California Among Best Warm Winter Destinations In Country

Winter is coming, and if you're looking to escape to warm weather, California is one of the best places to be.

From San Diego to San Francisco, not surprisingly, some of the best warm weather destinations are in California, according to a new study by personal finance website WalletHub. What may be surprising, however, is California didn't come out on top.

That's because rather than focus on the beauty of warm weather destinations, the report focused primarily on the cost and convenience of traveling to each spot. The study also looked at the number of attractions and variety of activities in each destination.

The Best Winter Holiday Destinations list compared more than 60 of the largest metro areas across 32 key metrics, including two weeks of flight data, safety indicators and weather predictions.

The San Diego metro area ranked as the third best warm weather destination across the country and the best destination in California. The Los Angeles metro area came in fifth, while the San Francisco metro area ranked eighth, according to WalletHub. All three spots ranked high for the number of attractions and warm weather activities.

• $24.9M Home In Del Mar; Historic Home In Healdsburg Wine Country

So what destinations ranked better than California? The Orlando metro area is the No. 1 warm weather destination, according to WalletHub. The Las Vegas metro area came in second place.

See the top 10 warm weather destinations below.

Top Warm Weather Destinations

1. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
2. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada
3. San Diego-Carlsbad, California
4. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
6. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
7. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas
8. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California
9. Tucson, Arizona
10. New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana

Dreaming of a white Christmas? WalletHub also ranked the the best cold weather destinations, with the Chicago metro area coming out on top.

See the top 10 cold weather destinations below. Click here to view the complete rankings.

Top Cold Weather Destinations

1. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
2. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
4. Pittsburgh, PA
5. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
7. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
8. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
9. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
10. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

ALSO SEE:

• What Are The Best Foodie Cities In California?
• California Has Second 'Best' State Economy, Study Says
• These Are The Fastest-Growing Cities In California
• Is California One Of The Happiest States In The Country?
• Best — And Worst — Places To Raise A Family In California: Report
• Best & Worst Places To Retire In California: Report
• Best And Worst California Cities For Driving
• Calif. Drivers Among Worst In Country: Report

Photo via Pixabay