Utah Snubbed! List Says July 4th Here No Bueno!

WalletHub has released its annual rankings of the best cities in America to celebrate the Fourth of July, and apparently whoever compiled the list has never been west of the Wasatch Front.

The personal finance website evaluated the nation's 100 largest cities using factors such as affordability, attractions, safety, weather and holiday activities. Las Vegas took the top spot, followed by New York City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Fair enough. But then things start getting a little... suspicious.

San Bernardino, California, made the list.

San Bernardino.

Meanwhile, not a single Utah city earned a spot.

C'mon, son.

Apparently WalletHub's researchers have never heard of the Stadium of Fire in Provo, where tens of thousands of people gather each Independence Day for one of the country's largest patriotic celebrations. The fireworks alone are enough to convince the folks aboard the International Space Station that someone accidentally launched another space program. Add in a major concert featuring nationally known performers, military tributes and a crowd that's every bit as enthusiastic as the pyrotechnics, and you've got an event that's hard to ignore. Around here, not only do the fireworks get lit up—the audience does too.

Granted, WalletHub only ranked the nation's 100 largest cities, which automatically excluded many of Utah's beloved Independence Day destinations. But Provo comfortably qualifies by population, making its omission all the more baffling.

Perhaps the rankings leaned too heavily on restaurant prices or hotel costs. Maybe someone decided a city gets bonus points if you can celebrate Independence Day while sitting in traffic for three hours. Who knows?

Utahns, meanwhile, will continue doing what they've always done: filling parks before sunrise for pancake breakfasts, lining Main Streets for hometown parades, spending the afternoon at rodeos and family reunions, and wrapping up the evening with spectacular fireworks against some of the most scenic backdrops in America.