San Diegans are projected to dig deep into their wallets this holiday season — spending an average of $1,063 each over the holidays — according to a WalletHub study.
San Diego ranked 129th out of 563 U.S. cities for the maximum holiday budget per person. Palo Alto rang in at No. 1, with an average holiday budget of $2,886 per person. Carlsbad ranked 26th on the list, with residents spending $1,673 each.
Cities were compared amid five factors, including income, age, debt-to-income ratio, monthly income to monthly expenses ratio and savings to monthly expenses ratio.
More than one third of consumers are expected to exceed their holiday spending budget, according to WalletHub.
A report from the San Diego Association of Governments released Dec. 1 predicted that people throughout the county will spend $5.3 billion on holiday retail and food purchases this month.
According to SANDAG chief economist Ray Major, each county resident will spend on average $1,600 on food and retail purchases in December, with $900 spent by adults on holiday gifts — a 20 percent increase in spending compared with other months.
More than 1.1 million tourists are expected to flock to San Diego during the holidays — enough to fill Qualcomm Stadium 16 times. Around 730,000 of those visitors will come from Mexico to shop in San Diego and visit family and friends, Major said. More than 90 percent of visitors are expected to travel to San Diego by car, racking up 104 million miles while traveling to the region.
Holiday spending this year will be the highest ever recorded, according to the National Retail Federation, with the average person spending $805.65, up from $802.45 in 2014.