America’s Greatest Small Cities of 2025

Like apple pie and ice cream, what’s extra American than a small city?

Positive, there’s little doubt large cities have their attracts: the electrical buzz of New York Metropolis, the palm tree-lined streets of Los Angeles, and the glittering sunshine of Miami. However with their slower tempo of life and wistful air of nostalgia, there’s simply one thing about small cities. 

And let’s be sincere—there are some misconceptions about these gems scattered throughout the nation. Small cities actually don’t have much less to supply than their extra populous siblings.

You don’t have to ebook a airplane ticket to your nearest main metropolis to see a superb fashionable artwork exhibit or to top off on the newest fashions. In actual fact, you are able to do all of it whereas having fun with a sandy seashore day by the ocean, a soak in historic sizzling springs, or a fast journey on the lake.

This 12 months, the Journey + Leisure staff rounded up 10 of the most exciting small towns throughout the U.S. and divided them into classes to greatest fit your subsequent getaway. We hope these small cities encourage you to hit the street and discover the little locations on the map that assist make our nation the particular place it’s.

Greatest Small Seaside City

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Bruce Springsteen’s album “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” put the city on the worldwide music map in 1973, and for years, solely die-hard music followers made the journey to Asbury Park in hopes of scoring tickets to exhibits at legendary venues just like the Stone Pony. However within the early aughts, the LGBTQ+ neighborhood invested closely within the city, restoring its Victorian colonial properties. “Their investments in actual property and enterprise begin ups helped gas the rebirth which we see exploding at the moment,” says Deb Masco, an worker on the Asbury Ocean Membership resort.

The historic boardwalk has been fully reimagined and rivals the best road in Brooklyn. “The range is unbelievable,” says Clinch. “You may stroll down the boardwalk and see homosexual, straight, black, white, tattooed, conservative, you identify it, forms of folks,” he says.

The varied neighborhood has fostered creativity that extends past music, to the humanities, meals, and design scenes. “There’s a uncooked, artistic power that’s onerous to explain except you’ve frolicked right here,” says Shauna Lagala, advanced resort supervisor on the Asbury Assortment. “It’s bizarre in one of the simplest ways—a mixture of old-school Jersey, artists, punks, surfers, and individuals who simply don’t wish to dwell wherever typical. It’s the form of city the place you possibly can seize a chilly brew at a café run by somebody in a band, then stroll 5 minutes and find yourself in a tattoo store or an artwork gallery.”

Greatest Small Mountain City

Boone, North Carolina

Rising from the devastation attributable to Hurricane Helene, Boone, North Carolina, hums with a renewed spirit. The North Carolina city within the Blue Ridge Mountains is residence to a number of buzzy boutique accommodations; the Horton Lodge will unveil eight brand-new luxurious suites this fall, and the 1850 Lodge opened its doorways in March 2025 proper on historic King Avenue. In 2023, Rhode’s Motor Lodge woke up from its kitschy slumber, its mid-century appeal restored. And Boone’s culinary panorama blossoms with daring flavors and sudden pairings, from rising Asian eateries like The Comfortable Persimmon and CoBo Sushi Bistro to native vineyards coaxing crisp bubbles from mountain grapes.

Lengthy summer season days invite you to chase sun-dappled mountaineering trails, whereas autumn ignites the mountains in fiery reds and golds, the air wealthy with the scent of woodsmoke and earth. “I really like the dimensions of it,” says Andy Lengthy, chef and co-owner of Over Yonder, “sufficiently small to know your neighbors, sufficiently big to have a vibrant eating and music scene. Whenever you speak to folks right here, it feels such as you’ve identified them perpetually.” 

From immersive new exhibitions like Jack Boul: Land, Metropolis, House at The Blowing Rock Artwork & Historical past Museum to occasions like the long-lasting Tweetsie Railroad’s Heritage Weekend in August, this 12 months affords wealthy new methods to discover Boone’s fusion of historic appeal, fashionable creativity, and deep-rooted traditions that garnered it the moniker, “Coronary heart of the Excessive Nation.”

Greatest Small Lake City

Ogallala, Nebraska

“Not Your Unusual City!” boasts a mural on East 1st and North Spruce, marking the doorway into downtown Ogallala, Nebraska. They’re proper: regardless of a inhabitants of 5,107 unfold over barely 5 sq. miles, the “Cowboy Capital of Nebraska” is brimming with historical past, tradition, and Western aptitude. 

