US Christmas Markets 2026 in Numbers
When America's Christmas markets open, how many are open on Thanksgiving, the busiest day of the season and how many are still running after Christmas: counted from the 586 markets whose organizers have published 2026 dates, each read on the organizer's own page.
586 markets with 2026 dates confirmed, in all 50 states and DC
257 open on Saturday, December 5, the busiest day
19 open on Thanksgiving Day
94% finish by Christmas Eve
54% are free to enter
Ready to Quote
Each line stands on its own. Please credit Best Christmas Markets USA (bestchristmasmarketsusa.com) and link to this page. Figures as of November 5, 2026; they update as more organizers announce.
- Of the 570 US Christmas markets that publish their 2026 days, 257 are open on Saturday, December 5, the busiest day of the season.
- Only 19 of the 570 US Christmas markets that publish their 2026 days are open on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, though 62 are already in their season by then; 100 are open on Black Friday.
- 35% of US Christmas markets open before Thanksgiving this year; the busiest week for openings is the week of Nov 30, when 199 open.
- 70% of US Christmas markets last three days or fewer in 2026, and 143 of the 586 are a single day.
- 94% of the 586 US Christmas markets with 2026 dates finish by Christmas Eve; 37 carry on after Christmas Day and 16 are still running on New Year's Eve.
- 54% of the 389 US Christmas markets that state their entry terms for 2026 are free to walk into.
- New York has the most Christmas markets of any US state (44), followed by Texas (36) and California (33).
- 63 of the 586 US Christmas markets with 2026 dates are German-style Christkindlmarkets.
- 215 of the 525 US Christmas markets that publish their 2026 hours stay open until 8 pm or later on at least one day.
When Christmas Markets Open
Markets opening each week, by the Monday of the week. The first to open in 2026 is Fort Worth Christmas Market, on Thursday, October 8. When do Christmas markets open? has the week-by-week list.
| Oct 5 | 1 |
|---|---|
| Oct 12 | 1 |
| Oct 26 | 2 |
| Nov 2 | 35 |
| Nov 9 | 52 |
| Nov 16 | 113 |
| Nov 23 | 91 |
| Nov 30 | 199 |
| Dec 7 | 83 |
| Dec 14 | 9 |
The Busiest Saturdays
Markets open on each Saturday of the season. Most markets are open on weekends, so Saturdays show how the season builds and then falls away before Christmas.
| Nov 7 | 35 |
|---|---|
| Nov 14 | 54 |
| Nov 21 | 121 |
| Nov 28 | 135 |
| Dec 5 | 257 |
| Dec 12 | 184 |
| Dec 19 | 97 |
| Dec 26 | 28 |
Thanksgiving and After Christmas
19 markets are open on Thanksgiving Day and 100 on Black Friday (open Thanksgiving weekend). 37 are still running after December 25 and 16 on New Year's Eve (open after Christmas).
Christmas Markets by State
Every market we list, confirmed or not, by state. Christmas markets by state.
| New York | 44 |
|---|---|
| Texas | 36 |
| California | 33 |
| Pennsylvania | 30 |
| Ohio | 30 |
| Tennessee | 26 |
| Virginia | 25 |
| Florida | 23 |
| Michigan | 20 |
| Wisconsin | 19 |
| Illinois | 18 |
| Massachusetts | 17 |
| North Carolina | 17 |
| Colorado | 16 |
| Washington | 14 |
The Most Searched
The ten markets with the most Google searches a month in the US: Chicago Christmas Market, Koziar's Christmas Village, Seattle Christmas Market, Philadelphia Christmas Market, Denver Christmas Market, Carmel Christmas Market, Leavenworth Christmas Village, Atlanta Christmas Market, Union Square Christmas Market and Bethlehem Christmas Market. The best Christmas markets in the USA.
How We Count
Every figure is counted from the markets on this site whose organizer has published 2026 dates: 586 of them, plus 54 still waiting for their dates. A market counts as open on a day when the day falls inside its published dates and is not one of its closed days; 570 of the 586 publish their days in full. The sources are the organizers' own pages, checked daily (how we check). Search figures are average monthly US Google searches for each market's name, from DataForSEO, October 2026. Journalists: the figures are free to use with a credit and a link; contact us for anything else.