Where is the cheapest place to fly to right now

At Scott’s Cheap Flights, the mission we undertake every day is to help our members get amazing 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 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.

To determine which metro areas in the US are among the cheapest to reach right now, we looked at spots with a population of at least 300,000 people, and collected data on how many deals to airports in those cities we sent to Scott’s Cheap Flights Premium members in the previous six months.. 

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. We even found an average of one deal per month to small airports like Missoula, Knoxville, Key West, and Tucson. 

Here are the results. 

The US Destinations with the Most Cheap Flights in 2022 

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 a lot of 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 last six months. 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 nation-wide deals that had the same fare to multiple destinations. . 

Here are the cities we sent the most deals to in the previous six months. 

10. Tampa, Florida

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 23

Despite its small size, Tampa is well connected to much of the US, with direct flights from 75 US cities on 13 airlines. It’s a hub for Silver Airways and a focus city for low-cost carriers Breeze Airways and Frontier, and while we don’t send our member deals on Frontier, its presence can help drive down prices on its competitors. In the last six months, we sent our members 23 deals to Tampa (about one per week), which was two more deals than we found to Orlando. Apparently, guava beats mouse—at least when it comes to deal frequency. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Tampa:

• Charleston to Tampa for $128 roundtrip
• Richmond to Tampa for $86 roundtrip‍
• Detroit to Tampa for $158 roundtrip

9. Chicago, Illinois

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 26

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 (fourth busiest by passenger traffic). It’s a hub for both United and American and a focus city for Spirit Airlines—all together it’s served by 12 airlines offering direct flights to Chicago from 186 cities in the US. 

Chicago has even more flight options though, thanks to a second airport, Midway (MDW) which is a focus city for Frontier and Southwest, and offers direct flights to 79 cities on 6 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. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Chicago:

• DC to Chicago for $98 roundtrip  
• Miami to Chicago for $80 roundtrip 
• Denver to Chicago for $128 roundtrip 

8. Boston, Massachusetts

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 28

Boston’s Logan airport is the busiest in New England for passenger traffic and second only to NYC in the wider Northeastern US. It’s served by 13 domestic airlines flying direct to and from 87 US cities, and it’s a hub for Cape Air and Delta Air Lines and a focus city for JetBlue. All that helps keep deals to the city frequent, to the tune of more than one per week on average in the last six months. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Boston:

• Milwaukee to Boston for $138 roundtrip‍
• DC to Boston for $87 roundtrip‍
• Savannah to Boston for $147 roundtrip

7. Washington, DC

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 31

DC has two major airports located within about 25 miles of the city, Reagan (DCA) and Dulles (IAD); there’s also BWI, about 32 miles away. Dulles is the largest and is served by 6 domestic airlines flying direct from 81 cities; it’s a hub for Southern Airways Express and United Airlines. DCA (Reagan) is the smallest but closest to DC and is served by 7 domestic airlines with direct flights from 97 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. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to DC:

• Huntsville to DC for $188 roundtrip
• New Orleans to DC for $168 roundtrip
• Boston to DC for $88 roundtrip

6. Las Vegas, Nevada

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 33

Las Vegas is the busiest US airport that doesn’t operate as a hub for Delta, United, or American. But, Vegas still has a lot of competition helping keep prices down. 

It does serve as a base for Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country, and Spirit Airlines (we send our members deals on Southwest but not the others) plus JSX with 15 domestic carriers in total offering direct flights to Sin City from a whopping 136 cities across the US. In the last six months, we found an average of five deals per month from US cities to Las Vegas. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Las Vegas:

• San Francisco to Las Vegas for $98 roundtrip
• Bozeman to Las Vegas for $198 roundtrip
• Salt Lake City to Las Vegas for $138 roundtrip 

5. San Francisco Bay Area, California

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 36

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 88 US cities. 

Across the Bay, the smaller Oakland (OAK) airport is only served by 9 domestic airlines and has direct flights from 43 cities, but it’s a focus city for JSX and Southwest. The former offers private-jet style flights around the West Coast, while the latter helps drive prices down across the board, but especially on flights to and from Hawaii. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to San Francisco:

• NYC to SF for $198 roundtrip
• Phoenix to SF for $90 roundtrip
• Seattle to Oakland for $137 roundtrip

4. Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 57

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 for Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, and Allegiant. It’s also the main South Florida base for Southwest. In total, 15 domestic airlines serve the airport and there are direct flights to FLL from 88 US destinations. These help keep deals frequent, and downward pressure from competition at nearby Miami airport helps even more. 

The Miami airport (MIA) has 9 domestic airlines serving it. It’s a hub for American Airlines (it’s their third-largest hub) and a focus city for Frontier Airlines 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 78 airports in just about all corners of the country. 

Between the two airports, we found our members an average of 9 deals per month to South Florida in the last six months. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Fort Lauderdale:

• San Diego to Fort Lauderdale for $178 roundtrip 
• Austin to Miami for $98 roundtrip
• NYC to Fort Lauderdale for $98 roundtrip

3. Greater Los Angeles, California 

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 73

With an average of 12 deals per month to LA, the City of Angels is accessible at a good price to just about any traveler in the US. The third-busiest airport in the world and the second-busiest airport in the US, LA’s main airport LAX is served by 14 domestic airlines and offers direct flights from 113 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 a focus city 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. 

And due to all that, LA is consistently one of the cities where we see the most deals. In fact, if you’re looking for a deal to LA, you’ve had an average of 3 chances per week in the last six months, depending on your airport. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Los Angeles:

• Chicago to LA for $138 roundtrip
• Albuquerque to LA for $117 roundtrip
• Las Vegas to Long Beach for $78 roundtrip

2. New York metropolitan area, New York

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 83

One of the most popular destinations in the US (and arguably, the world) NYC has three major airports a short jaunt from the city and in the last six months we sent 83 deals to them all together. That means, on average (depending on departure airport), a member might have had as many as 13 chances per month to snag a cheap flight to the Big Apple. 

NYC’s busiest airport, JFK, has direct flights from 70 cities in the US and is a hub or focus city for American, Delta, Eastern, and JetBlue. Laguardia (LGA) has direct flights from even more cities (81) and is a hub for American and Delta as well. And Newark (EWR), which is located 13 miles from the city in New Jersey, offers the most options of all, with direct flights from 93 cities. It’s also a hub for United (the carrier's third-largest hub). Between them all, passengers could fly direct to the NYC area on 16 different airlines.

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. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to New York airports:

• Orlando to Newark for $148 roundtrip 
• Houston to NYC for $168 roundtrip
• Miami to NYC for $98 roundtrip 

1. The Hawaiian islands

Deals sent Dec 2021-May 2022: 125

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 summer 2021, Hawaii’s governor asked tourists to stay away, as the island simply couldn’t cope with the number of visitors. While the government of Hawaii has since begun to welcome visitors again and has removed all Covid restrictions, debate remains whether or not it’s ethical to visit the islands. 

While the Hawaiian islands are only served by 7 domestic airlines offering direct flights from 36 US cities, there’s a lot of competition that helps keep the deals coming on a regular basis. In the last six months, we found 125 deals to Hawaii—about 20 per month—so for those who do feel comfortable going, there is plenty of opportunity to snag a deal. 

Examples of previous deals we’ve sent to Hawaii airports:

• Los Angeles to Maui for $155 roundtrip
• Cincinnati to Honolulu for $366 roundtrip  
• Phoenix to Hilo for $268 roundtrip 

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