The 29 best small cities in America for visitors have been revealed in a new influential study.
National Geographic Traveler carried out a detailed survey as well as consulted with experts to draw up the list, which includes cities such as Columbia being named the best groomed, Kansas City as the most artsy and most musically grooviest being Santa Cruz.
To compile the list, the respected publication worked with advisers Resonance Consultancy in developing a ‘Small Cities Index’, a survey that drew from statistics and social media mentions to determine which cities rank highest.
The city of Columbia in South Carolina which was named one of America’s best small cities after being named the ‘best groomed’
Darkness descends over Kansas City in Missouri. The small city was praised for having a big artsy scene that often trends on social media
Louisville, Kentucky also made the list compiled by National Geographic Traveler after being named one of the ‘meatiest cities’ with an abundance of butchers, delis and steakhouses
They then split them into fun categories which included the number of green spaces, coffee shops, live music and even Instagrammable moments.
Other categories included most hipster, musically grooviest, most artsy, best groomed, meatiest, most dog friendly and the sudsiest (breweries).
And other cities to make the grade were Asheville, named as the most artsy, Charleston, one of the most Instagrammable, Reno, named as dog friendly and Olympia, which was praised for its number of coffee shops.
Louisville was named as one of the ‘meatiest’ cities, having an array of butchers, delis and steakhouses while Pittsburgh was the ‘sudsiest’ with an abundance of breweries.
Children enjoy a fairground ride in Santa Cruz, California. The city was named as one of the most ‘musically grooviest’
The waterfront in Lakeland, Florida. The city was found to be one of the most dog-friendly in the best 29 small US cities
Hickory in North Carolina, pictured, was named a being hipster friendly thanks to its coffee shops, tattoo parlors, record shops and vintage stores
George Stone, National Geographic Traveler editor in chief, said: ‘At Traveler we’re passionate about tales of urban renewal, about communities that have collaborated to improve their main streets, about smart cities that have pursued development policies that produce happiness.
‘In this article, we report on authentic small cities that each embody a surprising superlative.
‘Happy places for locals are also rewarding places for travelers. Our index of small cities on the rise is based on unconventional metrics that we think produce happiness: green spaces, coffee shops, breweries, music venues, Instagrammable moments and puppies!’
The small city of Omaha in Nebraska, pictured, won praise for also being ‘musically groovy’ thanks to its live music scene
One of the greenest city that was praised for its environmental credentials and parks was Madison, Wisconsin, pictured
While Resonance Consultancy President Chris Fair added: ‘Every city is unique.
‘Our approach to analyzing millions of consumer-generated ratings and reviews to create indexes such as these is an innovative new approach to revealing the characteristics that differentiate one place from another.
‘We’re excited to be working with National Geographic to share this data and its insights with travelers around the world.’