Thumbtack Reveals Ranking of the Most Festive Cities in the U.S. Ahead of the Holidays

Austin tops the list for 2nd year in a row, followed by Dallas, Houston, Seattle, and San Antonio

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The holiday season is just around the corner, and festive light displays seem to be going up earlier — and getting bigger — with every year. That means getting ahead of hiring a pro is more important than ever, whether you’re planning to go all out, or simply looking to add a little cheer. Today, Thumbtack, the app used by millions of people to take care of their homes, revealed its annual list of the Most Festive Cities in the U.S. based on data from millions of home projects across all 50 states.

Thumbtack’s ranking represents the cities with the most holiday spirit based on holiday light decorations, and adjusted for the population of each metropolitan area. This year, Texan cities dominate the list, taking up four of the top five spots. Other notable states include Florida with three cities on the list, as well as California and Oregon with two cities each.

The Most Festive Cities in the U.S. based on Thumbtack’s findings are:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
3. Houston, Texas ⬆
4. Seattle, Washington ⬇
5. San Antonio, Texas ⬆
6. Atlanta, Georgia ⬆
7. Phoenix, Arizona ⬇
8. Tampa, Florida ⬆
9. Denver, Colorado ⬇
10. Orlando, Florida ⬆
11. Salt Lake City, Utah ⬆
12. Portland, Oregon ⬆
13. Bend, Oregon ⬆
14. Sacramento, California ⬆
15. San Francisco, California ⬇
16. St. Louis, Missouri ⬆
17. West Palm Beach, Florida ⬇
18. Las Vegas, Nevada ⬆
19. Kansas City, Missouri ⬇
20. Charlotte, North Carolina ⬇

One thing these cities all have in common is a hearty dose of holiday cheer. “Whether you’re looking to make your home a brightly lit winter wonderland or simply looking to add a few festive touches to your home’s exterior — sprucing up your home’s exterior with lights is an exciting part of getting into the holiday spirit,” said Morgan Olsen, Design Expert at Thumbtack. “Hiring a holiday lighting specialist can help you avoid stress (and unwanted injuries) so you can focus on enjoying the season.”

Thumbtack also looked at the most common areas homeowners are looking to decorate with holiday lights this year. The most popular locations are:

1. Along the roof
2. Home’s exterior (ground floor)
3. Front yard
4. Home’s exterior (second floor)
5. Wrapped around trees

The average cost to hire a holiday lighting specialist can range from $168-$300 on average, and certain projects like wrapping trees or lining the front yard may have a higher cost. It’s important to get on a pro’s calendar sooner rather than later to avoid peak demand season (typically over Thanksgiving weekend), and to ensure you can enjoy your lights all winter long.

To hire a local holiday lighting professional and personalized guidance on what home projects to tackle, download the Thumbtack app (available on iOS and Android).

About Thumbtack: We’re Thumbtack, a technology company helping millions of people confidently care for and improve their homes. Our homeowners get personalized guidance on what to do and when to do it as well as who to hire from our growing community of 300,000 local service businesses. Every day in every county of the U.S., people turn to Thumbtack to complete small fixes, routine maintenance, and major improvements. With over 10 million 5-star projects and counting, we empower homeowners to take control and local businesses to grow. Accomplish more with Thumbtack.

Methodology: Data is from customer requests on the Thumbtack platform from October 2022 to present for holiday light installations. Rankings were based on the relative frequency of such requests adjusted for the population of state and metropolitan areas. Pricing data is based on projects requested in these categories on Thumbtack reported directly by the independent service professional or individual customer. The price reported reflects the average price over the past year. Outliers were removed if the reported price was greater than three times the standard deviation from the mean within each category.