Florida Named Most Fun State in the U.S. — but Not Everyone Agrees

Thanks to its sun-soaked beaches, vibrant dining and nightlife scenes and world-renowned entertainment attractions such as Disney World, Florida has been named the “most fun” state in the United States.

The honor was bestowed on the Sunshine State by WalletHub, which compared all 50 states across 26 key indicators of “a jolly good time that won’t break the bank.” These metrics include movie costs, the number of amusement parks per capita and ease of access to national parks.

Each indicator was assessed on a 1-to-100 scale, and the finance website then took each state’s weighted average to calculate its overall score. Florida came out on top of the list — which was released in August — with a total score of 65.51, followed by California in the No. 2 spot (65.14) and Nevada at No. 3 (59.12).

“Florida is the most fun state in 2024, leading the country when it comes to the number of restaurants, amusement parks, arcades and music festivals per capita,” WalletHub said. “But even if those particular activities aren’t of interest to you, Florida has the third-most attractions per capita, and the sixth-best variety of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments.”

WalletHub also cited Florida’s appeal for those who enjoy the outdoors. “Although it does have very hot summers, the state has the 12th-best weather overall. It also has the most marinas per capita and the second-most miles of shoreline,” the company said.

And, of course, the state’s abundant parks and recreation venues helped drive it to the top of the rankings.

“The Florida government spends a lot on parks and recreation, the eighth-most per capita,” WalletHub said. “The average Floridian also spends over $2,000 per year on recreation expenses, the 14th-most in the country.”

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While loyal Floridians are toasting their state’s latest distinction, not everyone agrees with WalletHub’s list. In a post on a Reddit forum dedicated to California, people sounded off on the state’s second-place ranking.

“Moved to FL from CA. Definitely a lot less fun here. Outdoor activities are extremely unpleasant 9-10 months out of the year and mosquitoes constantly biting you,” one California resident wrote, while another person added, “I’ll take California over Florida any day.”

Several commenters argued that Florida only topped the list because it’s home to the world’s most famous and most-visited theme park, Disney World. “If Florida didn’t have Disney we’d be first. The beaches are nice, that’s about it,” they wrote.

Another California supporter didn’t mince words, listing the many reasons why they feel Florida is undeserving of the honor and California outshines the southern state.

“HATE Florida, ugly beaches, no mountains, ecologically monotonous, geritocracy, mosquitoes, cockroaches and painfully long boring drives, especially if you want to leave and go somewhere else,” they wrote. “California has beautiful ocean drives, mountain drives, redwood drives, low humidity and more Mediterranean climates on the coast, deserts if you want, Las Vegas not far and the list goes on.”

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Yet another person pointed out that everything you can do in Florida, you can do in California — plus much more.

“On the flip side, where can you snow ski in Florida? Where can you go mountain climbing/hiking in Florida? How many national parks do the two states have, and how diverse are they in the scenery?” they commented. “I think these are pretty important criteria for visiting either state in terms of fun activities, and for things like these (and a bunch of other stuff I left out), California blows Florida away.”