These 2 cities beat San Diego for Valentine’s Day top spot

The world’s best sunsets. Artisanal chocolatiers. Restaurants with killer food or killer views — and sometimes both. A decent chance of full sunshine in mid-February. Plenty of options for a first meetup, a wedding anniversary and everything in between.

You might think all this makes San Diego the No. 1 best city in America for celebrating Valentine’s Day.

But according to a WalletHub report, San Diego falls short.

Two places short.

First place went to San Francisco, whose reputation, WalletHub concedes, has taken a recent beating. But, the study also said, the city is also very walkable and dense with delicious restaurants.

“And for those who like to drink, it surprisingly has one of the lowest costs for beer and wine, when adjusted for the median household income,” a WalletHub blog post says.

Second place: Seattle.

With its drizzly (maybe that’s a code word for snuggly?) weather and toasty espresso roasters — and breathtaking natural scenery — and a number of indie bookstores — Seattle does seem carved by some master citysmith for Valentine’s Day bliss in a minor key. But the WalletHub study points to other factors, such as affordable yet well-regarded jewelry shops and a high frequency of Valentine’s Day internet searches, suggesting people there are invested and “want to make it special,” WalletHub said.

Perhaps befitting of this consumption-forward holiday, WalletHub’s study took a decidedly consumer-forward approach to its calculations, analyzing in 100 large U.S. cities the density of chocolate shops, greeting card shops and florists. It considered the price of a three-course meal for two and the price of other date experiences, and also considered weather and walkability.

The weather rating was based on how likely it was (as of mid-January) to rain or snow on Valentine’s Day (a minus) and how much colder the city was forecasted to be compared to the average temperature on Feb. 14.

Not calculated: How hard or easy it is in each city to find someone to date — let alone find lasting love — in the first place.

Here is how San Diego fared in eight categories:

• Overall ranking: No. 3
• No. 6: Florists per capita
• No. 8: Greeting-card stores and gift shops per capita
• No. 11: Chocolate shops per capita
• No. 12: Restaurants per capita
• No. 18: Average alcoholic beverage price
• No. 31: Jewelry stores per capita
• No. 34: Cost of a three-course meal for two
• No. 38^: Weather forecast for Valentine’s Day

The personal finance site also released a list of winners and losers:

• Florists per capita: winners are Miami and Orlando; Garland, Texas, placed last
• Chocolate shops per capita: Honolulu, New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas tied for first; Omaha placed last
• Jewelry stores per capita: Scottsdale and Orlando tied for first; Freemont placed last
• Cost of a three-course meal for two: Gilbert, Ariz., was cheapest and Hialeah, Fla., was most expensive
• Weather forecast for Valentine’s Day: New Orleans tops the list; Denver placed last

According to WalletHub the poorest performers across the board were: Cleveland, Birmingham, Newark, Detroit and Miami-suburb Hialeah, Fla. In California, San Bernardino fared worst, placing 95 out of 100.

If you are celebrating any version of Valentine’s Day this year, don’t feel pressured to overspend.

In a different survey, WalletHub found that 46 percent of Americans said their plans for the day are impacted by inflation and 24 percent said they expect their partner to spend not one cent on gifts.

“It’s common to spoil your partner on Valentine’s Day, but inflation can certainly put a damper on those plans,” said Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst, adding that it is “never a good idea to go into debt just to enjoy a holiday or give a gift.”

One token that costs nothing beyond paper and ink? A love poem. A few classics from across the ages: https://poets.org/love-poems