Tourist towns
Small towns where at least 1 in 5 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy: more restaurants, shops and events than locals alone could support, and higher prices where visitors buy second homes.
How we picked
- 20% or more of homes held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use (Census survey, 2020-2024)
- Not a suburb
- Ranked by that share
| # | Town | Vacation homes | People | Typical home | Big city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean City, MD | 83% | 6,840 | $429,000 | 104 mi to Baltimore |
| 2 | Killington, VT | 82% | 1,387 | $488,400 | 128 mi to Boston |
| 3 | Winhall, VT | 80% | 1,147 | $471,800 | 98 mi to Hartford |
| 4 | Atlantic Beach, NC | 80% | 1,408 | $498,400 | 133 mi to Raleigh |
| 5 | Bethany Beach, DE | 79% | 1,104 | $720,900 | 98 mi to Baltimore |
| 6 | Dover, VT | 75% | 1,827 | $332,900 | 83 mi to Hartford |
| 7 | New Shoreham, RI | 75% | 1,408 | $1,301,100 | 44 mi to Providence |
| 8 | Lincoln, NH | 73% | 1,664 | $342,000 | 125 mi to Boston |
| 9 | Big Bear Lake, CA | 73% | 5,018 | $576,700 | 35 mi to Riverside |
| 10 | North Topsail Beach, NC | 73% | 1,097 | $473,600 | 115 mi to Raleigh |
| 11 | Angel Fire, NM | 71% | 1,170 | $546,800 | 235 mi to Denver |
| 12 | Winter Park, CO | 71% | 1,217 | 49 mi to Denver | |
| 13 | Blowing Rock, NC | 70% | 1,324 | $705,000 | 79 mi to Charlotte |
| 14 | Rehoboth Beach, DE | 70% | 1,309 | $1,486,100 | 89 mi to Philadelphia |
| 15 | Warren, VT | 69% | 1,965 | $569,300 | 154 mi to Boston |
| 16 | Emerald Isle, NC | 69% | 3,970 | $603,700 | 121 mi to Raleigh |
| 17 | Ludlow, VT | 68% | 2,134 | $370,200 | 112 mi to Boston |
| 18 | Truro, MA | 68% | 2,483 | $888,200 | 54 mi to Boston |
| 19 | Rangeley, ME | 68% | 1,336 | $424,700 | 182 mi to Boston |
| 20 | Grand Isle, LA | 67% | 1,012 | $269,500 | 58 mi to New Orleans |
| 21 | South Padre Island, TX | 67% | 2,086 | $516,900 | 245 mi to San Antonio |
| 22 | Ocean City, NJ | 66% | 11,101 | $840,500 | 58 mi to Philadelphia |
| 23 | Arnolds Park, IA | 66% | 1,198 | $438,900 | 144 mi to Minneapolis |
| 24 | Sun Valley, ID | 65% | 1,776 | $962,500 | 235 mi to Salt Lake City |
| 25 | Pine Knoll Shores, NC | 65% | 1,423 | $592,300 | 129 mi to Raleigh |
| 26 | Highlands, NC | 65% | 1,127 | $700,900 | 50 mi to Greenville |
| 27 | East Hampton, NY | 63% | 1,552 | $2,000,000+ | 55 mi to Bridgeport |
| 28 | Edgartown, MA | 63% | 5,446 | $1,199,300 | 57 mi to Providence |
| 29 | Bartlett, NH | 62% | 3,335 | $371,400 | 121 mi to Boston |
| 30 | Freedom, NH | 61% | 1,707 | $389,000 | 104 mi to Boston |
| 31 | Montauk, NY | 61% | 4,223 | $1,356,600 | 60 mi to Providence |
| 32 | Cannon Beach, OR | 60% | 1,512 | $823,200 | 68 mi to Portland |
| 33 | Stoddard, NH | 60% | 1,468 | $330,300 | 75 mi to Boston |
| 34 | Keystone, CO | 60% | 1,274 | $1,284,700 | 57 mi to Denver |
| 35 | McCall, ID | 59% | 4,133 | $676,500 | 321 mi to Portland |
| 36 | Village of Four Seasons, MO | 59% | 2,473 | $365,400 | 118 mi to Kansas City |
| 37 | Mount Desert, ME | 58% | 2,214 | $522,100 | 193 mi to Boston |
| 38 | Fontana-on-Geneva Lake, WI | 57% | 1,886 | $572,600 | 47 mi to Milwaukee |
| 39 | Dillon, CO | 57% | 1,029 | $1,090,000 | 63 mi to Denver |
| 40 | Mammoth Lakes, CA | 57% | 6,867 | $866,700 | 73 mi to Fresno |
| 41 | Wilmington, VT | 57% | 2,280 | $287,700 | 78 mi to Hartford |
| 42 | Delavan Lake, WI | 57% | 2,757 | $355,500 | 46 mi to Milwaukee |
| 43 | Crosslake, MN | 57% | 2,412 | $473,700 | 125 mi to Minneapolis |
| 44 | Osage Beach, MO | 57% | 5,079 | $355,200 | 123 mi to Kansas City |
| 45 | Monterey, MA | 57% | 1,093 | $603,200 | 40 mi to Hartford |
| 46 | Woodstock, NH | 56% | 1,439 | $320,100 | 120 mi to Boston |
| 47 | Kiawah Island, SC | 56% | 2,014 | $2,000,000+ | 184 mi to Jacksonville |
| 48 | Oak Bluffs, MA | 56% | 5,428 | $923,100 | 51 mi to Providence |
| 49 | Breckenridge, CO | 56% | 5,015 | 64 mi to Denver | |
| 50 | Heber-Overgaard, AZ | 56% | 3,621 | $271,200 | 105 mi to Phoenix |
