The Best U.S. Cities to Celebrate Día de Los Muertos

It’s not Mexican Halloween.

Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a 2-day celebration that coincides with All Saint’s Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2). Both those Catholic traditions center on communing with departed ancestors. But the belief that ancestors visit their living family members at this time actually stretches back 3,000 years to the Aztec culture in Central Mexico.

Today, the holiday blends Indigenous traditions with European-influenced spooky season festivities and is popular in places where Mexican and Hispanic heritage is strong.

From sugar skulls and cookies to decorated shop windows, “ofrenda altars” and cemetery visits, some locales pull out all the stops to make the holiday memorable.

We wanted to know the best cities in the U.S. where you can fully experience this distinctive tradition, so we scored cities in three categories:

Mexican Culture Score 🌮🥑🏜️

• The percentage of Hispanic/Latino population (Census)
• The percentage of households where Spanish is spoken at home (Census)

Muertos Score 🏚️💀🕯️

• The number of cemeteries (Findagrave.com)
• The number of historical Hispanic buildings (National Register of Historical Buildings)

Festivities Score 🪅🎉💃

• Public events as listed on Google
• Parades in the city as listed on Google
• Whether the city has been featured in top lists by major travel sites (Viator, Afar, and Lonely Planet)

Whether you’re drawn by the history or the festivities, these cities offer the perfect places to celebrate Día de Los Muertos firsthand.

Big Takeaways

• Los Angeles is the #1 best city for celebrating Día de Los Muertos, and every city in the top 10 was once part of Mexico.
• El Paso is #1 for Mexican culture with 83% of its population Hispanic and 65% speaking Spanish at home.
• Albuquerque #1 has the highest Muertos Score: With a high number of cemeteries and centuries of Mexican and Mexican American residents, it’s the perfect spot for dancing with spirits for your Día de Los Muertos celebrations.
• #2 San Antonio ties with #1 Los Angeles for its abundance of festivities. From parades to art workshops where you can design your own sugar skulls, these cities revel in the authentic celebrations at the heart of Día de Los Muertos.
• Which states search Día de Los Muertos the most? New Mexico residents search “Day of the Dead” and “Día de Los Muertos” the most per capita, followed by California and Texas.

The 10 Best Cities to Celebrate Día de Los Muertos

1. Los Angeles: The largest, most immersive celebrations in the country

With historic Olvera Street celebrations lasting 9 full days, it’s hard to outdo Los Angeles for its dedication to Day of the Dead merrymaking. Located in the El Pueblo de Los Angeles historical monument, the city’s historic hub is a testament to its Mexican heritage (L.A.’s slate of historical Hispanic buildings was the 2nd highest among all U.S. cities).

During the celebration, the neighborhood’s marketplace boasts Mexican restaurants and street vendors offering holiday classics, like pan de muerto (a traditional sweet bread), and displaying altars decked with marigolds, candles, and photos of ancestors. Processions, dancers, and performers keep the party hopping.

Los Angeles rises to the top of the list partly due to its top festivities score, with events like the one held at the famed Hollywood Forever Cemetery — the largest celebration in the country. It features multiple headlining acts, a skeleton (calaca) costume competition, art installations, a children’s stage, and even VIP tickets.

2. San Antonio: A vibrant cultural hub with parades and art-filled festivities

San Antonio is a party town. #2 on our list, San Antonio is tops in Día de Los Muertos festivities, tying with Los Angeles, meaning there are plenty of ways to celebrate the dead. One of the city’s largest events is Hemisfair Muertos Fest, a 2-day free festival featuring multiple stages, a curated altar competition, and plenty of awe-inspiring costumes and art installations.

Another event takes place in La Villita, San Antonio’s oldest neighborhood, reuniting the colonial quarter with its Mexican roots. Participants can enjoy street dancing to Mariachi bands or just take in the sights, from giant, dynamic puppets, to the river parade, a procession of colorful barges floating down the San Antonio River.

