This one goes out to late night revelers – the party-hoppers who won’t stop dancing until they see the sunrise – there are a lot of you out there. In fact, if you take a Lyft ride after midnight on a Friday or Saturday, there’s a better than 20 percent chance you’re headed to a bar, club, or other entertainment venue. And when you come home at dawn, the night is not over. After all, that’s when the after-party begins—or at least when you satisfy those late-night (or early-morning) cravings.

According to a new poll from Harris, nearly half of regular goers said they prefer a ride home after a night out with friends, while 70% of regular goers say eating afterward is one of the best or better parts of the night. And of those people, more than 70% said they’ve ordered food delivery from their carpool to have it waiting for them when they got home—the ultimate late-night hack.

So, where do people go – and what do they order on the way home? To find out, Lift dug into its internal data as well as data from new partner DoorDash to discover the best cities for nightlife, the most popular locations and the most popular late-night delivery orders.

Best cities for nightlife and their late night cravings

Sometimes the best thing about going out is satisfying those late dinners when you get home. In fact, of adults who go out regularly, more than 40% are already thinking about what they want to order for delivery while they’re out—or before they’ve even left the house.

And according to DoorDash data, that means one thing for most people: French fries. Fries are by far the most popular late night order. (Surprisingly, crickets are the fifth most popular order among America’s most hopping nightlife cities. Guess humans aren’t the only ones who need late-night bites—lizards need snacks, too!)

But every city has its unique obsession. So here are the top cities for nightlife and the food they love more than any other American city.

Winner: Austin, Texas

The top city for partying is Austin, Texas, where a whopping 23% of all Lyft rides on weekend nights last year went to bars and entertainment venues. Austin’s nightlife pedigree can be traced back to at least 1991, when the city proclaimed itself “The live music capital of the world.”

The top visited late night bar in Austin is Lock keywhich bills itself as “A bar and daycare center for adults.” Austinites stop last at Highland Loungea gay club where over a third of rides happen after 2 a.m. Locals are most likely to visit Back Lota relatively relaxed place with patio, pool and darts. And the hottest destination for late nights is the funky live music Mom lovedwhich saw the largest percentage increase in late visitors.

But no matter when Austinites get home, the night is still young — at least judging by how many of them order green tea or a ready-to-drink cocktail to keep the energy up and the party going. When it comes to late night munchies, they bring the heat with spicy tortilla and corn chips, and the sweet with ice cream and gummies.

Honorable Mention: Columbus, Ohio

Austin is closely followed by Columbus, Ohio – where nightlife is primarily driven by the OSU student body (hits on campus include Out-R-Inn and Midway on High).

And Columbusites work up an appetite when they go out—of the cities where people order the most on DoorDash, Columbus ranks in the top 15. They especially love comfort food favorites like packaged PB&Js – proving you never outgrow the classics!

Best Cities for Late-Night Glam

Winner: Miami

The 1992 headline “Splashy, flashy Miami” still holds true. Over 7.5% of trips to nightlife destinations in Miami and Miami Beach last year were Lux rides, i.e. a higher quality vehicle. (Perhaps not so surprising, given that Miami was recently considered the nation’s luxury car capital.) That was especially the case for rides to clubs that E11 EVENwhere one in seven Lyft rides was a Lux ride.

But why should the party end after the club? According to DoorDash, Miamians are likely to keep the bottle service going with late-night vodka deliveries. And forgetful travelers also stock up on essentials based on late-night orders of toothbrushes and phone chargers.

Honorable Mention: Atlanta, GA

Miami’s northern neighbor, Atlanta, is next up, with Lux tours accounting for more than 5% of late tours. A top destination? The Atlanta nightclub Revelwhere celebrities as T pain appears frequently. Atlanta is torn between vodka and tequila for its favorite pour, but it’s not just about the hard stuff — top non-alcoholic orders included lemonade and lemon-lime soda, a refreshing staple to keep it fun and citrusy at all hours of the night.

The late glamming isn’t just for the cars. In both Miami and Atlanta, nail polish and nail glue top late-night beauty orders on DoorDash, confirming that the perfect manicure just might be the ultimate form of personal pampering.

Best cities for recent nights

Winner: Miami

With last call comes around sunrise (5 a.m.), it’s no surprise that Miami parties the latest—especially at Club Spacethe 24-year-old venue known for its after-hours parties.

Honorable Mention: New York

Why doesn’t the city sleep? Because there are places to be. Twenty percent of nightlife in New York happens after 2am. Some popular late night spots include Nowadayswhich hosts a summer party called Mr. Sunday and receives over a quarter of all ridership after 2am. Meanwhile, FiDi Irish pub The dead rabbit is the fastest growing bar (300% increase in rides in the last year) and dance gay bar Brooklyn Rosemont draws regulars every weekend (two visits per rider, on average).

Of course, true New Yorkers know that a great night out can be ruined by a rough morning after. That’s why Manhattanites are most likely to hydrate at the end of the night and stock up on bottled water and electrolyte-rich sports drinks as their go-to late-night comfort orders.

All good things must come to an end, even epic nights out. But hey, if anyone needs an excuse to make a quick exit, they’re not alone. The Harris survey found that half of adults who go out regularly and prefer to call a car home have used their carpool as an excuse to Irish Exit. And with delivery waiting at home, who could blame them?

Methodology

Example: The sample includes all Lyft rides between August 2023 and August 2024, for cities with a high number of daily rides. It also includes late-night DoorDash orders between August 2023 and August 2024 in more than 15 US cities.

Definitions:

• Nightlife Rides: The percentage of all Lyft rides to/from bars, clubs, and entertainment venues that occur between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM on weekends.

• Glam Nightlife Tours: The percentage of all nightlife tours that take place in a Lux vehicle.

• Late nightlife trips: The proportion of all nightlife trips that take place between 3 and 5 in the morning

• Late night orders: Orders placed between 9pm and 5pm

This story was produced by Lift and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.