10 Most Picturesque Small Cities To Visit in United States

The United States has some hidden gems that will provide travelers with gorgeous photo opportunities.

Visitors walk a fog-shrouded portion of Newport's Cliff Walk, one of Rhode Island's premier tourist attractions, on a recent Sunday afternoon. / Kris Craig/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

There are a lot of big cities in the United States that attract tourists from all around the world. Los Angeles, New York City and Miami are just a few of the popular hot spots.

But, there are smaller cities that may not be the first that come to mind as tourist attractions but will provide visitors with some incredible photo opportunities.

Over at Heepsy, a study was done using several factors to find the most Instagrammable small cities in the country. 50 cities with populations of less than 300,000 people were surveyed using information from the popular social media.

“Smaller cities with compact areas and distinct visual appeal tend to have higher hashtag densities, indicating a strong presence on social media. Interestingly, while some larger cities generate a significant total number of Instagram hashtags, their hashtag density is often lower due to their expansive size. This suggests that the most Instagrammable cities are those that offer concentrated, photogenic experiences, making them particularly attractive to social media users. Cities aiming to increase their Instagram visibility might benefit from enhancing and promoting visually distinct spots within more concentrated areas,” commented a Heepsy spokesperson in response to the study.

Which cities made the list? Coming in at No. 1 was Sonoma, California. With a population of 11,000 and area of 2.74 square miles, it was No. 2 in number of residents and No. 5 in area.

Despite that, its popularity on social media is evident. It came in first with 529,990 hashtags/area with 1,452,173 Instagram hashtags. The total hashtags were No. 4 among the cities listed.

Another city in California, Carmel-by-the-Sea, came in at No. 2 on the list. It was not far behind Sonoma with a total of 494,619 hashtags per square mile. Only 1.06 square miles, it is the smallest city on the list based on size.

The only other state that had multiple cities make the list was Colorado. Coming in at No. 5 was Telluride, which has a population of 2,600 and 337,915 hashtags per square mile. 

Rounding out the top 10 was Breckenridge. Their hashtag/area was 172,435 with a size of 5.81 square miles and 1,001,847 total hashtags recorded.

The most populated city on the list is Newport Beach in Rhode Island with 25,000 residents. It is also the largest being 11.39 square miles in size. The most hashtags were recorded there as well with 2,947,826, but it was seventh with a 258,808 average.

Three more East Coast cities were part of the list. Cape May, New Jersey came in at No. 6 and is one of the most popular tourist spots along the Jersey shore.

At No. 8 is Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. The smallest population on the list was recorded there with only 1,100. Destin, Florida came in at No. 9 and is the final East Coast city, owning the second-largest population of 14,000.

Heading to the desert is where you will find the No. 3 city; Moab, Utah. The third most Instagram hashtags are recorded there with 1,535,989.

Last but not least, the final city is Cannon Beach in Oregon. The population of 1,500 is the second least on the list but it comes in at No. 4 with a hashtag/area of 367,849.