The city, which derives its identify from the Oglala Sioux tribe, was initially a cattle drive cease alongside the Union Pacific Railroad. Right now, it’s a captivating vacation spot simply minutes from not one, however two lakes. At Lake McConaughy—affectionately identified to locals as “Large Mac”—you’ll discover over 100 miles of sentimental white sand and clear waters that appeal to fishers, kayakers, and scuba divers. McConaughy’s little sister to the east, Lake Ogallala, might not be as spectacular in measurement, however its sedate, wind-protected waters and winter eagle-viewing facility have their very own distinctive draw. 

As Ogallala continues to flourish, the city has large plans for the longer term: Lake Mac On line casino Resort, a on line casino advanced that features a horse racetrack, 180-room resort, and occasion house, is anticipated to finish development as quickly as 2027, with a short lived on line casino slated to open within the meantime.

Greatest Small Desert City

El Centro, California

El Centro is the kind of city that takes you unexpectedly. You may count on to go proper by way of—solely to finish up spending the higher a part of a day discovering superior indie boutiques, stellar tacos, and a heat, artistic neighborhood. Simply over two hours east of San Diego and 15 miles north of the Mexican border city of Mexicali, El Centro has each grit and appeal.

“5 automobiles is taken into account site visitors in El Centro,” jokes Mark Silva, proprietor of the brand new Gateway Gallery in close by Ocotillo. “The city continually appears to be on the verge of rising.”

The area’s first accommodations have popped up prior to now 12 months, together with an Insta-worthy sizzling springs resort halfway between San Diego and El Centro, and a handful of makers and cooks are establishing store on the town. The annual Bombay Seaside Biennale, a word-of-mouth gathering of creatives, will rejoice its tenth anniversary subsequent 12 months, and a stunning quantity of musicians come by way of this distant desert space.

This desert city’s gems don’t soar out. You want to be trying to uncover the cool classic and vinyl shops, craft beer bars, and artisanal espresso spots. It’s contemporary off its first-ever restaurant week and given its proximity to the border, the Mexican meals is sensational. Plus, sizzling springs, mountaineering trails, and funky public artwork installations are all only a drive away.

Greatest Small Arts + Tradition City

Sewanee, Tennessee

“Sewanee appears to be like like a sleepy faculty city misplaced within the Tennessee woods, however there’s something uncommon occurring [here] nearly on daily basis and all year long,” says Woody Register, professor of historical past and director of the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation on the College of the South. “All through its 170-year historical past, Sewanee has been very a lot entangled within the hopes, goals, conflicts, and contradictions of the world round it.”

Set atop Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau, the city is a spot that continues to assist inventive self-expression and exploration in all types—books, poetry, music, structure, dance, theater. It’s additionally a case research in how tradition is solid by range, faith, historical past, custom, and genuine human relationships. From publishing the The Sewanee Review, America’s oldest constantly revealed literary quarterly, to internet hosting the historic Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Sewanee is, and has at all times been, an area for concepts to kind and take root.

Greatest Small Meals + Drinks City

Bardstown, Kentucky

In the event you’re new to the whiskey world and are simply dipping your toe into distillery excursions, Bardstown, Kentucky, is perhaps a type of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cities you go in your method to Lexington or Louisville. However to connoisseurs, it’s generally known as “Bourbon Capital of the World,” and for good motive: there are 11 distilleries inside a 16-mile radius of downtown Bardstown.

Even when you’re not large into brown spirits, there’s a lot to tempt your style buds right here. Throughout spring, summer season, and fall, Bardstown hosts a strong farmers market and farm-to-table dinners. All year long, buzzy occasions like Bardstown Burger Week and the Kentucky Bourbon Pageant draw crowds. Any time you swing by, you possibly can gas up at a wide range of seasonally-focused eating places with bountiful bourbon alternatives (naturally), Kentucky-made beers, and significantly spectacular wine lists (Oak & Ember, as an illustration, has a level-three sommelier on employees).

“The truth that Bardstown shouldn’t be a giant metro space is a part of its appeal,” says Kentucky native Norma Smith, a bourbon butler at The Path Lodge, a newly-opened luxurious boutique resort . “People can come right here, find out about bourbon’s historical past, discover native companies, and never should really feel the hustle-bustle of a giant metropolis. Bardstown is a small city with loads of superior issues to do—and style!”

