Description of a Shane Company ranking of Best Cities for Happy Hour in the U.S. Where does Sacramento rank?
Shane Company employees, who are fond of the practice, apparently decided to conduct an analysis of the best cities for Happy Hour in the U.S. – and Sacramento landed a spot on the list.
The list of the top 20 Best Cities for Happy Hour was determined using data from Yelp utilizing the following Happy Hour factors:
- Cost of Happy Hour
- Number of Happy Hour Spots
- Number of Reviews for Happy Hour Spots (averaged)
- Star Rating of Happy Hour Spots (averaged)
- Price Level of Happy Hour Spots (averaged)
- Number of “Perfect” Happy Hour Spots
SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)
What makes a “Perfect” Happy Hour Spot? The analysis used the following Yelp ratings:
- Good for Happy Hour
- Outdoor Seating
- Dogs Allowed
- Live Music
- Parking
In my book “good for happy hour” includes reduced price drinks and yummy “bites” to share. I also gravitate to outdoor seating (weather permitting) and easy to find parking. I love my dog, but I am not in the habit of taking him to Happy Hour (don’t tell him I could have taken him with me!). As for live music – great if it is background music and I can easily talk to my companions – otherwise I will pass on music. To enjoy music, I can always go to a concert.
Each city was ranked according to the factors listed.
Best Cities for Happy Hour

The #1 Best City for Happy Hour was Phoenix, AZ with a total score of 40.3. The number #20 spot was claimed by Seattle, WA with a total score of 30.7.
Where did Sacramento rank of the list of Best Cities for Happy Hour? Sacramento claimed the middle spot at #10 with a total score of 34.6.
California cities on the Best Cities for Happy Hour list:
- #2 – San Diego (total score of 39.8)
- #4 – Los Angeles (total score of 37.3)
- #10 – Sacramento (total score 34.6)
- #13 – San Francisco (total score 33.3)
- #16 – Riverside (total score of 32.4)
Sacramento did not make the list of cities with the highest score for each ranking factor, but San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego did:
- San Francisco (average number of reviews for Happy Hour spots)
- Los Angeles (number of “Perfect” Happy Hour spots)
- San Diego (average number of reviews for Happy Hour spots and number of “Perfect” Happy Hour spots)
See related blog post: Where does Sacramento rank?
What is your favorite Sacramento Happy Hour watering hole? What is the “Perfect” Happy Hour to you?
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