Top Ranked ‘Most Cozy Christmas Getaways’ Cities for This Holiday Season

If you are planning a holiday getaway this winter, consider visiting one of these cities in the United States.

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad held a ceremonial tree lighting Thursday, Nov. 7, in Peninsula, Ohio, to mark the start of its North Pole Adventure excursions. / Craig Webb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With fall in high gear and winter not far away, the holiday season is on the doorstep. People are finalizing travel plans where they are going to spend these joyous times.

If you haven’t figured things out yet, BetMGM Casino has you covered with some options. They recently did a festive study ranking cities around the United States based on which are the most popular during Christmas, offering the most magical and cozy appeal.

Several factors went into determining an overall score for the cities. Snowfall, accommodation, festive events, venues, nature and temperature were some of the variables used. 

A weighted scale was then put into place with venues, accommodations and snowfall each making up 30 percent, and temperature being 10 percent. The entire methodology can be seen at this link.

For a while, it was New York City that was considered the top Christmas-time city in the United States. But, The Big Apple has come in at No. 6 on this edition of the list with a cozy score of 46.22.

It’s accommodation score of 16.44 was the third highest on the list, behind only the North Pole, Alaska and Park City, Utah.

The North Pole is the city that took home the No. 1 spot this year with an overall score of 93.34. That blew away the competition, as the next closest was Park City with a score of 71.15.

The Alaskan city, aptly named for Christmas, had a snowfall score of 30, venues score of 23.34, accommodations score of 30, temperature score of 10 and an average snowfall in December of 15 inches.

"North Pole topped the rankings for having the most snowfall (15 inches), coldest temps (-7.5*F) and the most cozy accommodation offerings over any other city,” per the release.

There was only one other city on the list, Kennebunkport, Maine that had an average snowfall in double digits with 10.5. The city came in at No. 4 on the list with a score of 53.38.

A city that may surprise some people by being so high on the list is Asheville, North Carolina. Coming in at No. 5 with an overall score of 50.96, a solid accommodation score of 16.44 and snowfall scores buoy the number.

Rounding out the top 10 are Branson, Seattle, Newport Beach and Nashville in Missouri, Washington, California and Tennessee, respectively.