Houston surpasses Austin as the 6th most fun city in America

Houston’s fun entertainment and nightlife scenes have helped the city surpass Austin in WalletHub’s just-released ranking of the most fun American cities in 2025. H-Town now stands tall as the sixth most fun U.S. city this year.

WalletHub’s “Most Fun Cities in America (2025)” study compared 182 U.S. cities across 65 metrics — spanning from the number of sports venues, music venues, and shopping centers per capita to the average cost for a restaurant meal — to determine how “fun” each city is. The metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

Las Vegas, Nevada continued its multi-year streak as the No. 1 most fun American city.

Across the three key dimensions, Houston scored the highest for its nightlife and parties rank (No. 10), but its costs (No. 20) and entertainment and recreation ranks (No. 21) still have room for improvement. But overall, Houston’s level of “fun” is far higher than most U.S. cities.

Houston’s hospitality industry particularly stood out as a cut above the rest after landing in a five-way tie for the highest number of restaurants per capita. The city also landed in a five-way tie for the No. 1 most dance clubs per capita nationwide.

Houston’s current “fun” status is three spots higher than its 2024 rank as the 9th most fun American city, and it’s a major hike from its No. 19 placement in 2023.

Austin, which ranked No. 6 last year, dropped two spots and now ranks as the 8th most fun city in America in 2025. Other Texas cities that appeared in the top 100 include: San Antonio (No. 23), Dallas (No. 26), Fort Worth (No. 60), El Paso (No. 62), Arlington (No. 71), Plano (No. 78), and Corpus Christi (No. 94).

“The decision of where to live could save or cost you a lot of money and fun, so it’s fair to wonder what makes a fun city,” the report’s author wrote. “In a city with enough variety, you won’t have to compromise with your friends, family, or even yourself about the next fun activity to do alone or together.”

WalletHub’s top 10 most fun U.S. cities in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, NevadaNo. 2 – Orlando, FloridaNo. 3 – Miami, FloridaNo. 4 – Atlanta, GeorgiaNo. 5 – New Orleans, LouisianaNo. 6 – Houston, TexasNo. 7 – San Francisco, CaliforniaNo. 8 – Austin, TexasNo. 9 – Portland, OregonNo. 10 – Cincinnati, Ohio

Surprisingly, both Chicago and New York City dropped out of the top 10 most fun American cities. Chicago now ranks as No. 11, and New York City ranks 14th on the list.