Planning a future wedding? Why you should consider Sacramento, a WalletHub analysis says

If you’re popping the question this Valentine’s Day, you might want to get hitched close to home.

WalletHub named Sacramento one of the top cities in 2025 to say “I do” as part of its Best & Worst Places to Get Married study published on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

The personal finance website studied 182 cities across the country and ranked them based on key factors that impact wedding planning, including activities and attractions, facilities and services, and costs.

“When weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars and prices have only become even more outrageously inflated in recent years, it pays to hold your wedding in a city that’s affordable,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “Certain cities also make wedding planning easier with an abundance of options for wedding essentials, from florists to videographers to venues.”

How did Sacramento do?

Sacramento just missed out on the top 20, ranking No. 21 in the nation for getting married, according to WalletHub.

While WalletHub scored Sacramento highly in multiple categories, its overall ranking was dragged down by its poor score in the costs category.

The city ranked No. 10 for facilities and services, which factors in metrics on wedding venues and common vendors per capita.

It was No. 22 for activities and attractions, which takes into account popularity among travelers and the number of attractions, among other factors.

However, it ranked No. 137 for affordability. According to the wedding planning website The Knot, the average wedding cost in the Sacramento-Modesto area was around $30,000.

How did other California cities rank?

California cities spanned the WalletHub list, with several ranking among the best and worst for holding a wedding.

San Francisco was ranked as the seventh-best city to get married. The Bay Area city was the Golden State’s only representative in the top 10.

Los Angeles and San Diego just missed out on the top 10, placing in No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.

Fresno was ranked No. 60, just behind Bakersfield at 61.

Modesto was No. 114 on the list, and Stockton was No. 149.

Oxnard and Chula Vista—located in Southern California and Fremont in the Bay Area—were in the bottom 10 of WalletHub’s list, at Nos. 177 and 173, respectively.

What are the best cities in the U.S. to get married?

Orlando, Florida, took the top spot in the WalletHub ranking. The home of Disney World received high marks for wedding facilities and services.

Las Vegas took second place and Miami was third.

Here are the top 10 cities in the U.S. for getting married, according to WalletHub:

1. Orlando, Florida
2. Las Vegas
3. Miami
4. Atlanta
5. Tampa, Florida
6. Austin, Texas
7. San Francisco
8. Houston
9. New Orleans
10. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

What are the worst cities for holding a wedding?

Pearl City, Hawaii, was named the worst city to get married in, with bottom-10 rankings in each of the three categories.

Bridgeport, Connecticut, was the second-worst, while Warwick, Rhode Island, was third. .

These are the 10 cities WalletHub ranked the worst for getting married:

1. Pearl City, Hawaii
2. Bridgeport, Connecticut
3. Warwick, Rhode Island
4. South Burlington, Vermont
5. Lewiston, Maine
6. Oxnard
7. Fremont
8. Nashua, New Hampshire
9. New Haven, Connecticut
10. Chula Vista

How did WalletHub come up with its ranking?

WalletHub compared the 150 most populated states in the country plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state across three categories: costs, facilities and services, and attractions and activities.

Each city was scored across 26 weighted metrics, including:

• Average wedding cost
• Price of a three-star hotel room
• Wedding chapels and churches per capita
• Event venues and spaces per capita
• Event planners per capita
• Photographers and videographers per capita
• Bridal shops per capita
• Cake shops per capita
• Number of attractions
• Popularity as a travel destination
• Weather

The cities were graded on each metric on a 100-point scale, where 100 represented “the most favorable conditions for weddings,” according to WalletHub.

Analysts calculated the weighted scores to determine an overall score and then created a rank order based on each city’s score.

Data came from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as The Wedding Report, Kayak.com, Numbeo, TripAdvisor, Travelbuddy.com and Yelp.

Camila Pedrosa

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee’s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.