3. Albuquerque: Marigold-covered streets, candlelight, and rich Hispanic traditions.

Old town Albuquerque’s cozy alleys are strung with glowing twinkle lights and papel picado flags for a week-long Día de Los Muertos celebration that includes a candlelight procession and “marigold mile,” as strings of flowers festoon the neighborhood. Take in the South Valley Marigold Parade to see bikes, floats, and cars decorated with bright flowers.

Albuquerque’s population is 48.6% Hispanic (5th among the 99 cities we surveyed), and Hispanic heritage is baked into its material culture, with 13 listed on the National Register of Historical Buildings, more than any other city in our ranking. It’s easy for visitors here to get a feel for the traditions of Mexico.

4. El Paso: Authentic, bordertown celebrations

El Paso abuts the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, which lies just across the Rio Grande, so it’s only fitting that the Texas city tops our list in the Hispanic culture category. A substantial 82.8% of its population boasts Hispanic origins and 65% speak Spanish at home.

For the largest celebration, head to the Día de Los Muertos celebration in San Jacinta Plaza, El Paso’s central square, less than a mile from the Mexican border. You’ll find a main stage, altars, and a parade to honor the dead.

5. San Francisco: Processions honoring ancestral and modern traditions

Though farthest from the current Mexican border compared to any other city in the top 10, San Francisco hosts numerous Día de Los Muertos events and festivities. Though farthest from the Mexican border among the top 10 cities, San Francisco hosts numerous Día de Los Muertos events.  With significant Hispanic heritage landmarks, like the grand Presidio, the city honors both local and ancestral Mexican culture, celebrating its rich history and traditions."

The Mission District, known for its Hispanic community, hosts the biggest party in town. There’s a traditional candlelit procession on November 2, with costumed participants in traditional skeleton face paint, a festival of altars, and nods to the political reality of San Francisco’s LatinX community in modern times, including oppression and violence.

6. San Diego: Hosts one of the biggest Dia de Los Muertos processions

San Diego’s Old Town hosts one of the largest Día de Los Muertos celebrations in Southern California, with a procession leading from the Old Town State Historic Park to the El Campo Santo Cemetery. Altars abound in the district, in restaurants and museums, as well as outside family homes. You can even visit an altar-making workshop.

7. Phoenix: Mariachi, dancing, and tradition abound

With 200 cemeteries across the county and notable historical Hispanic landmarks such as Guadalupe Cemetery, Greater Phoenix has preserved and grown its ties to communities no longer with us. That makes it an ideal place to take in one of the Valley’s festivals celebrating Día de Los Muertos.

At the Desert Botanical Garden, check out a week's worth of activities, including mariachi music, dancing, altars, and a procession. Later, visit Mesa Arts Center’s festivities to delight in the giant puppet parade.

8. Tucson: Eclectic, artistic celebrations with a deep spiritual connection

With its 170 cemeteries and home to El Tiradito, or Wishing Shrine, a legendary site known for supernatural interventions Tucson carries a deep connection to the past. This cultural center, just 70 miles from the Mexican border, naturally also embraces its Día de Los Muertos celebrations.

Its largest celebration is distinct from other cities on the list. The All Souls Procession was started in 1990 by a local artist and grew to represent the artistic community’s multiple ethnic and artistic diversities. Today, you may see Indigenous Aztec dancers, Asian dancers, political statements, and bagpipe laments, alongside traditional Mexican elements. At the end, a giant urn filled with offerings and messages is burned.

9. Austin: A lively artistic parade with cultural and modern tributes

Austin’s single-day parade and event, hosted by the Mexic-Arte Museum, embraces all the pageantry and giant puppets you might expect in a Día de Los Muertos celebration. Last year, Austin’s parade included both pre-Colombian floats and altars mourning school shooting victims at Uvalde, underscoring that the processions offer grieving communities a way to come together to celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

The city also has 222 cemeteries to visit to honor the dead, and many avenues to explore holiday celebrations, from altar-making and music to processions. Try San Jose Cemetery I and II where you can take part in decorations and a concert.

