With summer being peak moving season, the personal-finance website WalletHub took a close look at 2018's Best Beach Towns to Live in.
To determine the most livable beachside communities, WalletHub compared 205 cities across 58 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing costs to share of for-sale waterfront homes to quality of beach water.
Our study divides beach towns into two categories, those by the ocean and those by lakes.
| Top 10 Best Ocean Beach Towns in America | Top 10 Best Lake Beach Towns in America | |||
| 1 | Lahaina, HI | 1 | Traverse City, MI | |
| 2 | Naples, FL | 2 | Eden Prairie, MN | |
| 3 | Sarasota, FL | 3 | Folsom, CA | |
| 4 | Mill Valley, CA | 4 | Highland Park, IL | |
| 5 | St. Augustine, FL | 5 | Mequon, WI | |
| 6 | Santa Monica, CA | 6 | Holland, MI | |
| 7 | Boca Raton, FL | 7 | Alpena, MI | |
| 8 | Kihei, HI | 8 | Bay Village, OH | |
| 9 | Westport, CT | 9 | Mercer Island, WA | |
| 10 | Key West, FL | 10 | Redmond, WA | |
Best vs. Worst
Ocean Beach Cities:
- La Porte, Texas has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 1.79, which is 8.6 times lower than in Malibu, Calif., the city with the highest at 15.42.
- Wailuku, Hawaii has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.16 percent, which is 18 times lower than in Shirley, N.Y., the city with the highest at 2.88 percent.
- Savannah, Ga., Port Royal and Beaufort, S.C., all share the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), 11, which is six times fewer than in Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates and Malibu, Calif., the cities with the most at 66.
- Rye, N.Y. has the lowest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 3.85, which is 35.8 times lower than in Myrtle Beach, S.C, the city with the highest at 137.93.
Lake Beach Cities:
- Port Huron, Mich., has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 2.14, which is 3.8 times lower than in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., the city with the highest at 8.11.
- Morgan City, La., has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.25 percent, which is 15.5 times lower than in Zion, Ill., the city with the highest at 3.87 percent.
- Traverse City and Alpena, Mich., have the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), three each, which is 17 times fewer than in Lake Elsinore, Calif., which has the most at 51.
- Bay Village, Ohio, has the lowest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 3.05, which is 39.3 times lower than in Branson, Mo., the city with the highest at 119.73.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please click here.