NYC Named Most Expensive Christmas Rental Destination

New York City is the most expensive U.S. destination to rent a car over the Christmas holiday, according to a survey conducted by comparison website CheapCarRental.net.

The survey examined car rental rates in 40 popular U.S. destinations over the time period spanning Dec. 23-27. For each city considered, the rate for the cheapest available rental car was established at the city’s major airport. 

In the Big Apple, travelers will pay $179 per day for the most affordable car, by far the highest rate among all destinations considered by the survey. When comparing the Christmas holiday rates to non-holiday winter rates, there’s a price increase of more than 223%.

Seattle and New Orleans rank as the second and third most expensive destinations for car rentals over the holidays, respectively. Travelers will pay $118 per day for the most affordable car rentals in Seattle and $109 per day for the most affordable car rentals in New Orleans.

Seattle’s rates are up more than 300% for Christmas. 

The least expensive destinations according to the survey include Louisville, Orlando, and San Antonio, where travelers can find rental cars for around $40 per day.

The following list shows the 10 U.S. destinations with the highest car rental rates over Christmas, along with a comparison against regular prices during the winter months. The rates shown reflect the average daily rate for the cheapest available car during the period spanning Dec. 23-27.

Each respective city's main airport was chosen as the pick-up and drop-off location.

1. New York City $179 (+223%)
2. Seattle $118 (+315%)
3. New Orleans $109 (+84%)
4. Denver $104 (+187%)
5. Honolulu $99 (+157%)
6. Boston $95 (+215%)
7. Pittsburgh $94 (+114%)
8. Minneapolis $87 (+84%)
9. Portland $86 (+118%)
10. Tampa $86 (+186%)