These Valley cities rank among top in the US to celebrate Valentine’s Day

PHOENIX — Love is in the air, and people living in or visiting some Valley cities might be able to notice it more than those elsewhere.

Scottsdale and Phoenix ranked among the top 20 places to celebrate Valentine’s Day, according to personal finance website WalletHub.

WalletHub compared 100 of the nation’s largest cities for the best place to celebrate the holiday in 2023. The cities were compared using four key dimensions — budget, activities, gift accessibility and weather forecast.

Scottsdale placed No. 6, up three places compared to the previous year, scoring highest in areas like budgeting (No. 6) and weather forecast (No. 5).

Phoenix’s highest score was in the weather category (No. 6), while ranking No. 50 for activities to do and No. 39 for budgeting.

When considering weather, Arizona cities topped every other city in the U.S.

Mesa, Glendale, Chandler and Gilbert all tied for the No. 1 best spot for the holiday, with Scottsdale and Phoenix following just after.

Gilbert (overall rank of No. 21) took home the trophy for the top city in the nation to find the cheapest three-course meal for two followed by Glendale (No. 3) and Chandler (No. 5).

Meanwhile, two East Valley cities were named among the top 10 places for budget dating, according to financial technology company SmartAsset.

The company looked at 93 of the largest cities in the nation and compared them across several metrics, including a meal for two, bottle of wine and two movie tickets.

Mesa ranked No. 2 in the nation for budget dating, as the average cost of dinner and a movie for two people costs $53.38. The average price of a white table wine came out to $6.32.

If two tickets to a movie ($21.06) is a set back, the price of two cappuccinos in the city averages to $10.86, making Mesa the most expensive city in SmartAsset’s top 10 for coffee dates.

Chandler placed No. 9 on the list, as the average meal for two people costs $30, while a dinner and movie tickets brings the average cost up to $57.38.

Two coffees, on average, costs $9.76 while a bottle of white wine also costs $6.32, similar to Mesa.

Oklahoma City topped the charts for budget-friendly dating with an average meal for two going for $24, while New York City came in last place with an average meal for two costing $50.

The best place to celebrate Valentine’s Day, according to WalletHub, is San Francisco, Calif., while the worst place is Detroit, Mich.

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