Travel

A new report rated Boston the best city to visit for St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s why.

Worcester was also rated one of the best cities in the U.S. to visit for St. Patrick's Day.

By Susannah Sudborough

March 15, 2023

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In a new report, Boston tops the list of the best cities to visit to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

To determine the best St. Patrick’s Day destinations, WalletHub ranked the 200 largest cities in the U.S. based on four different metrics: St. Patrick’s Day traditions, travel costs, safety and accessibility, and St. Patrick’s Day weather.

St. Patrick’s Day traditions were given the most weight, likely assuring Boston’s place at the top.

After taking into account Boston’s legendary St. Patrick’s Day parade, its rich St. Patrick’s Day history, the size of its Irish population, and the city’s high rate of Irish bars per capita, WalletHub analysts determined that Boston has the best St. Patrick’s Day culture in the U.S. Philadelphia earned the number two slot.

The report also had some interesting findings about Boston’s Irishness. It found that while Boston ranks fourth in the U.S. for most Irish bars per capita, the city had only the eighth-highest percentage of residents of Irish descent.

Additionally, when it comes to safety and accessibility, Boston was determined to be slightly worse than average, but our weather on St. Patrick’s Day was deemed above average.

Boston’s worst metric was travel costs. While the cost of the average three-star hotel in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day was deemed average, overall, the cost of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Boston was among the highest in the country.

Worcester also ranked highly amongst the best cities to visit for St. Patrick’s Day, coming in 12th overall and 12th for best St. Patrick’s Day traditions. Like Boston, the city has a pretty epic St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Worcester actually ranked higher than Boston when comparing the percentage of residents of Irish descent, with the third-highest percentage among the most populous cities in the country.

But no matter where you are in the U.S. on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s likely that even if you aren’t celebrating, you’ll be surrounded by people who are.

The report found that beer sales in the U.S. increase by 174% on St. Patrick’s Day, while spirit sales increase by 153%. And collectively, it found, people in the U.S. spend $6.85 billion on St. Patrick’s Day fun, meaning the average person spends $44 celebrating.

According to the report, 31.5 million Americans, or nearly 10% of the population, claim Irish ancestry. The U.S. has the third-highest Irish population in the world, behind only Germany and Ireland itself.

If you are in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day this year, here’s where you should go to celebrate.