Sunshine State third in ‘Entertainment and Recreation’
In news not likely to come as a shock to anyone who lives in Florida, the Sunshine State was ranked fourth in the United States in the category of “fun” by WalletHub. Florida is behind only California, New York and Nevada according to these rankings.
The area where Florida was strongest turned out to be “Entertainment and Recreation,” where it ranks third and trails only California and New York in the category. Contributing factors include the number of public beaches in Florida, golf courses, tourist attractions like theme parks and of course the weather. “Ideal weather” was one of the most heavily-weighted factors in the rankings, and there Florida of course passes with flying colors.
A factor that may have brought Florida down to fourth overall might be that Skiing areas were considered in these rankings. Of course, for all the attractions that Florida is known for, it is a remarkably difficult place to hit the slopes due to the lack of snow and mountains. Shockingly, Florida finished ahead of two states in Skiing Areas Per Capita, those states being New Jersey and Kentucky.
Affordability was considered in these rankings of course, as WalletHub is a consumer-oriented website. The Sunshine State varies wildly in affordability, from the affluent neighborhoods of South Beach to more rural areas where costs stay down.
Florida only ranked 11th in the Nightlife aspect of these rankings, which give bonus points for late Last Call times as well as the average price of adult beverages. However, of the 100 points used in the final rankings, Nightlife comprised just 20.
The Sunshine State finished in the top three in several of the categories within the rankings, such as Golf Courses and Country Clubs Per Capita (third behind Michigan and Iowa), Restaurants Per Capita (tied for first with Texas, New York and California), and Marinas Per Capita (tied for first with a number of states).
The bottom five states in the final rankings by Wallethub were Arkansas, Rhode Island, Delaware, Mississippi and West Virginia.
