Fun Freetime - Best Cities for Rooftop Drinking

 

Which U.S. cities will literally elevate your drinking experience? Roof Gnome has you covered with 2023's Best Cities for Rooftop Drinking. We compared nearly 300 of the biggest U.S. cities based on a cocktail of 18 metrics. We factored in rooftop bar and lounge access and consumer ratings, stirred with data-driven mixers like affordability and climate. See which 10 cities will take your happy hour to new heights — and which 10 will make you thirst for a nicer view — below, followed by key stats from our report.

Best Cities for Rooftop Drinking Rank City 1 New York, NY 2 Los Angeles, CA 3 Chicago, IL 4 San Diego, CA 5 Washington, DC 6 Las Vegas, NV 7 Nashville, TN 8 San Francisco, CA 9 Austin, TX 10 Denver, CO Worst Cities for Rooftop Drinking Rank City 1 Springfield, MA 2 Worcester, MA 3 Metairie, LA 4 Sioux City, IA 5 Springfield, IL 6 Erie, PA 7 Beaumont, TX 8 Hampton, VA 9 Bellevue, WA 10 Stockton, CA

Key Insights: Big Apple Martini: The number of top-floor drinking establishments in New York (No. 1 overall) are through the roof at over 850. That’s about 2.4 times as many as in Los Angeles (No. 2), the city with the next highest number, 354. Crowd (-Averse) Pleaser: With a population of nearly 80,700, Miami Beach, Florida (No. 18 overall), is the smallest city among our top 20 and the only one with fewer than 140,000 residents. This resort city placed 10th overall in Access. Loungy Tastes: In 40 cities, rooftop lounges are more popular than rooftop bars — 30 are in the West and Southwest. Los Angeles (No. 2 overall) has 50 more rooftop lounges than bars, the biggest difference, followed by Las Vegas (No. 6) with 23 more and Miami Beach, Florida (No. 18), with 19 more. Hidden Treasure: A Spanish word meaning “hidden,” Escondido (No. 71 overall) in California is indeed an obscure but precious gem. It is the only city with a top-10 spot (No. 7) in Consumer Satisfaction that didn’t crack our top 15 overall. Missed Opportunity: Despite the lowest menu prices and the most ideal climate, investors in Yuma, Arizona (No. 175 overall), aren’t capitalizing on this winning combo. Yuma lacks both rooftop drinking establishments (No. 265 in Access) and top-flight booze (No. 275 in Consumer Satisfaction). Shaken, Not Deterred: Winters in Buffalo, New York (No. 209 overall), Grand Rapids, Michigan (No. 147), and Pittsburgh (No. 109) might make residents shiver while sipping hot toddies from the roof, but low temperatures clearly are no obstacle. All three cities ranked among the top 75 in Access and serve decent drinks.   Helpful Links: See Where Your City Ranks Full Study Article Methodology What is Roof Gnome? For roof installation, roof repairs, roof inspections, and solar panels, Roof Gnome connects you to the best roofing professionals in your area. Roof Gnome is part of the Home Gnome family of home services.