10. Bakersfield, CA: Family-centered, community-driven celebrations

With a deep-rooted Mexican heritage, Bakersfield may not have the largest public events, but its local traditions shine. 57.1% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, and 40% of residents speak Spanish at home, giving it an exceptionally high Mexican Culture score. The city hosted large numbers of early Mexican settlers and, later, Mexican migrants seeking work in California’s agricultural industry.

To celebrate, visit the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the annual Bakersfield Dia de Los Muertos celebrations. The one-day event includes beautifully crafted altars, folklorico dancers, and art installations. In this agricultural region, the holiday remains primarily family-centered.

The 10 States Searching Día de Los Muertos the Most

We looked at Google Trends searches for both “Día de Los Muertos” and “the Day of the Dead” to see which state residents have the highest interest in the holiday.

1. New Mexico
2. California
3. Texas
4. Arizona
5. Nevada
6. Illinois
7. Colorado
8. Utah
9. Washington
10. Oregon

While the cities with the largest Día de Los Muertos celebrations all take place in areas with strong ties to Hispanic populations, in states that were all once Mexican territory, we found some surprises in the list of states with high interest in the holiday.

Illinois, Oregon, Washington, and most of Colorado were never part of Mexican territory. Illinois doesn’t even touch a state that was once part of Mexico. But not all Hispanic people celebrate Día de Los Muertos (let alone all Mexicans). So interest in the holiday may be spreading from areas that were once Mexican territory to surrounding states regardless of the ethnic origins of celebrants. That explains the lower interest in states with high Mexican heritage, like Idaho or Florida.

Día de Los Muertos may also be gaining popularity in states with high Mexican populations, like Illinois, even when they are far from the cemeteries and cultural heritage that gave rise to the holiday. After all, visiting cemeteries is only part of celebrating a reciprocal relationship with deceased loved ones.

Bring Dia de Los Muertos to Life No Matter Where You Are

While Día de Los Muertos altars and private celebrations happen all over the U.S., to take a sugar skull decorating lesson, write a prayer to a loved one and have it sent to the heavens in a swirl of smoke, or sample the sweet breads and Mexican treats associated with Día de Los Muertos, head to a large city with a strong Mexican heritage.

Los Angeles is the biggest of the big and should be your first stop. It has ticketed events, small celebrations, and private family altars, so there’s something for everyone. It also has Mexican heritage that predates U.S. annexation, and the communities that can draw on that history to throw some of the country's best Day of the Dead celebrations.

Sources and methodology

We started with a list of 100 American metropolitan statistical areas with sufficient Census data for their Hispanic or Latino populations.

To account for cultural ties, connection with the past, and related events, we scored cities in three primary categories:

Mexican Culture Score 🌮🥑🏜️

The Mexican Heritage Score reflects a large percentage of the population with Mexican heritage, including those who speak Spanish at home, suggesting a community with strong cultural ties to Mexico and therefore, to Mexican traditions.

• % of Hispanic/Latino population (Census)
• % Speaking Spanish at home (Census)

Muertos Score 🏚️💀🕯️

The Muertos Score reflects historical culture rather than the living population. It’s related to the number of cemeteries in the area, where many celebrations take place, and the number of buildings of Hispanic cultural significance. The score reflects a material culture of history and heritage that reflects reverence for, and preservation of, the things and people that came before.

• Cemeteries (Findagrave.com)
• Number of historical Hispanic buildings (National Register of Historical Buildings)

Festivities Score 🪅🎉💃

The festivities score reflects the number of activities around Día de Los Muertos in each city. Points were awarded and weighted as indicated, and cities were ranked by number of overall sum of points.

• Public events as listed on Google (1 point each)
• Parades in the city as listed on Google (3 points each)
• Featured in top lists by major travel sites (Viator, Afar, and Lonely Planet) (2 points each)

For each of the three categories, the factors within were combined to find the final average score per category. The 3 category scores were rescaled to ensure the 50th-ranked city had a minimum score of 5.0, and the #1 city earned the highest score of 10.

Final scoring:

To find the top city to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, we averaged the 3 category scores, and rescaled the cumulative score so that the highest-scoring city earned a score of 10, to find the top cities.