The Most Popular Cities for Second Homes

Having a vacation home or second home is a dream for many upwardly mobile American households. While there are 137.4 million housing units in the United States, second homes account for 5.4 million of those homes nationwide. Second homes in the U.S. include beach houses and snowbird destinations in sunbelt states, winter ski houses, lake houses, and timeshare condos.

In this analysis, AdvisorSmith found the most popular cities for second homes in the United States. We ranked cities by the number of second homes in each city based upon the population of each city. Large cities were those with over 350,000 residents, while midsize cities had between 100,000 and 350,000 residents, and small cities had between 10,000 and 100,000 residents. 

We also found the cities in the U.S. that had the most second homes on a per capita basis. These cities were classified as seasonal destinations, where a large percentage of the homes were occupied by part-time or seasonal residents.

Most Popular Large Cities for Second Homes

Some of the nation’s largest cities were the most popular second-home destinations, with New York City (#1) being the most popular city for second homes by far nationwide. Other large cities included Los Angeles (#3), Miami (#4), and Chicago (#5). Snowbirds were attracted to the Phoenix area, with Mesa (#2) and Phoenix (#7) ranking among the top 10. On average, in large cities, 1.2% of the housing stock was second homes, and there was an average of five second homes per 1,000 residents.

Rank	City	State	Number of Second Homes	Second Homes as a % of Total Homes	2nd Homes per 1K Population	Average 3BR Home Cost
1	New York	New York	74,078	2.1%	9	$687,252
2	Mesa	Arizona	17,435	8.2%	35	$344,486
3	Los Angeles	California	13,850	0.9%	4	$858,594
4	Miami	Florida	12,074	5.8%	27	$462,793
5	Chicago	Illinois	12,007	1.0%	4	$294,421
6	San Diego	California	9,744	1.8%	7	$840,805
7	Phoenix	Arizona	9,100	1.5%	6	$338,832
8	San Francisco	California	8,316	2.1%	10	$1,697,765
9	New Orleans	Louisiana	7,783	4.1%	20	$215,684
10	Atlanta	Georgia	6,164	2.5%	13	$328,960
11	Tucson	Arizona	6,160	2.6%	11	$265,941
12	Houston	Texas	6,038	0.6%	3	$206,855
13	Las Vegas	Nevada	5,576	2.1%	9	$331,088
14	Austin	Texas	5,181	1.2%	5	$516,051
15	Boston	Massachusetts	4,626	1.6%	7	$693,637
16	Jacksonville	Florida	3,780	1.0%	4	$224,306
17	Dallas	Texas	3,577	0.6%	3	$254,707
18	Virginia Beach	Virginia	3,430	1.9%	8	$290,344
19	Washington	District of Columbia	3,428	1.1%	5	$760,690
20	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	3,420	0.5%	2	$194,313
21	Nashville	Tennessee	3,351	1.1%	5	$339,309
22	Seattle	Washington	3,321	0.9%	5	$904,776
23	Portland	Oregon	3,217	1.1%	5	$527,807
24	Tampa	Florida	3,154	1.8%	8	$312,490
25	San Antonio	Texas	3,083	0.6%	2	$207,667
26	Denver	Colorado	2,891	0.9%	4	$576,188
27	El Paso	Texas	2,401	1.0%	4	$163,590
28	Charlotte	North Carolina	2,254	0.6%	3	$279,802
29	Columbus	Ohio	2,207	0.6%	3	$212,121
30	Albuquerque	New Mexico	1,947	0.8%	4	$255,056
31	San Jose	California	1,394	0.4%	1	$1,209,883
32	Louisville	Kentucky	1,358	0.5%	2	$213,640
33	Colorado Springs	Colorado	1,333	0.7%	3	$381,763
34	Detroit	Michigan	1,315	0.4%	2	$52,063
35	Tulsa	Oklahoma	1,255	0.7%	3	$156,057
36	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	1,248	0.5%	2	$169,828
37	Memphis	Tennessee	1,150	0.4%	2	$119,243
38	Indianapolis	Indiana	1,085	0.3%	1	$185,248
39	Minneapolis	Minnesota	1,085	0.6%	3	$343,425
40	Long Beach	California	1,035	0.6%	2	$811,064
41	Fort Worth	Texas	1,009	0.3%	1	$233,128
42	Bakersfield	California	983	0.8%	3	$285,708
43	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	974	0.4%	2	$171,845
44	Kansas City	Missouri	817	0.4%	2	$193,902
45	Baltimore	Maryland	807	0.3%	1	$173,205
46	Sacramento	California	716	0.4%	1	$418,012
47	Raleigh	North Carolina	688	0.3%	2	$307,318
48	Cleveland	Ohio	648	0.3%	2	$97,784
49	Oakland	California	637	0.4%	2	$1,089,819
50	Arlington	Texas	631	0.4%	2	$250,779
51	Omaha	Nebraska	579	0.3%	1	$226,894
52	Fresno	California	446	0.2%	1	$309,322
53	Wichita	Kansas	380	0.2%	1	$163,387
54	Aurora	Colorado	320	0.2%	1	$439,227