| 51 | Lake Arrowhead, CA | 55% | 10,639 | $596,500 | 25 mi to Riverside |
| 52 | Big Bear City, CA | 55% | 11,431 | $463,500 | 41 mi to Riverside |
| 53 | Pymatuning Central, PA | 55% | 2,593 | $119,400 | 63 mi to Cleveland |
| 54 | Nantucket, MA | 55% | 14,758 | $1,593,800 | 77 mi to Providence |
| 55 | Greenville, ME | 55% | 1,743 | $268,500 | 228 mi to Boston |
| 56 | Jackson, NH | 54% | 1,082 | $719,300 | 128 mi to Boston |
| 57 | Chincoteague, VA | 54% | 3,309 | $349,500 | 89 mi to Virginia Beach |
| 58 | Lovell, ME | 54% | 1,155 | $295,000 | 128 mi to Boston |
| 59 | Tuftonboro, NH | 54% | 2,678 | $462,300 | 93 mi to Boston |
| 60 | Lake Shore, MN | 53% | 1,127 | $513,200 | 119 mi to Minneapolis |
| 61 | Panama City Beach, FL | 53% | 20,375 | $441,300 | 234 mi to Birmingham |
| 62 | Rockaway Beach, OR | 53% | 1,455 | $342,300 | 63 mi to Portland |
| 63 | Cascade, ID | 53% | 1,018 | $346,100 | 330 mi to Portland |
| 64 | Frisco, CO | 52% | 2,792 | $891,400 | 66 mi to Denver |
| 65 | Miramar Beach, FL | 52% | 8,902 | $733,000 | 216 mi to New Orleans |
| 66 | Dauphin Island, AL | 52% | 1,929 | $432,200 | 106 mi to New Orleans |
| 67 | Moultonborough, NH | 52% | 5,293 | $644,200 | 97 mi to Boston |
| 68 | Acton, ME | 51% | 2,735 | $334,300 | 83 mi to Boston |
| 69 | Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA | 51% | 3,957 | $532,400 | 40 mi to Riverside |
| 70 | Otis, MA | 51% | 1,610 | $396,700 | 37 mi to Hartford |
| 71 | Vail, CO | 51% | 4,407 | $1,400,700 | 79 mi to Denver |
| 72 | Woodstock, ME | 50% | 1,423 | $219,600 | 144 mi to Boston |
| 73 | Sister Bay, WI | 50% | 1,177 | $392,200 | 152 mi to Milwaukee |
| 74 | Provincetown, MA | 50% | 3,729 | $902,200 | 47 mi to Boston |
| 75 | Fraser, CO | 50% | 1,543 | $600,800 | 50 mi to Denver |
| 76 | Edisto Beach, SC | 49% | 1,071 | $719,200 | 169 mi to Jacksonville |
| 77 | Georgetown, ME | 49% | 1,101 | $427,200 | 114 mi to Boston |
| 78 | Washington, NH | 49% | 1,221 | $358,600 | 80 mi to Boston |
| 79 | Alton, NH | 49% | 6,036 | $430,400 | 80 mi to Boston |
| 80 | Surf City, NC | 49% | 5,142 | $512,300 | 115 mi to Raleigh |
| 81 | Park City, UT | 49% | 8,587 | $1,757,800 | 24 mi to Salt Lake City |
| 82 | West Tisbury, MA | 48% | 3,645 | $1,302,100 | 49 mi to Providence |
| 83 | North Myrtle Beach, SC | 48% | 21,346 | $416,900 | 139 mi to Raleigh |
| 84 | Truckee, CA | 48% | 17,278 | $947,900 | 87 mi to Sacramento |
| 85 | Denmark, ME | 48% | 1,253 | $250,000 | 115 mi to Boston |
| 86 | Bridgton, ME | 48% | 5,965 | $316,600 | 119 mi to Boston |
| 87 | Hemlock Farms, PA | 48% | 3,392 | $334,000 | 73 mi to New York |
| 88 | Harbor Springs, MI | 47% | 1,255 | $415,700 | 174 mi to Grand Rapids |
| 89 | Lake Ozark, MO | 47% | 2,247 | $278,100 | 122 mi to Kansas City |
| 90 | Becket, MA | 46% | 1,922 | $361,000 | 41 mi to Hartford |
| 91 | Ocean View, DE | 46% | 3,107 | $514,200 | 97 mi to Baltimore |
| 92 | Mount Holly, VT | 46% | 1,373 | $296,900 | 115 mi to Hartford |
| 93 | South Bristol, ME | 45% | 1,137 | $469,200 | 130 mi to Boston |
| 94 | Wakefield, NH | 45% | 5,558 | $322,800 | 87 mi to Boston |
| 95 | Oak Island, NC | 45% | 9,337 | $456,500 | 136 mi to Raleigh |
| 96 | Londonderry, VT | 45% | 1,897 | $346,300 | 99 mi to Hartford |
| 97 | Boothbay Harbor, ME | 44% | 2,103 | $400,600 | 126 mi to Boston |
| 98 | Cavendish, VT | 44% | 1,373 | $285,100 | 109 mi to Boston |
| 99 | Southwest Harbor, ME | 44% | 1,873 | $428,500 | 190 mi to Boston |
| 100 | Castine, ME | 44% | 1,310 | $603,500 | 181 mi to Boston |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2025 population estimates; American Community Survey 2020-2024), Medicare hospital data, NOAA climate normals, the National Park Service and the Education Department, as on each town page. Census survey figures are estimates; towns where the survey is too thin for a figure are left off lists that use it. Miles are straight-line. Data last updated October 5, 2026.
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