Here's where the holiday season's biggest spenders live, data shows

The holidays bring plenty of joy – and, unsurprisingly, plenty of spending. 

A new study by WalletHub is revealing where 2025’s biggest spenders are living this holiday season. 

WalletHub analyzed more than 550 U.S. cities to determine a maximum holiday budget for each, factoring in income, age, and savings-to-expenses ratios.

Palo Alto ranked city with highest holiday budget in 2025

By the numbers:

According to the financial company’s data, Palo Alto, California, had the highest average holiday budget, both among small cities and overall, at $4,485. 

The fact that Palo Alto ranked high isn’t too surprising given that it has the highest median annual household income in the nation, at nearly $229,000.

Plus, the average Palo Alto resident has nearly $8,000 left every month after paying all their essential expenses, and has nearly $27,000 in savings, WalletHub noted. 

For comparison, a Palo Alto resident’s $4,485 holiday budget is massive when put next to the lowest budget – $212 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. 

What they're saying:

"Depending on the city, an American’s holiday budget this year can range anywhere from just over $200 to more than $4,000, taking into account residents’ income, their existing debt obligations and the cost of living," Chip Lupo, an analyst for WalletHub, said in a statement. "Regardless of how well-off you are this season, it’s important to stick to a budget that fits your financial profile so you don’t rack up unsustainable debt and end up in a bad position after the holidays. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money, like hosting potlucks or giving handmade gifts."

San Jose ranked highest among large cities

Dig deeper:

In addition, the data showed that San Jose, California had the highest holiday budget among large cities, at $3,035 on average. 

Despite this, the city only ranked 29th-highest among all the cities studied, with many small and medium-sized cities having higher budgets. This makes sense given that large cities tend to have a larger mix of affluent and non-affluent residents, meaning a lower overall budget average.

Average holiday budget by city

1. Palo Alto, California
2. Mountain View, California
3. Newton, Massachusetts
4. Flower Mound, Texas
5. Kirkland, Washington

See the full report here.

Holiday sales to rise, despite more Americans living paycheck to paycheck

Big picture view:

According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales are projected to increase between 3.7% to 4.2% this year, reaching more than $1 trillion. 

At the same time, credit card debt remains a challenge. In the third quarter of 2025, the average household carried $10,227 in credit card debt, up 2.3% from the year before, according to WalletHub’s data. 

Another recent study also revealed that more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

The data found that nearly a quarter of all households (24%) were estimated as living paycheck to paycheck this year.

RELATED: More Americans living paycheck to paycheck, data shows

While this is an increase in the number of households year-over-year living paycheck to paycheck (0.3 percentage points), Bank of America, which conducted the study, said the pace of growth is nearly three times lower than last year.