Major U.S. Cities Americans Avoid Traveling to at All Costs Survey 2023 – Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, & NYC Top the List

The summer traveling season is behind us and many people are now gearing up for the busy holiday travel months. Americans will visit all over the country with many major cities at the top of the list.

This year we already released our List of Airlines Most Avoided by Americans and our List of Hotel Dealbreakers that make Americans leave without a guaranteed refund. Now, we are curious about what major US cities Americans avoid at all costs. We selected 34 cities based on a combination of population size and visitor popularity to get a variety of major US cities across the country. Then, we asked Americans which of these cities they avoid traveling to at all costs. Below you can find the results of this survey question as well as key takeaways.

Which of these US cities would you avoid traveling to at all costs? (Check All that Apply Except If You Are Checking the Last Choice.)

Photo: Eric Jones screenshot via SurveyMonkey

Survey respondents were able to select as many of the major US cities that they would avoid traveling to at all costs. There was also a “None of These” option for Americans who say they do not avoid any of these major US cities. For convenience, we have ordered the major US cities Americans avoid traveling to starting with the worst or one most frequently mentioned by Americans.

Here is the full ranked list of major US cities Americans avoid traveling to at all costs:

1. Detroit, Michigan — 22.50%
2. Chicago, Illinois. — 21.71%
3. Atlanta, Georgia. — 18.47%
4. New York City, New York. — 18.07%
5. Baltimore, Maryland. — 17.39%
6. Anaheim, California. — 17.19%
7. San Francisco, California. — 15.62%
8. Austin, Texas. — 15.42%
9. Miami, Florida. — 14.83%
10. Dallas, Texas. — 14.34%
11. Jacksonville, Florida. — 14.34%
12. Los Angeles, California. — 14.15%
13. Houston, Texas. — 13.16%
14. San Jose, California. — 11.69%
15. Sacramento, California. — 11.49%
16. Tampa, Florida. — 11.39%
17. Las Vegas, Nevada. — 11.20%
18. Portland, Oregon. — 10.81%
19. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. — 10.61%
20. Washington, D.C.. — 10.61%
21. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. — 10.51%
22. San Diego, California. — 10.31%
23. Seattle, Washington. — 10.31%
24. Minneapolis, Minnesota. — 10.12%
25. Orlando, Florida. — 10.12%
26. Indianapolis, Indiana. — 9.82%
27. Boston, Massachusetts. — 9.72%
28. New Orleans, Louisiana. — 9.33%
29. San Antonio, Texas. — 9.14%
30. Charlotte, North Carolina. — 8.84%
31. Phoenix, Arizona. — 7.76%
32. Nashville, Tennessee. — 7.47%
33. Denver, Colorado. — 5.70%
34. Honolulu, Hawaii. — 4.91%
None of These. — 26.62%

Key Takeaways on the Major US Cities Americans Avoid at All Costs

Detroit, Michigan is the winner of major US cities that Americans avoid traveling to at all costs. – Detroit, Michigan is the major US city most avoided by American travelers. Nearly 23% of American adults stated they would avoid traveling to Detroit at all costs. This means nearly a quarter of Americans will not travel to Detroit under any circumstances. Based on the recent census, the 22.5% that said this represents more than 58 million people. With those statistics in mind, I have visited Detroit several times myself and have not experienced any issues.

Chicago, Illinois takes second place and Atlanta, Georgia takes third place for major US cities that Americans avoid traveling to at all costs. – Chicago, Illinois is the second most avoided major US city for travelers. 21.71% of American adults said they would avoid traveling to Chicago at all costs. This equates to more than 56 million people. Atlanta, Georgia ranks as the third most avoided major US city on our list. 18.47% of American adults or nearly 48 million people said they would avoid traveling to Atlanta at all costs.

Surprisingly, San Francisco is not in the top five major US cities Americans avoid traveling to at all costs. But, New York City is. – In the last few years, San Francisco’s reputation has plunged across America. At least where I live, there seems to constantly be a news story about theft or burglary in San Francisco. San Francisco’s residents are becoming frustrated by the city’s reputation. Despite all of this, San Francisco is not ranked in the top five major US cities Americans avoid traveling to at all costs. San Francisco comes ranked only in 7th with 15.62% of people avoiding it at all costs. On the other hand, New York City, once referred to as “The Capital of the World”, is the fourth most avoided US city for American travelers.

Honolulu, Hawaii is the least likely major US city Americans will avoid traveling to at all costs. – Honolulu is the least likely major US city on our list for American travelers to avoid. Only 4.91% of American adults said they would avoid traveling to Honolulu. This is nearly five times less than the amount of people who said they would avoid going to Detroit, Michigan.

More than a quarter of all American adults do not avoid traveling to any major US cities. – More than one out of every four American adults said that there was not a single major US city on our list that they avoid visiting. The 26.62% that said this represents more than 69 million people. More than 69 million American adults would likely travel to any major US city. I personally would fit in this category as well. Having traveled to all 50 states, over 40 countries, and hundreds of cities, I have not had any trouble yet and thus would not avoid any city.

Survey Methodology

This 2023 Major US Cities Americans Avoid Traveling to at All Costs Survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer. In total, 1,020 Americans over the age of 18 were polled on August 8. Of those surveyed, 46.76% were male and 53.24% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 18.76% in the range 18-29, 28.88% in the range 30-44, 37.03% in the range 45-60, and 15.32% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±3.134%. You can learn more about SurveyMonkey’s sampling method by clicking here.

The questions were chosen and the results were analyzed by the post author, Eric Jones, who is a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.