The holidays will be bright – and wallets will be light – for the New Yorkers gracing the halls this season.
Empire State residents spend a whopping $463.25 on Christmas lights each year, the highest amount in the nation, according to a new study that also looked at who maintained their lights the longest.
Behind New York were California and Indiana, where partygoers shelled out $439.44 and $433.53, respectively, for lighting.
Idahoans have reason to “ho ho ho”: Their cost is the lowest in the nation, at $117.64 per year.
When it comes to cities, the Big Apple ranks fifth for metro areas spending the most on lighting, at $398.40, or about 49% more than the national average.
In winter wonderlands like Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights, where visitors flock each year to see lavish light displays, that bill would be a Christmas miracle: Homeowners there reported spending nearly $700.
Indianapolis, Buffalo and Green Bay are the three cities that spend the most on lighting: $559.25, $543.25 and $491.96, respectively.
Green Bay and Indianapolis were ranked first and second, respectively, for longest exposure duration – up to 10 weeks.
In New York State, lights stay on for 6.8 weeks, the sixth longest in the United States.
Big Apple residents keep their lights on an average of 8.3 hours per day and leave them on for almost seven weeks in total – the ninth longest duration for cities nationwide.
The results were based on average electricity rates by state and major city, considering average strings of traditional light bulbs that consume about 40 watts per hour.
LED lights use on average about 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs, making them a more energy-efficient alternative, according to EnergySage.
Eighty-five percent of those surveyed planned to hang lights this year.
The survey found that 25% of Scrooges who choose not to light up the night during the festive period do so because it costs too much.
Others don’t party or travel during the holidays.
