The cost of travel can vary greatly from one place to the next. Finding bargain destinations in the United States requires that you consider many factors such as airfare, hotel, and transportation costs.
Credit Karma identified the best deals for travelers and the places to avoid if your budget is tight.
Credit Karma used data from Expedia and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics as well as the Bureau of Economic Analysis to calculate the cost of airfares, hotels, transportation, and the local cost of living in 52 of the busiest U.S. cities. This information helped us identify the best and most affordable cities in America. You can see our complete methodology here.
These are the five most affordable U.S. cities, based on our analysis.
- Cleveland
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Las Vegas
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Orlando, Florida
These are the five most expensive places to visit in the U.S.
- New York
- San Diego
- Seattle
- San Francisco
- West Palm Beach, Florida
Continue reading to find out more about how much it will cost to travel to different cities in 2023.
Snapshot of Credit Karma Stat
The least and most expensive cities in the United States to visit in 2023
|
Overall ranking |
City |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Cleveland |
|
2 |
Omaha, NE |
|
3 |
Las Vegas |
|
4 |
Memphis, TN |
|
5 |
Orlando, FL |
|
6 |
Raleigh, NC |
|
7 |
Ontario, CA |
|
8 |
Boise, ID |
|
9 |
Atlanta, GA |
|
10 |
Phoenix |
|
11 |
Columbus, OH |
|
12 |
Kansas City, MO |
|
13 |
Jacksonville, FL |
|
14 |
Houston |
|
15 |
Dallas |
|
16 |
St. Louis |
|
17 |
Charlotte, NC |
|
18 |
New Orleans |
|
19 |
Baltimore |
|
20 |
Richmond, VA |
|
21 |
Pittsburgh |
|
22 |
Sacramento, CA |
|
23 |
Minneapolis |
|
24 |
Portland, OR |
|
25 |
Tampa, Fla. |
|
26 |
Cincinnati |
|
27 |
Denver |
|
28 |
Philadelphia |
|
29 |
San Antonio |
|
30 |
Detroit |
|
31 |
Austin, Texas |
|
32 |
Indianapolis |
|
33 |
Milwaukee |
|
34 |
Chicago |
|
35 |
Miami |
|
36 |
Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA |
|
37 |
Washington, D.C. |
|
38 |
San Jose, CA |
|
39 |
Salt Lake City |
|
40 |
Nashville, TN |
|
41 |
Burbank, CA. |
|
42 |
Santa Ana, CA |
|
43 |
Honolulu |
|
44 |
Charleston, SC |
|
45 |
Los Angeles |
|
46 |
Fort Lauderdale, FL |
|
47 |
Boston |
|
48 |
West Palm Beach/Palm Beach (FL) |
|
49 |
San Francisco |
|
50 |
Seattle |
|
51 |
San Diego |
|
52 |
New York |
This table shows 52 U.S. cities ranked in order of their cost to travel based on airfare, hotel, transportation, and local cost of life. The tables are sorted from most expensive to least. It excludes secondary airports in the same cities as those at the top 52 most busy U.S. airfields. The data for Chicago, for example, includes Chicago O’Hare but leaves out Midway Airport.
Cleveland was the most affordable city to visit in the U.S., while New York City was the most expensive. New York had a higher cost of living than Cleveland. A flight from Cleveland to New York would have cost $362, while New York was $436. These factors make it clear that Cleveland is the most affordable destination, while New York has a much higher price.
However, Cleveland wasn’t the most expensive city in America for hotels. Atlanta is the winner of this title with an average nightly cost of $104 for a room in a four- or five-star hotel. West Palm Beach, Florida was the most expensive city for low-budget accommodation. The average nightly price of the cheapest hotel room was $290.
San Francisco was the most expensive city for airfare with an average cost of $498.55. This is $218.92 more that the average airfare paid by Fort Lauderdale, Florida travelers, who pay $498.55.
