Moving for Nightlife? How Much Does It Cost to Live in U.S. Party Cities

At iMoving, our main goal is to make moving easier. That’s why we’re the only place that lets customers shop, compare prices, and book their moving companies entirely online. But we also want to make sure our customers are as informed as possible before they commit to a move. 

We made this study so you know what you’re getting into - not just in terms of the partying and the clubs, but also in terms of the cost, the move, the packing… y’know, all that stuff you’re not usually worried about when you’re six mojitos deep. Read on to see what you can expect when you move to one of America’s best cities for nightlife, and see our top choices while you’re at it.

There’s thousands of cities in the US, and as much as we’d love to look up every single one and rate them based on their bars per capita, that wasn’t gonna happen. Fortunately, the folks at US News & World Report already compiled a list of the top 10 cities for nightlife - and to their credit, pretty much every other list of “best party cities” featured the same cast of characters. We used this as a jumping-off point.

Once we saw which cities were the most popular for partying, we started researching what it’d be like to actually live there. This meant searching up the population, the home prices, and how you’d get around. And of course, since we’re a moving company, we pulled numbers for the cost of moving in each town.

Now that you know how we put this whole thing together, let’s get to the good stuff. Read on to see what you can expect from living in each of America’s best cities for nightlife.

1. Las Vegas

• Population: 678,922
• Median Home Price: $437,324
• Average Rent: $1,899
• Getting around: Monorail, bus, walking
• Local Moving in Las Vegas: $1,362

Vegas is the classic nightlife destination. Living costs are more manageable than many big cities, but many residential areas sit farther from the Strip.

2. Miami Beach

• Population: 83,251
• Median Home Price: $524,305
• Average Rent: $3,300
• Getting around: Very walkable, but there are also trolleys and city buses
• Local Moving in Miami Beach: $852

Miami Beach is pretty compact, and it’s much more walkable than the rest of Miami. The monthly rent is steep, but you get what you pay for: convenient beach access and all the clubs you could ask for.

3. New York City

• Population: 8,478,072
• Median Home Price: $795,968
• Average Rent: $2,950
• Getting around: Subway or cab, but New York is super walkable anyway.
• Local Moving in New York City: $1,353

New York City may be expensive, but it has the added benefit of being much more than a party destination. Assuming you can afford it, you get to live in the center of the universe.

4. New Orleans

• Population: 362,701
• Median Home Price: $244,848
• Average Rent: $1,750
• Getting around: The party areas are all walkable. There are also streetcars.
• Local Moving in New Orleans: $1,944

In New Orleans, all the nightlife hotspots are walkable. There’s the French Quarter, Downtown, and the Arts/Warehouse District. Unfortunately, everything between these spots can be pretty sketchy.

5. Los Angeles

• Population: 3,878,704
• Median Home Price: $984,421
• Average Rent: $2,335
• Getting around: Super car-centric. If you wanna avoid traffic, there’s Metro Rail.
• Local Moving in Los Angeles: $1,587

LA has plenty of bars, clubs, and entertainment. The big question (aside from the affordability) is getting to the good stuff in the first place. The whole area is spread out, with hour-plus traffic between each smaller city and town.

6. Nashville

• Population: 704,963
• Median Home Price: $448,899
• Average Rent: $2,100
• Getting around: Broadway is very walkable. The rest of Nashville is pretty car-oriented.
• Local Moving in Nashville: $1,953

Nashville’s a great spot for live music. The main nightlife hub is Broadway, which is thankfully compact and easy to walk around. Unfortunately, the rest of the city is pretty car-oriented, so you’ll have to uber in and out.

7. Chicago

• Population: 2,721,308
• Median Home Price: $309,809
• Average Rent: $1,805
• Getting around: Very walkable (there’s even pedestrian tunnels). The Chicago “L”, too.
• Local Moving in Chicago: $1,115

Yes, during the winter Chicago freezes over. That’s why they have the Pedway to keep you sheltered from the elements. And when it’s not -50º, Chicago has some great street fairs, mainly during the summer.

8. Austin

• Population: 993,588
• Median Home Price: $536,565
• Average Rent: $1,900
• Getting around: Car recommended; ridesharing is your best bet. Light rail doesn’t work sundays.
• Local Moving in Austin: $912

There’s a lot of footage going around of Sixth Street getting pretty ratchet, but that’s part of the appeal. There’s also a solid variety of bars and clubs: a little bit of everything depending on your tastes.

9. San Diego

• Population: 1,404,452
• Median Home Price: $1,033,526
• Average Rent: $2,801
• Getting around: Aside from cars/rideshares, the trolley is pretty solid. It’s more of a light rail.
• Local Moving in San Diego: $1,633

San Diego’s rent may not be as bad as Miami’s, but a $1 million buy-in is enough to scare most folks away from home ownership. There are cheaper suburbs, but getting to the Gaslamp can be quite a mission.

10. Denver

• Population: 729,019
• Median Home Price: $568,754
• Average Rent: $1,995
• Getting around: Surprisingly walkable. There’s a lot of ebikes and bike rentals.
• Local Moving in Denver: $889

Lower Downtown (asininely renamed LoDo by the real estate/marketing crowd) is Denver’s nightlife neighborhood. The whole city caters to the bespectacled, flannel-and-beard crowd, so expect ebikes and bike rentals all the way to SoDoSoPa.

There are a lot of good options, but from a moving and living standpoint, a couple cities deserve honorable mention. We ranked our top choices based on a few key factors, namely affordability, walkability, and the maximum distance someone would have to move for a long distance move.

Best for Budget: New Orleans

New Orleans is our top choice for anyone on a budget. If you want to live in a party town, New Orleans won’t break the bank. We really recommend it for younger folks, especially since the rent is the lowest we saw out of all 10 cities.

Pros:

• Great for younger folks
• Inexpensive
• Lots of culture and history
• (Mostly) good weather

Cons:

• Definitely some sketchy parts of town
• Hot, humid summers

We kept long distance moving in mind when we made our list. Some cities, such as San Diego or Miami Beach, are situated at one extreme end of the country or the other. This means long distance moving can be super expensive, especially if you’re on the opposite coast. Know what party town is kinda close to everyone? Austin, Texas, baby.

Pros:

• Not too expensive
• Nice blend of left and right politics (if you care about that sort of thing)
• Lots of variety in bars and clubs
• Cheapest bet for long distance moving

Cons:

• Sixth Street getting kinda gross
• Too many LA people moving in

Las Vegas is the quintessential party city. But should party people LIVE there? From our research… it’s may actually be better to visit. The residential areas are situated pretty far from the strip, and it can be a bit of a hike to get to the action. Meanwhile, all the hotels, casinos, clubs, and bars are all built right on top of each other. Pretty easy to see who the city’s geared towards.

Pros:

• Probably home to more bars and clubs than anywhere else on the list
• It’s Vegas
• VEGAS
• You can rent a tank and run over cars with it I’ve seen it for real

Cons:

• Not the cheapest for housing
• Suburbs are pretty far from the fun

If you’re moving for nightlife (or anything else), iMoving helps you shop, compare prices and book online with vetted movers. Tell us your move details once, compare options fast, and lock in the service you want without wasting time.