We all know that feeling you get the day after a big night out鈥攏ot just the pounding headache, but the lighter wallet in your pocket, and the confusion about where all your cash could have gone.
91国产 set out to uncover how much an average nightlife enthusiast spends when they鈥檙e out and about鈥攁nd where, specifically, that cash is going. We analyzed data from our top six metros听that go big after the sun goes down. And while most cities love their drinks and late-night snacks, we found that the ticket to an event eats up the most money and is the catalyst for other nightlife spending.
Keep reading for more nightlife spending insights in Austin, and see how the other cities stack up here:
San Francisco听触听New York听触 Los Angeles听触 Chicago听触听Atlanta

Austin spends the least on nightlife
Austinites spend $26 of their nightlife dollars on the ticket, $25 on booze, and $10 each on transportation and late-night snacks鈥攖he lowest overall amount of any city in the study.
Go out for cool events and culture
People in Austin were the most likely of any city to cite 鈥渢o check out a cool event鈥 and 鈥渢o enjoy the culture鈥 as reasons they go out.
Tip:听To appeal Austin鈥檚 cool, culture-loving crowd, work some descriptive language into your marketing such as 鈥渦nique,鈥 鈥渘ew,鈥 鈥渦p-and-coming,鈥 and 鈥渦nder-the-radar.鈥
Ticket trends: the cheapest city to see music
Music events dominated the night, with 82% of nightlife tickets falling into this category at an average paid ticket price of $10. But with 85% of all music events being free, it makes the overall cost to see some live tunes average out to less than $2.
Tip:听Price your tickets close to the average for your event type to ensure you aren鈥檛 alienating people with high costs鈥攐r missing out on some major revenue.
Austinites are more likely to bike and share rides
Austin nightlife enthusiasts were the most likely of any city to opt for two wheels when going out. Nearly half also used ridesharing apps such as Uber or Lyft.
Tip:听Partner with ridesharing services to incentivize partygoers to come to your events with a ridesharing discount code. Work with Uber and Lyft to reach out to their customers that most frequently go out at night with ticket giveaways.
How Austin drinking habits measure up
Austinites have three drinks in an average night but have more heavy drinkers than average, with 23% of people indulging in five or more drinks. Only 5% say they don鈥檛 have any drinks.
Tip:听Try extending your happy hour to attract more thrifty drinkers, or having a second happy hour later in the night to draw in the large drinking crowd.
How Austin snacks: they taco 鈥榖out it
Tacos ranked higher as a favorite nighttime nibble in Austin than any other city.
Tip:听Partner with some of Austin鈥檚 best taco trucks, such as Peached Tortilla, Chi鈥橪antro, or Mellizoz. Offer the trucks curbside parking on your most popular nights, share discounts with your attendees, and take a cut of the profit.
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Check out how the other cities stack up here:
San Francisco听触听New York听触 Los Angeles听触 Chicago听触听Atlanta
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