Top 10 Cheapest Cities to Travel to in the U.S.
|
Overall ranking |
City |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Cleveland |
|
2 |
Omaha, NE |
|
3 |
Las Vegas |
|
4 |
Memphis, TN |
|
5 |
Orlando, FL |
|
6 |
Raleigh, NC |
|
7 |
Ontario, CA |
|
8 |
Boise, ID |
|
9 |
Atlanta, GA |
|
10 |
Phoenix |
This table lists the 10 most affordable urban destinations with the cheapest at top.
The cheapest cities in the United States to travel to
Three of the ten cheapest places to travel to are located in the Midwest, with three more in the South — four if Orlando, Florida is included.
Cleveland is the most affordable city to visit in the United States. Omaha, Nebraska, was ranked second. Because of the lower cost of living, traveling to the Midwest is less expensive than other areas of the country. The Midwest and South have lower consumer price indexes than the national average.
Las Vegas, Florida and Orlando, Florida made it to the top five most affordable cities to visit. These are popular tourist destinations and the costs are lower because there are many airlines that serve both cities. There are also many hotels to choose from. Orlando alone boasts more than 130,000 hotel rooms, compared to just 30,000 in San Francisco.
The 10 most expensive places to visit in the U.S.
|
Overall ranking |
City |
|---|---|
|
1 |
New York |
|
2 |
San Diego |
|
3 |
Seattle |
|
4 |
San Francisco |
|
5 |
West Palm Beach/Palm Beach (FL) |
|
6 |
Boston |
|
7 |
Fort Lauderdale, FL |
|
8 |
Los Angeles |
|
9 |
Charleston, SC |
|
10 |
Honolulu |
This table lists the 10 most expensive U.S. destinations to visit, ranked from the most expensive up to the least expensive.
The most expensive cities in America to visit.
These high-priced destinations tend to be in areas with high living costs and higher airfares than the national average. The national average airfare was $395.01; the average for New York was $435.70, and the average for San Francisco, which is the most expensive airport in the country, was $498.55.
In many destinations on this list, average Lyft fares were very high. New York’s average fare was $89, $80 more than Honolulu’s $9 average fare. Honolulu is where Lyft prices tend to be the lowest in the United States. Seattle was home to the highest average Lyft fare at $52.50.
These high-cost areas are also known for their expensive lodging. In June 2023, the average hotel cost in Fort Lauderdale was $779. This is the highest hotel price in the country and $652 more than $127 in Ontario, California. Downtown-adjacent lodging in the U.S. is the most affordable.
You will be pleased to know that Fort Lauderdale’s average hotel cost is $189, regardless of how far you are from downtown.
Tips to get a great deal on travel
It doesn’t matter where you are, smart planning can help reduce the cost of your next trip. These are the top ways to save money on travel.
- Be flexible with travel dates. Midweek and early-morning flights are often cheaper.
- Consider a budget airline. Although the seats are smaller and you will have to pay more to bring your bags, budget airlines often offer lower fares than their larger counterparts.
- You can pay with points. Credit cards for travel can earn you miles or points you can use to cash in on free trips. This is particularly useful when you travel to San Francisco where airfare is expensive.
- Choose a hotel far from the city center. The average nightly price of a room in a cheap hotel with four- or five-star ratings is $133. While the average hotel room within the same area and close to downtown costs $612 per night.
Methodology
To determine the most expensive and least expensive places to travel in the U.S. 52 top U.S. destinations were selected by the busiest airports.
- Average domestic airline fares by airport Q2 2022 (latest available data sourced from Bureau of Transportation Statistics 2)
- For a hypothetical travel period from June 3, 2023 to June 10, 2023 (source: Expedia), the average cost per night at three of the cheapest hotels with four or five stars ratings was $18.
- For a hypothetical travel period from June 3, 2023 to June 10, 2023 (source: Expedia), the average cost per night at three downtown hotels with four- or 5-star ratings was $18/night.
- The Bureau of Economic Analysis has compiled regional price parities for each metropolitan area. These are a measure of the cost of goods or services relative to the U.S. index equal 100.
- Lyft on December 15, 2022, provided the average cost of a Lyft trip in each city.