Most Popular Midsize Cities for Second Homes

Among midsize cities, the most popular states for second homes were Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. Scottsdale, Arizona; Cape Coral, Florida; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Pompano Beach, Florida were the top five most popular midsize cities for second homes. Among midsize cities, an average of 1.3% of homes were second homes, and there were 5.4 second homes per 1,000 residents.

Rank	City	State	Number of Second Homes	Second Homes as a % of Total Homes	2nd Homes per 1K Population
1	Scottsdale	Arizona	14,575	10.5%	58
2	Cape Coral	Florida	13,338	15.9%	73
3	Fort Lauderdale	Florida	12,856	13.4%	71
4	Honolulu	Hawaii	9,613	6.3%	28
5	Pompano Beach	Florida	8,712	16.0%	79
6	St. Petersburg	Florida	7,758	5.7%	30
7	Hollywood	Florida	6,902	9.9%	45
8	Clearwater	Florida	6,721	11.5%	58
9	Paradise	Nevada	6,054	5.3%	26
10	West Palm Beach	Florida	5,694	10.9%	52
11	Henderson	Nevada	4,930	3.8%	16
12	Surprise	Arizona	4,725	8.4%	35
13	Orlando	Florida	4,621	3.5%	17
14	Enterprise	Nevada	4,244	6.3%	25
15	Port St. Lucie	Florida	3,949	5.4%	21
16	Lakeland	Florida	3,625	7.3%	34
17	Spring Valley	Nevada	3,569	4.0%	17
18	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	2,948	2.9%	13
19	Corpus Christi	Texas	2,801	2.1%	9
20	Pembroke Pines	Florida	2,658	4.2%	16
21	Carlsbad	California	2,423	5.1%	21
22	Chandler	Arizona	2,403	2.5%	10
23	Oceanside	California	2,239	3.4%	13
24	Peoria	Arizona	2,234	3.4%	13
25	Charleston	South Carolina	2,229	3.5%	17
26	Huntington Beach	California	2,080	2.6%	10
27	Lehigh Acres	Florida	2,076	5.4%	17
28	Palm Bay	Florida	1,981	4.6%	18
29	Anchorage	Alaska	1,814	1.5%	6
30	Spring Hill	Florida	1,787	3.8%	16
31	McAllen	Texas	1,687	3.3%	12
32	Cambridge	Massachusetts	1,670	3.2%	14
33	Wilmington	North Carolina	1,577	2.7%	13
34	Gilbert	Arizona	1,504	1.8%	6
35	Davie	Florida	1,494	3.8%	14
36	Irvine	California	1,438	1.4%	5
37	Savannah	Georgia	1,436	2.3%	10
38	Torrance	California	1,371	2.4%	9
39	Lexington	Kentucky	1,367	1.0%	4
40	Oxnard	California	1,331	2.4%	6
41	Brownsville	Texas	1,161	2.0%	6
42	Miramar	Florida	1,154	2.6%	8
43	Reno	Nevada	1,116	1.0%	5
44	Augusta	Georgia	1,099	1.3%	6
45	Arlington	Virginia	1,091	1.0%	5
46	North Las Vegas	Nevada	976	1.2%	4
47	Bellevue	Washington	971	1.6%	7
48	Winston-Salem	North Carolina	965	0.9%	4
49	St. Louis	Missouri	929	0.5%	3
