Seattle ranks as one of America's most 'fun' cities, study finds

Seattle ranks among the top 20 most "fun" cities in the United States, according to the findings of a new study.

The study, by personal finance website WalletHub, compared the nation's most populous 182 cities and found that Seattle ranks No. 17 when it comes to having fun.

The rankings were based on 65 different criteria in areas such as entertainment, recreation, nightlife, parties and costs.

And each city's reputation for fun is economically important, because the average American spends nearly $3,000 on entertainment each year, the study found.

Seattle ranked well above average in several categories, including festivals per capita (No. 8 in the nation), restaurants per capita (No. 9), fitness centers per capita (No. 8), bar accessibility (No. 10) and number of attractions (No. 9).

In fact, Seattle would have ranked higher than 17th in the overall rankings except for one factor - the high cost of having fun here dragged down the city's score.

According to the study, Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. for fun and recreation. In fact, the average beer price in Seattle is second-highest in the nation, behind only New York City.

The top five cities in the nation for having fun, according to the study, are Las Vegas, Nev.; Orlando, Fla.; New York, N.Y.; Miami, Fla.; and Chicago, Ill.

The five least fun cities in America?

According to the study, they are Pearl City, Hawaii; Oxnard, Calif.; Yonkers, N.Y.; Santa Rosa, Calif.; and Bridgeport, Conn.

You can view the complete rankings and criteria here <>><>>