Holiday Spending In Washington: How We Rank

The holiday season is a time for celebration, but between the presents, decorations and festive meals, it can become an expensive time of year. Residents in three Washington cities have some of the highest holiday budgets in the nation, according to a new ranking by WalletHub.

The personal finance website ranked the maximum holiday budget for residents in 570 cities across the country. Bellevue and Kirkland placed in the top 50.

TOP 3 WASHINGTON CITIES FOR HOLIDAY SPENDING

Bellevue (Overall Rank #31)
Average holiday budget: $1,792

Kirkland (Overall rank #48)
Average holiday budget: $1,556

Seattle (Overall rank #52)
Average holiday budget: $1,456

“To avoid overspending during the holidays, have a realistic budget and plan with a maximum cap that you share with a spending partner, do not be guilted by yourself or others into overspending, and shop year-round early to get both the best prices and the greatest number of options,” Scott Swan, a professor of innovation and marketing at William & Mary, said in comments accompanying the study.

Shop Patch’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide Here

Shoppers in Palo Alto, California, plan to spend the most per capita during the holiday buying season, according to the analysis. Sunnyvale, California, and Flower Mound, Texas, ranked second and third.

Residents in Providence, Rhode Island, have the lowest holiday budget in the country at just $111.

BOTTOM 3 WASHINGTON CITIES FOR HOLIDAY SPENDING

Yakima (Overall Rank #501)
Average holiday budget: $477

Bellingham (Overall Rank #490)
Average holiday budget: $494

Spokane (Overall Rank #459)
Average holiday budget: $533

Americans are projected to spend between $727 and $730 billion during the 2019 holiday shopping season, which runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 25.

To determine the ranking, WalletHub compared 570 of the largest cities in the United States across five key characteristics of holiday spending, including income, age, debt-to-income ratio, monthly income-to-monthly expense ratio, and savings-to-monthly spending ratio.

Here are the 10 cities with the highest holiday budgets:

1. Palo Alto, California: $3,160
2. Sunnyvale, California: $2,971
3. Flower Mound, Texas: $2,937
4. Newton, Massachusetts: $2,888
5. Mountain View, California: $2,877
6. Frisco, Texas: $2,836
7. The Woodlands, Texas: $2,833
8. Carmel, Indiana: $2,632
9. Naperville, Illinois: $2,566
10. Milpitas, California: $2,549

The full rankings are available at WalletHub.