50	Boise City	Idaho	922	1.0%	4
51	Knoxville	Tennessee	915	1.0%	5
52	Salt Lake City	Utah	901	1.0%	5
53	Fremont	California	900	1.1%	4
54	Little Rock	Arkansas	891	0.9%	5
55	Sunrise Manor	Nevada	870	1.2%	5
56	Las Cruces	New Mexico	865	1.9%	9
57	Lancaster	California	845	1.6%	5
58	Chula Vista	California	843	1.0%	3
59	Chattanooga	Tennessee	800	0.9%	5
60	Ventura	California	767	1.7%	7
61	Tempe	Arizona	765	0.9%	4
62	Glendale	Arizona	755	0.8%	3
63	Lafayette	Louisiana	743	1.3%	6
64	Stamford	Connecticut	739	1.4%	6
65	Tallahassee	Florida	727	0.8%	4
66	Birmingham	Alabama	723	0.6%	3
67	College Station	Texas	723	1.6%	6
68	Greensboro	North Carolina	713	0.5%	2
69	Montgomery	Alabama	711	0.8%	4
70	Columbia	South Carolina	691	1.3%	5
71	Sandy Springs	Georgia	686	1.3%	6
72	Lubbock	Texas	680	0.6%	3
73	Boulder	Colorado	675	1.5%	6
74	The Woodlands	Texas	661	1.5%	6
75	Cincinnati	Ohio	649	0.4%	2
76	Laredo	Texas	648	0.8%	3
77	Thousand Oaks	California	642	1.3%	5
78	Riverside	California	625	0.7%	2
79	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	619	0.4%	2
80	Stockton	California	618	0.6%	2
81	Waco	Texas	617	1.1%	5
82	Spokane	Washington	607	0.6%	3
83	Shreveport	Louisiana	598	0.7%	3
84	Costa Mesa	California	597	1.4%	5
85	Ann Arbor	Michigan	587	1.2%	5
86	Madison	Wisconsin	577	0.5%	2
87	Murrieta	California	574	1.7%	5
88	Fargo	North Dakota	564	0.9%	5
89	Billings	Montana	563	1.1%	5
90	Norfolk	Virginia	549	0.6%	2
91	Coral Springs	Florida	544	1.2%	4
92	South Bend	Indiana	539	1.2%	5
93	Glendale	California	538	0.7%	3
94	Alexandria	Virginia	536	0.7%	3
95	Round Rock	Texas	532	1.2%	4
96	Jersey City	New Jersey	531	0.5%	2
97	Yonkers	New York	530	0.7%	3
98	High Point	North Carolina	523	1.1%	5
99	Eugene	Oregon	520	0.7%	3
100	Lincoln	Nebraska	519	0.4%	2

Most Popular Small Cities for Second Homes

Approximately half of the top 200 small cities most popular for second homes were in the state of Florida. Besides Florida, California and Arizona also had substantial numbers of small cities that were popular for second homes. The most popular small cities for second homes include Miami Beach (#1), Hilton Head Island (#2), Four Corners, Florida (#3), Bonita Springs, Florida (#4), and Ocean City, New Jersey (#5). Second homes were much more common in small cities, with 1.8% of the housing stock being second homes on average, and 9.9 second homes per 1,000 residents on average.

