NC Cities Rank Low on List of Fourth of July Fun

North Carolina cities did not fare well in a recent survey of Fourth of July celebrations.

Personal finance network, “Wallet Hub”, recently released its list of 100 largest “best and worst cities” in the United States to celebrate the Fourth of July – based on how well they balanced cost and fun.  The social media network considered several different factors, including attractions, the number of food establishments and weather.  Five North Carolina cities ranked at or near the bottom.

Winston-Salem was 95th on the list, Greensboro was 98th and Charlotte was 94th.  Raleigh ranks 83rd and Durham was the last on the list at 100th. “Wallet Hub” CEO, Odysseas Papadimitriou  explains why the cities didn't fare so well.

“Some of the reasons are that it's expected to rain in all of those cities – which is not fun on a Fourth of July," he says. "And it's expected to be very hot, so that combination from a weather standpoint is not very appealing.  The other thing is that, most of the North Carolina cities; or all of them in the top 100 – they're not very friendly to walk around.  With the exception of Winston-Salem, they don't have as many public swimming pools on a per-capita basis in either cities.”  

According to Papadimitriou, all of the North Carolina cities are also below average in terms of the entertainment and recreation establishments that they have on a per-capita basis.

“Wallet Hub” ranks Richmond, Virginia as the best city for Fourth of July celebrations.

Marcheta Keefer, director of marketing & communications for the Winston Salem Convention and Visitors Bureau was surprised by the Wallet Hub ranking. She says the report “can't gauge the city's coolness and incredible quality factors of the truly “authentic” 4th of July holidays that people experience in Winston-Salem.”