The cheapest places to fly in the US are often major cities with high tourist demand and healthy airline competition, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, and Tampa.
These destinations frequently offer round-trip flights at significantly reduced prices, with deals sometimes as low as under $100, due to the large number of competing airlines and continuous traveler demand.
What Are the Cheapest Places to Fly in the US?
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- High-population areas with many airports
- Healthy airline competition drops prices
- Typically areas with lots of tourism
If budget is a major factor in planning your trip, it needs to be part of the conversation as soon as you’re thinking about your destination. While it’s possible to find cheap flights to just about anywhere, making your destination one of the cheapest places to fly in the US is the easiest way to slash your trip costs.
Can you imagine paying just $39 for a round trip flight to New York City? What about a $44 round trip flight to Miami? It’s not just possible – it’s a pretty common occurrence when you’re browsing the cheapest places to fly in the US.
The cheapest places to fly in the US might surprise you. They’re not out-of-the-way, rural towns that you’ve never heard of. The cheapest places you can visit are actually some of the most popular destinations in the country!
From the Hawaiian islands to New York City, cheap airfare is the rule and not the exception in some major US destinations. That’s because high population areas, popular tourist spots, and areas with many airports nearby tend to be the cheapest places to fly in the US.
The idea is that these hustle and bustle travel zones see the biggest airfare price drops because of two stand-out factors. The first is competition. The second is traveler demand.
Together, they create conditions for super-cheap flights to very desirable vacation and getaway areas. Consider the number of competing airlines operating out of the many nearby airports in the most popular travel destinations.
The more airlines competing to sell flights, the lower the prices sink in that area. Demand is also part of the equation. There’s a steady stream of tourists scheduling flights to the cheapest destinations on a daily basis.
If the demand wasn’t there, airlines couldn’t afford to compete for seat sales by dropping their prices. So off-the-beaten-path destinations don’t rank among the cheapest places to fly to – bigger, metropolitan areas do.
We know what factors pave the way for cheaper flight prices in certain cities, but what are these cities? Where should you plan your trip if you’re trying to score the cheapest flights possible?
Keep reading to see the 10 cheapest places to fly in the US.
These Are the 10 Cheapest Places to Fly in the US
Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) analyzed the airfare price and number of flight deals from all US cities to find the cheapest places to fly in the US.
We used their data to show you the top 10 cheapest places to fly domestically. The best part about the list? It’s full of destinations you probably already want to visit!
Here they are: The top 10 cheapest places to fly in the US!
1. Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, Nov. 19, 2017. Waikiki Beach scene on a warm Winter morning as tourists and residents gather for a day in the sun and surf/Theodore Trimmer/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $123 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $347 round trip
- Normal economy price: $600-$850+ round trip
Hear us out – flying to Hawaii isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s really common for crazy deals to pop up for flights to the Hawaiian islands. That’s because it’s such a popular US destination for travelers.
There’s a lot of demand and a lot of airlines flying to the islands from more than 36 cities.
On average, people spend about $600-$850+ to fly round trip to Hawaii without looking for discounted airfare, but you can easily find round trip flight deals as low as $123. Just be flexible with your dates and arrival airport!
Going found 125+ Hawaii airfare deals over a 6-month period, translating to about 20 super-cheap airfare deals per month.
If you’ve been itching to visit the islands and want to do it cheaply, sign up for price alerts on a few sites and wait for a stellar deal. You shouldn’t have to wait long!
Start planning your trip:
- Find out where to stay in Hawaii
- View the best and worst times to visit Hawaii
- See the best islands to visit in Hawaii
2. New York City, New York
NEW YORK CITY – DEC 01 Times Square ,is a busy tourist intersection of neon art and commerce and is an iconic street of New York City and America, December 01th, 2013 in Manhattan, New York City/Luciano Mortula/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $39 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $168 round trip
- Normal economy price: $275-$400+ round trip
New York, New York! It’s one of the most-visited cities in the US and home to 3 major airports. If you haven’t been or can’t wait to go back, you’ll find that your flight here won’t break the bank.
New York City is one of the cheapest places to visit in the US. There’s a lot of healthy airline cost competition here with tons of airlines trying to sell seats on flights.
That results in cheaper airfare overall – especially if you take the time to adjust your trip dates and times to get the cheapest options.
Going found over 13 deals/month for flights to and from airports in and around New York City. A quick Google search found one-way flights as low as $39, but if you’re quick, you can catch round trip deals for this price!