Greatest Small Spa + Wellness City

 Mineral Wells, Texas

An hour west of Fort Price, Mineral Wells, Texas, is a small city steeped in wellness historical past. It started in 1877, when James Alvis Lynch moved his household and livestock to the world, dug a effectively on their property, and found the water had a humorous style. After testing it on their cattle with no unwanted effects, they started consuming the water themselves, and shortly, James and his spouse, Armanda, who each suffered from rheumatism, began feeling higher.

It is stated the mineral waters right here have the next focus of lithium, which helps deal with a variety of psychological and temper problems. Phrase unfold like wildfire, and vacationers from around the globe flocked to Mineral Wells within the early twentieth century to expertise these therapeutic waters. By 1920, the city had 400 mineral wells and was touted because the “South’s best well being resort.” 

A century later, Mineral Wells—now the official Wellness Capital of Texas—is seeing a resurgence as locals rally collectively to revitalize historic properties and honor its wellness theme. Cease into city and also you’ll really feel the slower tempo of life and small-town appeal coupled with that buzzy aura of rebirth and alternative. Right here, you’ll understand there actually is simply one thing within the water.

Greatest Small Retirement City

Panama Metropolis Seaside, Florida

With 320 days of sunshine, loads of parks, and no state earnings tax, Panama Metropolis Seaside (PCB) is an inexpensive small-town gem (inhabitants 19,393) on Florida’s Panhandle that’s more and more capturing the eye of retirees. I’ve referred to as this place residence for over three a long time, and every morning I take a stroll alongside the comfortable, powdery white sand earlier than becoming a member of water aerobics courses at Frank Brown Park—an ideal mix of mild train and neighborhood connection. 

The laid-back city affords pure magnificence alongside an energetic way of life, the place you possibly can fish, paddleboard, hike scenic trails, and spot bottlenose dolphins within the emerald Gulf waters. The contemporary native seafood, annual wine competition, and host of recent points of interest add to the attract. “We moved down right here, and I simply fell in love with this place,” says artist and Seaside Arts Group founder Helen Ferrell. “It’s an ideal place to dwell, to lift children—and folks deal with you effectively. They embrace everyone: the army, the vacationers, the locals.” 

Daniel Pratt, the proprietor of Panama City Coffee Co., shared the same sentiment. “Folks cease and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ There’s a neighborhood really feel right here you simply don’t discover all over the place.”

Greatest Small Household City

Frankenmuth, MI

Strolling down the tidy Primary Avenue of Frankenmuth, Michigan, it will be simple to mistake the city of roughly 5,000 for a Bavarian village, albeit with out the alpine terrain. Flowers cascade from window containers, nearly too vigorous to be contained. Frequent Bavarian structure—giant murals, steep roofs, ornate trim, and wood balconies—is current in each constructing. Old school gentle posts brighten the picturesque two-square-mile city, including one other contact of historic ornament. The slim Cass River meanders by way of city, very slowly at only one mile per hour on day.

As a lifelong Midwesterner and toddler mother, I can’t assist however admire such a heat and welcoming setting that is completely suited to multigenerational journeys. This walkable city is completely arrange for household enjoyable, with a gnome hunt, mural finder, family-style hen dinners, a number of water parks, a slew of eateries, and festivals all 12 months lengthy. With quick access from a number of metro areas, together with the Detroit airport, Frankenmuth proves it packs a punch with regards to accessible enjoyable for the entire household.

Greatest Small Purchasing City

Taos, New Mexico

In northern New Mexico, the place the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rise above the desert, the city of Taos unfolds. It’s one of many few locations the place every part from purchasing to eating seems like an genuine interplay with the folks, the tradition, and the land. The city is very identified for its handmade Southwestern artwork, jewellery, and pottery, a lot of which will be discovered within the Taos Plaza, the storefront-lined middle of the Taos Historic District. The plaza’s expansive historical past dates again to 1796, when the king of Spain granted the land to 63 households within the Taos space. The next settlement grew to become a spot the place retailers traveled to show their wares—simply as they do at the moment.

“This city isn’t simply particular, it’s sacred. The tempo, the folks, the land—it heals you when you let it,” stated Maria Valdez, the proprietor beloved native restaurant La Luna @ La Fonda, in an interview with Journey + Leisure. “Taos is a crossroads of cultures, histories, and landscapes. You are feeling it the second you arrive.”