Rank	City	State	Number of Second Homes	Second Homes as a % of Total Homes	2nd Homes per 1K Population
1	Miami Beach	Florida	17,389	25.3%	193
2	Hilton Head Island	South Carolina	15,716	44.6%	393
3	Four Corners	Florida	14,503	45.9%	343
4	Bonita Springs	Florida	13,073	34.4%	234
5	Ocean City	New Jersey	13,068	65.0%	1,174
6	Palm Desert	California	12,529	31.5%	238
7	North Myrtle Beach	South Carolina	11,968	42.4%	739
8	Aventura	Florida	11,066	36.6%	297
9	Palm Springs	California	10,909	28.4%	228
10	Sunny Isles Beach	Florida	10,433	47.4%	476
11	Marco Island	Florida	9,083	49.1%	509
12	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	9,025	18.7%	91
13	La Quinta	California	8,303	31.9%	202
14	Estero	Florida	8,263	34.5%	252
15	Panama City Beach	Florida	8,253	49.1%	647
16	Hallandale Beach	Florida	8,034	28.7%	203
17	Truckee	California	7,538	54.2%	458
18	Naples	Florida	7,507	37.6%	344
19	Big Bear City	California	7,097	54.8%	527
20	Destin	Florida	7,054	51.1%	515
21	South Lake Tahoe	California	7,022	41.6%	320
22	Lake Havasu City	Arizona	6,966	21.2%	128
23	Deerfield Beach	Florida	6,876	16.5%	86
24	The Villages	Florida	6,719	12.4%	85
25	Myrtle Beach	South Carolina	6,510	26.0%	199
26	Fortuna Foothills	Arizona	6,351	30.4%	212
27	Boca Raton	Florida	6,318	11.9%	65
28	Barnstable Town	Massachusetts	6,293	23.8%	142
29	Largo	Florida	6,009	12.8%	71
30	North Fort Myers	Florida	5,732	20.9%	134
31	Fort Myers	Florida	5,623	13.9%	70
32	Jupiter	Florida	5,544	16.6%	86
33	Galveston	Texas	5,508	17.5%	110
34	Iona	Florida	5,492	39.5%	389
35	Rancho Mirage	California	5,481	34.6%	301
36	Venice	Florida	5,078	27.7%	220
37	Delray Beach	Florida	5,021	13.9%	74
38	Garden City	South Carolina	4,840	48.5%	454
39	Poinciana	Florida	4,839	20.0%	69
40	Bullhead City	Arizona	4,779	20.1%	119
41	New Smyrna Beach	Florida	4,734	25.6%	179
42	St. George	Utah	4,623	12.8%	55
43	Kissimmee	Florida	4,603	15.9%	65
44	Boynton Beach	Florida	4,349	11.8%	57
45	Sarasota	Florida	4,271	13.4%	75
46	Indio	California	4,150	10.6%	46
47	Palm Beach Gardens	Florida	4,107	13.6%	73
48	Yuma	Arizona	3,946	9.6%	41
49	Palm Coast	Florida	3,647	9.9%	42
50	Apache Junction	Arizona	3,642	15.9%	90
51	Sun City	Arizona	3,611	12.6%	93
52	Steamboat Springs	Colorado	3,555	35.7%	275
53	San Tan Valley	Arizona	3,505	9.8%	36
54	Cathedral City	California	3,499	14.8%	64
55	Ocean Pines	Maryland	3,263	35.8%	261
56	Santa Fe	New Mexico	3,229	7.8%	39
57	North Port	Florida	3,228	11.4%	49
58	Bradenton	Florida	3,190	11.5%	56
59	Newport Beach	California	3,159	7.1%	37
60	Branson	Missouri	3,054	36.4%	268
61	St. Simons	Georgia	3,048	27.0%	206
62	Green Valley	Arizona	3,040	17.6%	145