The average person pays $275-$400 for a round trip flight to New York City, but if you check out airfare costs for other nearby airports or shift your arrival/departure dates, you can score average round trip flight deals around $170.
Start planning your trip:
- Learn where to stay in New York City
- See the best time to visit New York City
- Browse the top things to do in New York City
3. Los Angeles, California
Nodiya Ilya/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $33 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $174 round trip
- Normal economy price: $275-$350+ round trip
Sunny Los Angeles, California may not come to mind when you imagine the cheapest places to fly in the US, but it’s one of the top spots on the list!
LA airfare deals are very common with so many travelers opting to visit the city throughout the year. The welcoming, balmy climate makes travel popular here year-round. Going found about 12 deals per month for flights to Los Angeles.
We’ve seen round trip airfare deals as low as $33 per person for flights to LA. Talk about a cheap trip!
On average, you’ll probably pay closer to $174 when you’re flexible with your dates and airports. That’s the average price across the different airfare deals that come up for LA.
If you don’t look for discounts at all or stay rigid with specific dates, you’ll find that flying to LA is more expensive – up to $300+ round trip. That’s why we always recommend signing up for price alerts with an airfare price tool or app!
Start planning your trip:
- Learn where to stay in Los Angeles
- See the best things to do in Los Angeles
- Find the best time to visit California
4. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Miami Beach, Ocean Drive FL, USA – March 2, 2020: One of the most famous streets on east coast of USA. Morning vibes at Ocean Drive. Beautiful Art Deco Historic District/Dmitry Tkachenko Photo/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $44 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $151 round trip
- Normal economy price: $250-$400+ round trip
Miami and Ft. Lauderdale each offer something a little different for travelers, but both are known for being some of the cheapest places to visit in the US.
These South Florida destinations are less than an hour apart with competing major airports (FLL and MIA) that are notorious for offering incredible deals on flights.
Going found an average of 9 deals/month for both the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami airports. Among these deals, you can find round trip flights as low as $44, but you’ll spend about $151 on average for either city.
With average domestic flights costing around $330, paying less than half that price for a trip to one of the States’ tropical paradises sounds perfect!
Start planning your trip:
- Learn best time to visit Miami
- Find out where to stay in Ft. Lauderdale
5. San Francisco, California
Canadastock/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $44 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $181 round trip
- Normal economy price: $250-$400+ round trip
If you’ve ever considered visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, you’ll be thrilled to find out that it’s one of the cheapest places to visit in the US. That’s thanks to the many airports and airlines servicing the area.
You can find amazingly low-cost flights to San Francisco when you’re flexible with your airports, dates, and times. Round trip deals as low as $44 are up for grabs!
On average, people pay around $181 for round trip flights to the San Francisco area when they wait for flight deals and make small adjustments to their trip dates.
Normal economy flights cost more – to the tune of $250 to $400+ round trip – but there’s absolutely no reason to pay this price when so many cheap flight deals are offered here. Set up price alerts and act fast when you see a deal around $150-$200!
Start planning your trip:
- Learn the best time to visit San Francisco
- See the best places to visit in San Francisco
- Find out where to stay in San Francisco
6. Las Vegas, Nevada
LAS VEGAS – AUG 06 : View of the strip on August 06 , 2013 in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately 4.2-mile (6.8 km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada/Kobby Dagan/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $44 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $171 round trip
- Normal economy price: $250-$375+ round trip
A trip to Sin City can actually be incredibly cheap when you keep an eye out for the many airfare deals that pop up for this popular tourist destination!
Las Vegas doesn’t operate as a hub for many of the major airlines (United, Delta, and American) but runs direct flights to the city from more than 136 cities across the country. So there’s a lot of competition going on here!
No need to practice your poker face to get deals as low as $44 for round trip tickets to Vegas.
More likely, you’ll come across round trip deals in the $150-$200 range – still an amazing steal for flights to one of the most popular cities in the US! Going sees about 5 deals/month for Vegas flights.
Without searching for deals, round trip flights to Las Vegas hover in the $250-$375 range. You can slash those prices and end up with a super-cheap trip to Vegas – more money for the craps table!
Start planning your trip:
- Find the best time to visit Las Vegas
- Learn where to stay in Las Vegas
- See the top 15 things to do in Vegas
7. Washington, DC
MH Anderson Photography/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $44 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $162 round trip
- Normal economy price: $250-$400+ round trip
Visiting Washington DC gives you tons of historical, informative, and entertaining things to do around the city. If you’ve been putting off your trip, reconsider because it’s one of the cheapest places to fly in the US!
