With the holidays fast approaching, we analyzed some festively-named cities across the country for some fun facts!
Bethlehem City, PA If you are traveling to this city of 75,000 this holiday season, chances are you won’t need to stay in a manger. Rather, you’ll have 45 “traveler accommodations” to choose from in the area (Lehigh County, PA), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). And if you still need a gift for a loved one, you may be in luck! Bethlehem has one “toy, doll, and game” manufacturer. Bethlehem is part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metro Area. It is located about 80 minutes from Philadelphia and about 90 minutes from Manhattan.
Los Angeles, CA If you visit the City of Angeles, you may be interested to know that the name Los Angeles (“The Angels”) comes from the name of the original pueblo settlement called “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles” (“The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels”). There is some dispute about the exact wording.
The city of LA has a population of 3,966,936 while the county is 10,081,570, according to the US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS). LA County is the most populous county in the United States.
If Santa needs some assistance back in the toy shop, there are 11,480 “Helpers-Production Workers” in LA County, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics (OES). There is no data about how many of these may be humans versus elves.
For those of you who need to augment Santa’s bounty with some gifts of your own, you’ll find 579 “Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores” in LA County (QCEW).
Snowflake, AZ Located in north-central Arizona, Snowflake was founded by Erastus Snow and William Flake. It is about 50 minutes from the Petrified Forest National Park. It has a population of 5,811 (ACS).
It does snow a bit in the region, around 1.8 inches in December and 1.3 in January. November and February – April also get snow. In July the average high is 92.7 degrees with 1.2 inches of rain, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
Star, ID If you find yourself following a star in your travels this season, or simply want to learn more about the stars, you can visit the Whittenberger Planetarium in Star, Idaho. The best time of the year to see stars in Star is August. There are 2.4 days with a trace or more of precipitation in August (NOAA). Star is about 30 minutes west of Boise and has a population of 9,115 (ACS), compared to 710,743 in the Boise metro area overall.
Michigan takes the prize for most cities with Christmas-related names. Other U.S. cities with Christmassy themed names include the following, many of which also feature magical holiday celebrations:
Bethlehem, NC
Christmas, FL
Christmas, MI
Christmas Cove, ME
Christmas Valley, OR
Dasher, GA
Eggnog, UT
Evergreen, AL
Garland, TX
Holly Springs, MS
Joy, IL
Mistletoe, KY
Mount Holly, NC
Nazareth, PA
Noel, MO
North Pole, AL
North Pole, NY
Rudolph, WI
St. Mary’s GA
Saint Joseph, MI
Santa, ID
Santa Claus, AZ
Santa Claus, GA
Santa Claus, IN
Sugar Land, TX
Wintergreen, VA
Winter Park, FL
Happy Holidays to You!