63	Port Charlotte	Florida	2,956	10.0%	47
64	Daytona Beach	Florida	2,880	7.9%	43
65	Ventnor City	New Jersey	2,874	37.1%	285
66	Cape Canaveral	Florida	2,865	31.6%	276
67	Englewood	Florida	2,800	25.2%	186
68	Laconia	New Hampshire	2,708	26.7%	164
69	Punta Gorda	Florida	2,649	19.6%	135
70	Hampton Bays	New York	2,639	30.9%	178
71	Mission	Texas	2,584	8.9%	31
72	Riviera Beach	Florida	2,578	16.4%	74
73	Sunrise	Florida	2,550	6.7%	27
74	Palm Harbor	Florida	2,538	8.3%	41
75	Show Low	Arizona	2,531	32.7%	227
76	South Yarmouth	Massachusetts	2,465	31.7%	222
77	Catalina Foothills	Arizona	2,403	8.7%	48
78	Weston	Florida	2,353	9.6%	33
79	Key Biscayne	Florida	2,308	31.7%	179
80	Sun City West	Arizona	2,292	12.4%	90
81	Doral	Florida	2,288	9.9%	38
82	Fort Pierce	Florida	2,213	10.3%	49
83	Lauderdale Lakes	Florida	2,175	14.7%	61
84	Cocoa Beach	Florida	2,175	24.0%	187
85	Oxford	Mississippi	2,168	14.2%	80
86	Wellington	Florida	2,153	8.7%	33
87	Fountain Hills	Arizona	2,141	14.7%	87
88	Gulf Shores	Alabama	2,127	16.3%	173
89	Auburn	Alabama	2,105	7.5%	33
90	Margate	Florida	2,099	7.6%	36
91	Bend	Oregon	2,095	5.0%	22
92	Canyon Lake	Texas	2,080	16.6%	82
93	San Clemente	California	2,079	7.5%	32
94	Dana Point	California	2,058	11.5%	61
95	Casa Grande	Arizona	2,000	9.0%	36
96	South Bradenton	Florida	1,993	14.8%	79
97	Holiday	Florida	1,986	15.8%	95
98	Dania Beach	Florida	1,982	12.7%	62
99	Coronado	California	1,980	17.8%	84
100	Dunedin	Florida	1,975	9.5%	54
101	Tamarac	Florida	1,923	6.1%	29
102	Laguna Beach	California	1,900	14.2%	83
103	Rockport	Texas	1,894	26.9%	175
104	Goodyear	Arizona	1,874	6.5%	23
105	Flagstaff	Arizona	1,846	6.6%	26
106	Lauderhill	Florida	1,838	6.6%	26
107	Cypress Lake	Florida	1,831	20.4%	141
108	Maricopa	Arizona	1,814	10.2%	37
109	Weslaco	Texas	1,800	11.4%	45
110	Asheville	North Carolina	1,761	3.8%	19
111	Oro Valley	Arizona	1,758	7.9%	39
112	Gold Canyon	Arizona	1,714	22.2%	148
113	Prescott	Arizona	1,689	7.5%	40
114	Port Orange	Florida	1,654	5.6%	26
115	Pinellas Park	Florida	1,654	6.9%	31
116	Coconut Creek	Florida	1,653	6.1%	27
117	Payson	Arizona	1,649	18.0%	106
118	Atlantic City	New Jersey	1,646	8.1%	43
119	Florence	Arizona	1,630	25.0%	62
120	Kent	Ohio	1,617	11.9%	54
121	North Palm Beach	Florida	1,614	19.4%	124
122	Titusville	Florida	1,605	6.6%	35
123	Deltona	Florida	1,577	4.7%	17
124	Haines City	Florida	1,569	16.7%	65
125	Greenacres	Florida	1,547	9.3%	38
126	Villas	Florida	1,543	19.2%	118
127	Mesquite	Nevada	1,499	14.8%	81
128	Portland	Maine	1,497	4.4%	23
129	Toms River	New Jersey	1,487	4.0%	17
130	Merritt Island	Florida	1,478	8.2%	41
131	Vero Beach	Florida	1,457	13.4%	86
132	Fernandina Beach	Florida	1,456	19.5%	118
