Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
Many of us dream of a “Real Housewives” lifestyle: the mansion, the Bentley, the Rolex, the country club membership — minus the drama.
But which U.S. cities serve up ritz and glitz versus Ritz crackers and grits?
Ahead of New York Fashion Week, LawnStarter ranked 2023’s Most Glamorous Cities.
We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on six categories broken down into 39 glam factors. They include metrics like the share of million-dollar homes, access to Michelin-starred restaurants, and the number of exclusive yacht clubs.
Does your city have the “It” factor? Find out in our ranking below, followed by some highlights and lowlights.
1. New York, NY
- Overall Score: 69.89
- Status and Wealth Rank: 1
- Clubs Rank: 1
- Fine Dining Rank: 1
- Beauty Rank: 61
- Fashion Rank: 1
- Entertainment Rank: 1
2. Los Angeles, CA
- Overall Score: 41.66
- Status and Wealth Rank: 3
- Clubs Rank: 2
- Fine Dining Rank: 6
- Beauty Rank: 54
- Fashion Rank: 2
- Entertainment Rank: 2
3. San Francisco, CA
- Overall Score: 34.76
- Status and Wealth Rank: 7
- Clubs Rank: 4
- Fine Dining Rank: 2
- Beauty Rank: 66
- Fashion Rank: 9
- Entertainment Rank: 6
4. Miami, FL
- Overall Score: 34.52
- Status and Wealth Rank: 6
- Clubs Rank: 78
- Fine Dining Rank: 4
- Beauty Rank: 1
- Fashion Rank: 4
- Entertainment Rank: 5
5. Chicago, IL
- Overall Score: 29.4
- Status and Wealth Rank: 22
- Clubs Rank: 8
- Fine Dining Rank: 3
- Beauty Rank: 77
- Fashion Rank: 3
- Entertainment Rank: 7
6. Las Vegas, NV
- Overall Score: 27.52
- Status and Wealth Rank: 29
- Clubs Rank: 51
- Fine Dining Rank: 15
- Beauty Rank: 2
- Fashion Rank: 5
- Entertainment Rank: 3
7. Houston, TX
- Overall Score: 26.66
- Status and Wealth Rank: 12
- Clubs Rank: 5
- Fine Dining Rank: 39
- Beauty Rank: 83
- Fashion Rank: 11
- Entertainment Rank: 4
8. Atlanta, GA
- Overall Score: 25.63
- Status and Wealth Rank: 2
- Clubs Rank: 21
- Fine Dining Rank: 16
- Beauty Rank: 39
- Fashion Rank: 16
- Entertainment Rank: 9
9. Dallas, TX
- Overall Score: 24.27
- Status and Wealth Rank: 8
- Clubs Rank: 7
- Fine Dining Rank: 51
- Beauty Rank: 58
- Fashion Rank: 12
- Entertainment Rank: 11
10. Washington, D.C.
- Overall Score: 21.65
- Status and Wealth Rank: 5
- Clubs Rank: 40
- Fine Dining Rank: 5
- Beauty Rank: 125
- Fashion Rank: 19
- Entertainment Rank: 28
11. Seattle, WA
- Overall Score: 21.1
- Status and Wealth Rank: 14
- Clubs Rank: 19
- Fine Dining Rank: 7
- Beauty Rank: 137
- Fashion Rank: 26
- Entertainment Rank: 15
12. Orlando, FL
- Overall Score: 20.16
- Status and Wealth Rank: 31
- Clubs Rank: 26
- Fine Dining Rank: 24
- Beauty Rank: 3
- Fashion Rank: 17
- Entertainment Rank: 10
13. Scottsdale, AZ
- Overall Score: 19.56
- Status and Wealth Rank: 15
- Clubs Rank: 22
- Fine Dining Rank: 76
- Beauty Rank: 12
- Fashion Rank: 18
- Entertainment Rank: 24
14. Portland, OR
- Overall Score: 19.31
- Status and Wealth Rank: 23
- Clubs Rank: 11
- Fine Dining Rank: 11
- Beauty Rank: 67
- Fashion Rank: 23
- Entertainment Rank: 13
15. Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Overall Score: 19.12
- Status and Wealth Rank: 20
- Clubs Rank: 13
- Fine Dining Rank: 25
- Beauty Rank: 6
- Fashion Rank: 34
- Entertainment Rank: 65
Methodology
For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we gathered publicly available data on the factors listed in the table below.
We then grouped those factors into six categories: Status and Wealth, Clubs, Fine Dining, Beauty, Fashion, and Entertainment.
Next, we calculated weighted scores for each city in each category.
Finally, we averaged the scores for each city across all categories.
The city that earned the highest average score was ranked “Best” (No. 1).