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This Florida city ranks as the worst for summer travel. Here’s why

Ranking looked at air travel, driving scores, and more

Downtown Jacksonville skyline (Travis Gibson, Copyright 2023 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

Forbes has released its list of the worst cities for summer travel, examining some of the most populated cities in the country to do so.

The study used factors like crime rates, hotel prices, delayed flights and fatal crashes to figure out which cities suffer the most during the summer travel season.

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Of the cities used in the study, Forbes determined that the No. 1 spot — the worst on the list — belonged to Jacksonville.

According to Forbes, Jacksonville scored the lowest in terms of walkability, and third-lowest for access to public transportation.

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In addition, Forbes pointed out the following issues with Jacksonville when it comes to summer travel:

  • Jacksonville International Airport has the second-highest percentage of disrupted summer flights on the list
  • Sixth-fewest parking lots and garages on the list
  • Eight-highest crime rate on the list
  • Ranked Eighth for fewest restaurants with four or more stars on Tripadvisor

Coming in No. 2 on the list is Colorado Springs, and Fresno, California rounded out the No. 3 spot.

Within Florida, two other cities ranked a bit further down: Tampa at No. 8, and Miami at No. 10.

Both of those Florida cities performed relatively well when it came to the actual city experience, but Tampa suffered when it comes to driving through the area, and both had a poor performance when it came to air travel.

Meanwhile, the full ranking is as follows:

RankCityCity Experience ScoreAir Travel ScoreDriving Experience Score
1Jacksonville, FL10071.3882.19
2Colorado Springs, CO91.0510053.42
3Fresno, CA71.4857.2577.40
4Memphis, TN66.3766.2971.23
5Albuquerque, NM67.9050.4376.54
6Indianapolis, IN53.2067.4164.90
7Louisville, KY26.4761.59100
8Tampa, FL34.0272.3773.97
9Tucson, AZ31.3351.9296.58
10Miami, FL12.0292.6961.30
11Kansas City, MO48.7255.7657.36
12Las Vegas, NV20.3377.9457.71
13Dallas, TX37.9850.0670.03
14Milwaukee, WI25.3271.2553.25
15El Paso, TX24.9466.2946.06
16Phoenix, AZ43.3519.9582.19
17Oklahoma City, OK31.3357.3745.03
18Denver, CO60.7436.9331.16
19Sacramento, CA34.4041.8859.25

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