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At Going, we aim every day to help our members get amazing cheap flight deals, no matter where they want to go.
When it comes to deals to destinations within the US, we typically save our members around $200 per ticket, and we have high standards to ensure our members only get the best deals. We don’t send out alerts about flights on airlines like Spirit or Frontier, for example, or flights with multiple layovers or super-short notice.
We send deals to destinations all around the US, but the fact remains that some destinations see more deals than others thanks to a number of factors, including the number of airlines serving the area and the amount of competition on various routes to and from that city.
If you’re looking to visit one of the cities on our "best" list, you’ve got an excellent chance of scoring an amazing deal. But if you want to visit a city not on this list, don’t worry. We still find deals to out-of-the-way spots across the US all the time. We even found an average of one deal per month to small airports like Asheville, Eugene, Columbus, and Rochester.
The places that see the most frequent deals have a few things in common: They’re major leisure destinations with large airports (or multiple airports) that are served by many airlines and have a lot of competition, which helps keep prices low.
Even the 10th-best airport on our list saw deals to the destination about once per week on average in the past year. Eagle-eyed readers may also notice that the lowest price sent is the same among a few destinations. That’s because some of our lowest prices were found in large nationwide deals with the same fare to multiple destinations.
Here are the US cities we sent the most deals to in the previous 12 months.
10. Seattle, Washington
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport—affectionately known as SeaTac—narrowly escaped the top-10 list for busiest US airports, coming in at a cool 11th place. No doubt, though, it’s the busiest in the Pacific Northwest, acting as a hub for both Alaska Airlines and Delta. A total of 36 airlines serve the airport, 10 of which are domestic, connecting travelers to 94 domestic destinations on nonstop routes. In the past year, we’ve found an average of five deals per month from US cities to Seattle.
Number of deals in the past year: 57
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Seattle:
- Minneapolis, Detroit, and Atlanta to Seattle for $129 roundtrip nonstop
- Dallas to Seattle for $178 roundtrip nonstop
- St. Louis to Seattle for $157 roundtrip
>> See cheap flights to Seattle
9. Orlando, Florida
Orlando’s MCO is Florida’s busiest airport. Last year, it unseated Tampa for the Florida destination with the second-largest amount of deals found by Going. It’s a hub for Silver Airways, a focus city for JetBlue, and an operating base for Avelo, Frontier, Spirit, and Breeze; it’s also now the main South Florida base for Southwest (formerly Fort Lauderdale). There are direct flights to Orlando from about 100 cities all over the US, so it’s easy—and typically pretty inexpensive—to get here from all corners of the country.
Number of deals in the past year: 59
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Orlando:
- Evansville to Orlando for $100 roundtrip nonstop
- Philadelphia to Orlando for $90 roundtrip
- Salt Lake City to Orlando for $158 roundtrip nonstop
>> See cheap flights to Orlando
8. Denver, Colorado
The second-largest airport in the world by land area, Denver is also one of the busiest airports in the US. It has 24 airlines (11 domestic) serving 204 destinations, including 176 destinations in the US; it’s also a hub for United and Frontier, as well as an operating base for Southwest. With so many available routes to Denver, you can get there from just about anywhere in the US, including many smaller airports—on a direct flight that won’t break the bank, no less.
Number of deals in the past year: 63
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Denver:
- Houston and Des Moines to Denver for $139 roundtrip
- Billings and Missoula to Denver for $189 roundtrip
- Chicago to Denver for $117 roundtrip
>> See cheap flights to Denver
7. Chicago, Illinois
For anyone who has flown through Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD), it may not be a surprise that it’s one of the busiest airports in the world (eighth-busiest by passenger traffic). It’s a hub for both United and American and an operating base for Spirit and Frontier—all together, it’s served by 13 domestic airlines offering direct flights to Chicago from 168 cities in the US.
Chicago has even more flight options, though, thanks to a second airport, Midway (MDW), which is an operating base for Frontier and Southwest, and offers direct flights to 75 US cities on five domestic airlines.
You can get to Chicago from just about anywhere in the US on a direct or one-stop flight, which means whether you’re craving a good old-fashioned Chicago deep-dish pizza or something from one of the city’s many Michelin-starred restaurants, you can be there in just a few hours—and usually for not much money.
Number of deals in the past year: 75
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Chicago:
- Atlanta to Chicago for $118 roundtrip
- Baltimore to Chicago for $131 roundtrip
- Reno, Portland, and Philadelphia to Chicago for $139 roundtrip
>> See cheap flights to Chicago
6. San Francisco Bay Area, California
The San Francisco Bay Area has several airports, with two major ones (SFO and OAK) an easy train ride from the city. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the biggest airport in the Bay Area and behind only LAX as the busiest California airport by passenger traffic. It’s United’s fifth-largest hub and is served by 10 domestic airlines with direct flights from 78 US cities.
Across the Bay, the smaller Oakland (OAK) airport is served by nine domestic airlines and has direct flights from 42 cities; it’s an operating base for Southwest, which helps drive prices down across the board, especially on flights to and from Hawaii.
Number of deals in the past year: 76
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to San Francisco:
- Atlanta to SF for $179 roundtrip
- Cincinnati to SF for $157 roundtrip nonstop
- Salt Lake City to SF for $78 roundtrip
>> See cheap flights to San Francisco and Oakland
5. Washington, DC
Washington, DC, has two major airports located within about 25 miles of the city—Reagan National (DCA) and Dulles (IAD); there’s also Baltimore (BWI), about 32 miles away. Dulles is the largest and is served by seven domestic airlines flying direct from 81 US cities; it’s a hub for Southern Airways Express and United Airlines. Reagan National is the smallest but closest to DC and is served by eight domestic airlines with direct flights from 102 US cities; it’s a hub for American. That means that no matter where you are in the US, you can likely get to DC with one stop or less, no matter which airline you prefer or which airport in DC you’d rather fly into.
