San Antonio is not the best -- or worst -- city for July 4, study says

The Fourth of July in San Antonio means fireworks everywhere from Woodlawn Lake Park to area theme parks and over the downtown skyline. It also means the brutal summer heat that's well-known to Alamo City residents.

That's why, according to personal finance firm WalletHub, San Antonio is far from one of the best places to celebrate the United States' bicentennial this year. A new study ranked it the 74th-best city in the U.S. for Fourth of July festivities.

That placed the nation's seventh-largest city on par with places like Riverside, Calif., and Greensboro, N.C.

The personal finance company took four factors into account: what celebrations are happening, how affordable the city is, what other attractions are available, how safe and accessible the city is, and, importantly, the weather.

San Antonio did quite well in the first two categories. WalletHub ranked San Antonio's celebrations the 29th-best in the country, putting it ahead of Tampa and Minneapolis. An array of fireworks shows are happening in San Antonio this year, in addition to other festivities like Stars and Stripes on Houston Parade downtown and celebrations at The Alamo.

San Antonio performed even better in the affordability category - the study placed it as the ninth-most-affordable place to celebrate. In fact, San Antonio had the second-cheapest 3-star hotels in the country, the study found.

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Still, San Antonio lagged in safety and accessibility and weather, placing 85th and 84th, respectively. WalletHub took into account walkability, access to public transit, DUI-related fatalities and more in the safety and accessibility category. For the weather, it took into account the difference between the forecasted 4th of July temperature and the nationwide average, as well the chances of rain.

Texas cities overall didn't fare very well in the study. The best place in the Lone Star State to celebrate is Dallas, according to the study, which placed 39th. San Antonio did better than Austin, Corpus Christi, Laredo and a handful of other Texas cities.

WalletHub said the five best cities, in order, are: Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, Fla., Los Angeles and Minneapolis. The worst cities were listed as Garland, Tx; Laredo, Tx; Newark, N.J.; Hialeah, Fla.; and Baton Rouge, La.

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