With 2 major airports in a 25-mile radius, airlines are constantly slashing prices to compete for seat sales. You’ll benefit by grabbing deals as low as $44 for round trip flights!
The normal economy round trip flight price averages out to be $250-$400 or more. But once you start seeking out airfare deals and flight price trackers, you can score deals around $162/round trip!
Direct and nonstop flights are no problem here, with each airport serving 7-8 domestic carriers that fly direct from hundreds of cities across the US.
Your chances of lucking into a $44 round trip airfare are dismal in most cities, but in the cheapest places to fly, it’s actually quite common. Keep an eye on prices and pounce when they drop!
Start planning your trip:
- Learn the best time to visit Washington DC
- Find out where to stay in Washington DC
8. Boston, Massachusetts
Hunkir/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $44 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $146 round trip
- Normal economy price: $200-$300+ round trip
Boston is another of the cheapest places to fly in the US with crazy-low airfare deals coming in as low as $44 for a round trip flight. As New England’s busiest airport, Logan is the second-busiest airport in the Northeast.
This fosters a lot of price competition between airlines trying to sell seats. It’s easy to catch a direct or nonstop flight to Boston from 87 cities across the US.
While flights featuring stops or layovers tend to be cheaper, there’s enough competition in Boston to drop prices on round trip nonstop flights!
If you’re smart enough to set up price alerts ahead of time for your planned trip, you’ll be able to find deals popping up in the $150 range almost weekly.
Don’t get caught paying the average $200-$300 price to fly round trip here – there’s always another great deal around the corner when you adjust your dates or fly on the cheapest day of the week (Wednesday).
Start planning your trip:
- Learn the best time to visit Boston
- Find out where to stay in Boston
9. Chicago, Illinois
Vichie81/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $77 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $153 round trip
- Normal economy price: $250-$300+ round trip
Chicago is a favorite destination for travelers all over the world, and lucky for us, it’s one of the cheapest places to fly in the US. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is one of the nation’s busiest, so lots of price competition goes on between airlines that service it.
You’ll see prices dip as low as $77 for round trip tickets as a result! Scoring cheap flights to Boston might mean paying less than $100 for round trip tickets, but more often, you’ll see round trip deals in the $150 range.
Compare that to the average $250-$300+ for round trip flights to Chicago and it’s clear you can save a lot of money just by looking for the right dates and departure airports.
Currently, 12 airlines offer direct flights to Chicago so it’s easy to plan your trip here from just about any city. Set up price alerts around your date range and see when the cheapest time to go is for you!
Start planning your trip:
- Learn the best time to visit Chicago
- Find out where to stay in Chicago for your budget
- See the top 19 things to do in Chicago
10. Tampa, Florida
AevanStock/Shutterstock
- Lowest airfare deal: $58 round trip
- Average airfare deal: $154 round trip
- Normal economy price: $250-$400+ round trip
Tampa isn’t usually the city you think of when you picture a Florida vacation, but it’s very well connected with 13 airlines running direct flights from 75 US cities.
If you can see yourself chilling on the Bay, Tampa makes for a great destination with cheap flight prices to help you keep to a smaller trip budget.
Tampa flight deals are very common (more common than Orlando), so you can expect to see big price drops about once a week when you set up alerts. Going found round trip tickets as low as $58 to Tampa!
If you see airfare in the $150 range, spring for it. This is the average flight cost when you wait for airfare deals, but you’ll pay closer to $400 if you buy tickets without shopping around.
Start planning your trip:
- Learn the best and worst times to visit Tampa
- Find out where to stay in Tampa
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Keeping to your budget while planning a trip you’ll actually enjoy and remember doesn’t seem like an easy task. But when you’re planning based on the cheapest places to fly in the US, it suddenly gets a lot simpler!
It’s not uncommon to find crazy deals on round trip flights to some of the top destinations in the US. From Boston and Tampa to Hawaii and Chicago, cheap flights are never far when you stick to the places on this list.
Don’t get fooled and buy tickets at the first price you see. That’s almost never going to be the cheapest price!
You can always score a better deal and find cheaper flights by adjusting your dates, choosing a different departure or arrival airport, or choosing a different time of day for your flights.
If you stick to the destinations on this list and wait for the prices to drop (you’ll usually see deals pop up at least once a week), you’ll be able to score a great vacation at a fraction of the cost.
Just don’t forget the travel insurance – it’s the only way to secure your investment on those cheap, but nonrefundable flights!