133	Palmetto	Florida	1,439	21.9%	106
134	Bay St. Louis	Mississippi	1,426	17.4%	110
135	Sun City Center	Florida	1,424	8.9%	59
136	Sun Lakes	Arizona	1,424	13.7%	98
137	Hot Springs	Arkansas	1,422	7.0%	37
138	Tarpon Springs	Florida	1,415	11.5%	56
139	Winter Haven	Florida	1,398	7.5%	34
140	St. Cloud	Florida	1,381	7.3%	27
141	Desert Hot Springs	California	1,374	10.7%	48
142	Pharr	Texas	1,367	5.4%	18
143	Long Branch	New Jersey	1,358	9.3%	45
144	Melbourne	Florida	1,352	3.6%	17
145	Upper Grand Lagoon	Florida	1,351	14.6%	77
146	Bayshore Gardens	Florida	1,345	13.5%	66
147	Seminole	Florida	1,344	12.2%	72
148	Kihei	Hawaii	1,323	10.6%	59
149	Newport	Rhode Island	1,322	10.2%	54
150	West Lealman	Florida	1,321	13.8%	89
151	Camano	Washington	1,269	14.1%	75
152	Gloucester	Massachusetts	1,252	8.4%	42
153	East Lake	Florida	1,249	8.3%	39
154	Washington	Utah	1,245	11.8%	47
155	Buckeye	Arizona	1,232	5.7%	18
156	Key West	Florida	1,229	8.9%	50
157	Morro Bay	California	1,227	19.2%	116
158	Winchester	Nevada	1,209	8.1%	43
159	Jacksonville Beach	Florida	1,198	9.1%	51
160	Lake Worth	Florida	1,194	7.8%	31
161	Tavares	Florida	1,191	13.3%	71
162	Santa Monica	California	1,174	2.3%	13
163	South Venice	Florida	1,169	15.0%	84
164	Malibu	California	1,139	14.6%	90
165	Sevierville	Tennessee	1,124	14.4%	67
166	North Miami Beach	Florida	1,115	6.9%	26
167	Mount Pleasant	South Carolina	1,093	3.0%	13
168	Clermont	Florida	1,087	7.0%	31
169	Fort Mohave	Arizona	1,082	13.6%	69
170	Pinehurst	North Carolina	1,072	11.6%	67
171	Encinitas	California	1,071	4.1%	17
172	Santa Barbara	California	1,067	2.7%	12
173	Hudson	Florida	1,062	13.5%	89
174	Zephyrhills	Florida	1,056	12.3%	68
175	Clearlake	California	1,038	12.9%	68
176	Plantation	Florida	1,037	2.8%	11
177	Bayonet Point	Florida	1,037	7.8%	38
178	Hemet	California	1,036	3.2%	12
179	Florida Ridge	Florida	1,012	10.2%	45
180	Harlingen	Texas	1,005	4.0%	15
181	Prescott Valley	Arizona	1,004	5.0%	23
182	Lady Lake	Florida	1,003	10.6%	65
183	Sedona	Arizona	1,002	14.1%	97
184	Pahrump	Nevada	994	5.5%	27
185	Alamo	Texas	986	13.2%	50
186	St. Augustine	Florida	978	12.9%	67
187	Ormond Beach	Florida	969	4.7%	23
188	Lighthouse Point	Florida	961	15.0%	86
189	Biloxi	Mississippi	944	4.3%	21
190	Coral Gables	Florida	940	4.4%	19
191	Lake Charles	Louisiana	939	2.5%	12
192	Gulfport	Florida	936	12.0%	76
193	Long Beach	New York	920	5.8%	28
194	Gateway	Florida	914	20.9%	85
195	East Honolulu	Hawaii	910	4.9%	19
196	Whitney	Nevada	905	5.1%	21
197	Gulf Gate Estates	Florida	902	13.0%	81
198	Tucson Estates	Arizona	882	14.0%	74
199	New Braunfels	Texas	847	2.6%	11
200	New Port Richey	Florida	846	9.0%	52