Number of deals in the past year: 80
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to DC:
- Cleveland and Columbus to DC for $107 roundtrip
- Orlando to DC for $138 roundtrip
- LA to DC for $187 roundtrip
>> See cheap flights to Washington, DC
4. Greater Los Angeles, California
With an average of nine deals per month to LA, the City of Angels is accessible at a good price to just about any traveler in the US. The eighth-busiest airport in the world and the fourth-busiest airport in the US, LA’s main airport LAX is served by 15 domestic airlines and offers direct flights from 108 destinations across the US. It’s also a hub or focus city for more airlines than any other airport in the US. It’s a hub for Alaska, American, Delta, and United and an operating base for JetBlue, Allegiant, and Southwest. Additionally, there’s competition from several other airports in the LA area, including in Burbank, Santa Ana, Ontario, and Long Beach. Due to all that, LA is consistently one of the cities where we see the most deals.
Number of deals in the past year: 103
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Los Angeles:
- Miami to LA for $178 roundtrip
- Kansas City to LA for $198 roundtrip
- Washington, DC, to LA for $158 roundtrip
3. Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The Miami/Fort Lauderdale region of South Florida is another area with two competing airports less than an hour from each other that help keep prices low and deals frequent.
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) is a hub for Silver Airways and a focus city or operating base for Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, and Allegiant. In total, 12 domestic airlines serve the airport, and there are direct flights to FLL from 58 US destinations. These help keep deals frequent, and downward pressure from competition at nearby Miami airport helps even more.
The Miami airport (MIA) has 11 domestic airlines serving it. It’s a hub for American Airlines and an operating base for Frontier and Spirit. It’s also the busiest airport in the state by airport operations (second to Orlando by passenger traffic). In all, there are nonstop domestic routes from 79 airports in just about all corners of the country.
Between the two airports, we found our members an average of 9 deals per month in the past 12 months.
Number of deals in the past year: 105
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Miami/Fort Lauderdale:
- Philadelphia to Miami for $139 roundtrip
- Austin to Miami for $196 roundtrip during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour
- New Orleans to Fort Lauderdale for $65 roundtrip
>> See cheap flights to Miami and Fort Lauderdale
2. New York City metropolitan area, New York
One of the most popular destinations in the US (and arguably, the world), New York City is associated with two major airports a short jaunt from the city (along with Newark in New Jersey). In the past 12 months, we’ve sent 118 deals to them. That means, on average (depending on departure airport), a member might have had as many as 10 chances per month to snag a cheap flight to the Big Apple.
NYC’s busiest airport, JFK, has direct flights from 52 cities in the US and is a hub or focus city for American, Delta, and JetBlue. LaGuardia (LGA) has direct flights from even more US cities (56) and is a hub for American and Delta as well. Then, just across the bay, you also have all of the connections that Newark has to offer. With so many airlines, routes, and even airport options, there’s a lot of incentive for airlines to keep deals to NYC frequent—and they do.
Number of deals in the past year: 118
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to New York airports:
- Detroit to NYC for $87 roundtrip
- Houston to NYC for $110 roundtrip
- Pittsburgh and Miami to NYC for $158 roundtrip nonstop over New Year’s Eve
>> See cheap flights to New York City
1. The Hawaiian islands
Gone are the days when flying to Hawaii for cheap was an unrealistic dream. In recent years, the number of flights has increased (mostly thanks to the addition of Southwest flying to and from the islands), and we’ve seen the number of deals rise accordingly.
It’s important to note that this increase in affordable flights wasn’t always for the best. In the summer of 2021, Hawaii’s governor asked tourists to stay away, as the island simply couldn’t cope with the number of visitors during Covid. Then, in August 2023, a massive wildfire largely destroyed the historic district of Lahaina. While Lahaina remains closed, the rest of Maui is open and the government of Hawaii has begun to welcome visitors again across the islands post-Covid. However, the debate remains about whether or not it’s ethical to visit.
While the Hawaiian islands are only served by six domestic airlines offering direct flights from about 23 mainland US cities, there’s a lot of competition that helps keep the deals coming on a regular basis. In the past year, we’ve found 166 deals to Hawaii—nearly 14 per month—so for those who do feel comfortable going, there is plenty of opportunity to snag a deal.
Number of deals in the past year: 166
Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Hawaii airports:
- East Coast to Maui for $420 roundtrip
- Phoenix to Kona for $238 roundtrip nonstop
- LA to Honolulu for $143 roundtrip with free bags
>> See cheap flights to Hawaii
Methodology
The Flight Experts at Going look at thousands of possible airfare deals every week. When a deal meets our standards, we send it out to our 2+ million members, saving them an average of $200 on each domestic flight.
Deals to some US cities are simply more prevalent than deals to others, and there are a number of factors that impact fares and frequency of deals—including the number of airports in the city, the number of airlines serving those airports, and the amount of competition on various routes to and from that city.
To determine which US cities are among the cheapest to reach right now, we looked at metro areas with a population of at least 300,000 people. We then tallied up the total number of deal emails we sent to members arriving at those airports between April 15, 2023, and April 15, 2024.
We chose to rank based on the volume of economy deals and average price because—while the price of the single best deal we found to one city might be lower than the price of the single best deal we found to another—volume is the better indicator of a traveler’s likelihood of snagging a great price.
Join Going to get amazing deals like these delivered right to your inbox. Members save an average of $200 on each domestic flight.
Published December 13, 2023
Last updated May 31, 2024
