Despite gas prices that are again on the uptick, sixty-four percent of Americans still plan to take road trips this summer. Consumers looking for ideal destinations may want to take a look at a survey that WalletHub recently released of the best states to visit on summer road trips, taking into account costs, safety, road conditions, and available activities in each of the 50 states. Darker blue states on the map are those that scored best and the lighter blue states are those that ranked lower.
CNBC also compiled a list of ten destination towns and cities throughout the United States. Most of the destinations corresponded with WalletHub’s top twenty states to visit including: Seaside, OR; Steamboat Springs, CO; Portland, ME; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Bar Harbor, ME; and Grand Teton National Park, WY.
A few additional factors that road-trippers may want to be aware of are the states with: the lowest average gas prices, the lowest average cost of car repairs, the lowest price for camping, fewest car thefts per capita, the highest percentage of national parkland, and the states with the most scenic byways.
There are a few interesting surprises on the list – popular beach destinations like Rhode Island and Delaware place #48 and #50 on the list (this may be due to the high cost and traffic associated with visiting these destinations). Places that tend to be very hot in the summer, such as Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, are in the top ten, another possible surprise to would-be road trippers.
Check out WalletHub’s full list below:
Overall Rank (1 = Best) | State | Total Score | ‘Costs’ Rank | ‘Safety’ Rank | ‘Activities’ Rank |
1 | Wyoming | 58.75 | 1 | 19 | 22 |
2 | North Carolina | 56.24 | 11 | 28 | 7 |
3 | Minnesota | 56.13 | 31 | 1 | 19 |
4 | Texas | 55.46 | 15 | 34 | 6 |
5 | Florida | 54.62 | 20 | 48 | 2 |
6 | Louisiana | 54.40 | 10 | 37 | 10 |
7 | Washington | 53.74 | 43 | 18 | 4 |
8 | New York | 53.72 | 49 | 4 | 3 |
9 | Utah | 53.44 | 34 | 8 | 14 |
10 | Colorado | 53.06 | 17 | 27 | 18 |
11 | Oregon | 52.41 | 40 | 12 | 8 |
12 | California | 52.36 | 47 | 41 | 1 |
13 | Illinois | 52.32 | 33 | 11 | 21 |
14 | Virginia | 52.29 | 35 | 15 | 16 |
15 | South Dakota | 52.16 | 6 | 22 | 33 |
16 | Maine | 52.05 | 32 | 2 | 32 |
17 | Nebraska | 51.52 | 9 | 10 | 39 |
18 | Georgia | 51.27 | 7 | 36 | 27 |
19 | Michigan | 51.23 | 21 | 24 | 26 |
20 | Nevada | 51.22 | 30 | 29 | 12 |
21 | Arizona | 50.98 | 14 | 45 | 13 |
22 | Wisconsin | 50.94 | 26 | 9 | 31 |
23 | Ohio | 50.03 | 38 | 25 | 15 |
24 | New Hampshire | 49.97 | 22 | 5 | 37 |
25 | Massachusetts | 49.65 | 41 | 13 | 20 |
26 | Pennsylvania | 48.92 | 44 | 17 | 9 |
27 | Idaho | 48.62 | 39 | 16 | 25 |
28 | Tennessee | 48.19 | 18 | 35 | 30 |
29 | South Carolina | 48.15 | 5 | 50 | 24 |
30 | New Jersey | 48.07 | 37 | 23 | 28 |
31 | North Dakota | 48.00 | 16 | 7 | 45 |
32 | Vermont | 47.92 | 28 | 3 | 50 |
33 | Maryland | 47.83 | 42 | 31 | 11 |
34 | Missouri | 47.09 | 12 | 46 | 29 |
35 | Iowa | 46.88 | 27 | 14 | 38 |
36 | West Virginia | 46.56 | 8 | 30 | 47 |
37 | Oklahoma | 46.24 | 13 | 42 | 36 |
38 | Mississippi | 46.14 | 2 | 38 | 44 |
39 | Montana | 46.13 | 19 | 40 | 34 |
40 | Arkansas | 46.08 | 3 | 44 | 41 |
41 | Alabama | 45.87 | 4 | 43 | 40 |
42 | Kansas | 45.67 | 25 | 20 | 46 |
43 | Alaska | 45.62 | 45 | 47 | 5 |
44 | Kentucky | 45.60 | 24 | 32 | 35 |
45 | Indiana | 45.44 | 29 | 21 | 43 |
46 | New Mexico | 45.28 | 23 | 49 | 23 |
47 | Hawaii | 40.70 | 50 | 33 | 17 |
48 | Delaware | 40.51 | 36 | 39 | 48 |
49 | Connecticut | 38.62 | 46 | 26 | 42 |
50 | Rhode Island | 38.58 | 48 | 6 | 49 |
Photo by Quintin Gellar from Pexels
- Autumn Fieldhttps://consumersresearch.org/author/afield/
- Autumn Fieldhttps://consumersresearch.org/author/afield/
- Autumn Fieldhttps://consumersresearch.org/author/afield/
- Autumn Fieldhttps://consumersresearch.org/author/afield/