Seasonal Destinations: Cities with the Most Second Homes Per Capita

Seasonal cities are those in which a large portion of the population is resident for only part of the year. These cities feature large numbers of homes that are used only occasionally or seasonally and do not serve as the primary residence for their occupants. The state of Florida accounted for half of the top 100 seasonal cities, with other popular states being California and Arizona. The top seasonal cities were Ocean City, New Jersey (#1), North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (#2), Panama City Beach, Florida (#3), Big Bear City, California (#4), and Destin, Florida (#5). In all these cities, over half of the housing stock is second homes.

Rank	City	State	Number of Second Homes	Second Homes as a % of Total Homes	2nd Homes per 1K Population
1	Ocean City	New Jersey	13,068	65.0%	1,174
2	North Myrtle Beach	South Carolina	11,968	42.4%	739
3	Panama City Beach	Florida	8,253	49.1%	647
4	Big Bear City	California	7,097	54.8%	527
5	Destin	Florida	7,054	51.1%	515
6	Marco Island	Florida	9,083	49.1%	509
7	Sunny Isles Beach	Florida	10,433	47.4%	476
8	Truckee	California	7,538	54.2%	458
9	Garden City	South Carolina	4,840	48.5%	454
10	Hilton Head Island	South Carolina	15,716	44.6%	393
11	Iona	Florida	5,492	39.5%	389
12	Naples	Florida	7,507	37.6%	344
13	Four Corners	Florida	14,503	45.9%	343
14	South Lake Tahoe	California	7,022	41.6%	320
15	Rancho Mirage	California	5,481	34.6%	301
16	Aventura	Florida	11,066	36.6%	297
17	Ventnor City	New Jersey	2,874	37.1%	285
18	Cape Canaveral	Florida	2,865	31.6%	276
19	Steamboat Springs	Colorado	3,555	35.7%	275
20	Branson	Missouri	3,054	36.4%	268
21	Ocean Pines	Maryland	3,263	35.8%	261
22	Estero	Florida	8,263	34.5%	252
23	Palm Desert	California	12,529	31.5%	238
24	Bonita Springs	Florida	13,073	34.4%	234
25	Palm Springs	California	10,909	28.4%	228
26	Show Low	Arizona	2,531	32.7%	227
27	South Yarmouth	Massachusetts	2,465	31.7%	222
28	Venice	Florida	5,078	27.7%	220
29	Fortuna Foothills	Arizona	6,351	30.4%	212
30	St. Simons	Georgia	3,048	27.0%	206
31	Hallandale Beach	Florida	8,034	28.7%	203
32	La Quinta	California	8,303	31.9%	202
33	Myrtle Beach	South Carolina	6,510	26.0%	199
34	Miami Beach	Florida	17,389	25.3%	193
35	Cocoa Beach	Florida	2,175	24.0%	187
36	Englewood	Florida	2,800	25.2%	186
37	New Smyrna Beach	Florida	4,734	25.6%	179
38	Key Biscayne	Florida	2,308	31.7%	179
39	Hampton Bays	New York	2,639	30.9%	178
40	Rockport	Texas	1,894	26.9%	175
41	Gulf Shores	Alabama	2,127	16.3%	173
42	Laconia	New Hampshire	2,708	26.7%	164
43	Gold Canyon	Arizona	1,714	22.2%	148
44	Green Valley	Arizona	3,040	17.6%	145
45	Barnstable Town	Massachusetts	6,293	23.8%	142
46	Cypress Lake	Florida	1,831	20.4%	141
47	Punta Gorda	Florida	2,649	19.6%	135
48	North Fort Myers	Florida	5,732	20.9%	134
49	Lake Havasu City	Arizona	6,966	21.2%	128
50	North Palm Beach	Florida	1,614	19.4%	124
51	Bullhead City	Arizona	4,779	20.1%	119
52	Villas	Florida	1,543	19.2%	118
53	Fernandina Beach	Florida	1,456	19.5%	118
54	Morro Bay	California	1,227	19.2%	116
55	Galveston	Texas	5,508	17.5%	110
56	Bay St. Louis	Mississippi	1,426	17.4%	110
57	Payson	Arizona	1,649	18.0%	106
