Patrick's Day can advise potential celebrants of the dangers and consequences of excessive partying. Additional police personnel at events can also be beneficial in keeping problems to a minimum."
Robert Schmuhl - Professor emeritus, University of Notre Dame; author of Ireland's Exiled Children
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