58	Palmetto	Florida	1,439	21.9%	106
59	Sun Lakes	Arizona	1,424	13.7%	98
60	Sedona	Arizona	1,002	14.1%	97
61	Holiday	Florida	1,986	15.8%	95
62	Sun City	Arizona	3,611	12.6%	93
63	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	9,025	18.7%	91
64	Malibu	California	1,139	14.6%	90
65	Sun City West	Arizona	2,292	12.4%	90
66	Apache Junction	Arizona	3,642	15.9%	90
67	Hudson	Florida	1,062	13.5%	89
68	West Lealman	Florida	1,321	13.8%	89
69	Fountain Hills	Arizona	2,141	14.7%	87
70	Vero Beach	Florida	1,457	13.4%	86
71	Jupiter	Florida	5,544	16.6%	86
72	Lighthouse Point	Florida	961	15.0%	86
73	Deerfield Beach	Florida	6,876	16.5%	86
74	Gateway	Florida	914	20.9%	85
75	The Villages	Florida	6,719	12.4%	85
76	South Venice	Florida	1,169	15.0%	84
77	Coronado	California	1,980	17.8%	84
78	Laguna Beach	California	1,900	14.2%	83
79	Canyon Lake	Texas	2,080	16.6%	82
80	Mesquite	Nevada	1,499	14.8%	81
81	Gulf Gate Estates	Florida	902	13.0%	81
82	Oxford	Mississippi	2,168	14.2%	80
83	Pompano Beach	Florida	8,712	16.0%	79
84	South Bradenton	Florida	1,993	14.8%	79
85	Upper Grand Lagoon	Florida	1,351	14.6%	77
86	Newport	Oregon	811	14.0%	77
87	Gulfport	Florida	936	12.0%	76
88	Sarasota	Florida	4,271	13.4%	75
89	Camano	Washington	1,269	14.1%	75
90	Riviera Beach	Florida	2,578	16.4%	74
91	Tucson Estates	Arizona	882	14.0%	74
92	Delray Beach	Florida	5,021	13.9%	74
93	Palm Beach Gardens	Florida	4,107	13.6%	73
94	Cape Coral	Florida	13,338	15.9%	73
95	Seminole	Florida	1,344	12.2%	72
96	Largo	Florida	6,009	12.8%	71
97	Fort Lauderdale	Florida	12,856	13.4%	71
98	Tavares	Florida	1,191	13.3%	71
99	Hull	Massachusetts	742	12.6%	71
100	Fort Myers	Florida	5,623	13.9%	70

Methodology

To determine the cities in the United States most popular for second homes, AdvisorSmith examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, using 5-year estimates from 2019, the most recent year available. We examined estimates for the number of homes in each city with over 10,000 residents that were classified as for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. 

These homes are those intended for use only in certain seasons, or only on the weekends, or other occasional use during the year. We considered all of these homes to be second homes for the purposes of our study, as these homes are not used as primary residences. These second homes include seasonal homes such as beach cottages, ski cabins, or hunting cabins. They also include timeshare condos.

We divided U.S. cities into one of three categories based upon their population size. Cities with at least 350,000 residents were considered large cities. Midsize cities were those with between 100,000 and 350,000 residents, and small cities had between 10,000 and 100,000 residents. Within each city size group, we ranked the cities based upon the number of second homes in each city. 

We also calculated the number of second homes per 1,000 residents for cities in our study. We used this metric to rank the top seasonal destinations, which are cities with the highest number of second homes relative to each city’s population.

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates
2. Zillow Home Value Index (Data Provided by Zillow Group)