The 25 most popular cities for vacation homes in the US, ranked

Hillary HoffowerJun 2, 2019, 21:00 IST

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Vacation homes are often all about location.
We teamed up with Zillow to find the most popular US cities for vacation homes.
Cities in Florida, Nevada, and Arizona are the most popular for vacation homes.
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There are three main reasons why people consider buying a vacation home, according to Jean Chatzky, financial editor of NBC's "Today" Show, in her latest book, " Women with Money:" They frequent a certain area, they're planning to retire, or they want rental income.

These all have one underlying factor: location. Do you visit often? Does the place fit your lifestyle? Is it a popular area where tourists will want to rent?

So, we teamed up with Zillow to find the most popular US cities for vacation homes. To determine this, Zillow used 2017 US census data to see the share of homes classified as a second home in cities with a population over 65,000. The percentage of vacation homes refers to the amount of vacation homes out of all total homes in the city.

Florida cities are the most popular for vacation homes, as well as cities surrounding Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. See the 25 most popular places for vacation homes below, ranked in descending order.

All population sizes are based on US Census Bureau data.

See The 25 most popular cities for vacation homes in the US, ranked >>

25. Henderson, Nevada, located to the southeast of Las Vegas, has a population of 320,390.

Percentage of vacation homes: 5.45%

Number of vacation homes: 7,234

Number of total homes: 132,788

24. Portland, Maine, has a population of 66,417.

Percentage of vacation homes: 5.49%

Number of vacation homes: 1,923

Number of total homes: 35,010

23. Yuma, Arizona, borders Arizona and Mexico and is three hours west of Tucson. Yuma County has a population of 212,128.

Percentage of vacation homes: 5.76%

Number of vacation homes: 2,353

Number of total homes: 40,828

22. The county of Honolulu, Hawaii, has a population of 980,080.

Percentage of vacation homes: 6.43%

Number of vacation homes: 9,746

Number of total homes: 151,619

21. About four hours south of San Antonio, Mission, Texas, is at the tip of the state and has a population of 84,827.

Percentage of vacation homes: 6.94%

Number of vacation homes: 2,092

Number of total homes: 30,123

20. Enterprise, Nevada, located near Las Vegas, has a population of 108,481.

Percentage of vacation homes: 7.04%

Number of vacation homes: 4,508

Number of total homes: 64,069

19. Surprise, Arizona, northwest of Phoenix, has a population of 138,161.

Percentage of vacation homes: 7.12%

Number of vacation homes: 4,156

Number of total homes: 58,397

18. Daytona Beach, Florida, has a population of 68,866.

Percentage of vacation homes: 7.71%

Number of vacation homes: 2,522

Number of total homes: 32,727

17. Paradise, Nevada, just south of Las Vegas, has a population of 223,167.

Percentage of vacation homes: 7.87%

Number of vacation homes: 9,085

Number of total homes: 115,426

16. Mesa, Arizona, just east of Phoenix, has a population of 508,958.

Percentage of vacation homes: 7.89%

Number of vacation homes: 16,444

Number of total homes: 208,391

15. Lakeland, Florida, an hour east of Tampa, has a population of 110,516.

Percentage of vacation homes: 8.64%

Number of vacation homes: 4,398

Number of total homes: 50,917

14. Newport Beach, California, has a population of 85,326.

Percentage of vacation homes: 9.53%

Number of vacation homes: 4,405

Number of total homes: 46,237

13. Scottsdale, Arizona, just northeast of Phoenix, has a population of 255,310.

Percentage of vacation homes: 10.55%

Number of vacation homes: 14,120

Number of total homes: 133,883

12. San Tan Valley, Arizona, located within the Phoenix metro area, has a population of 81,321.

Percentage of vacation homes: 10.58%

Number of vacation homes: 3,802

Number of total homes: 35,949

11. West Palm Beach, Florida, has a population of 111,398.

Percentage of vacation homes: 11.65%

Number of vacation homes: 6,020

Number of total homes: 51,684

10. Boynton Beach, Florida, situated between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, has a population of 78,050.

Percentage of vacation homes: 11.7%

Number of vacation homes: 4,113

Number of total homes: 35,142

9. Clearwater, Florida, which sits on the Tampa Bay, has a population of 116,478.

Percentage of vacation homes: 12.24%

Number of vacation homes: 7,072

Number of total homes: 57,763

8. Largo, Florida, just south of Clearwater, has a population of 84,996.

Percentage of vacation homes: 12.32%

Number of vacation homes: 5,640

Number of total homes: 45,788

7. Hollywood, Florida, south of Fort Lauderdale, has a population of 154,823.

Percentage of vacation homes: 12.32%

Number of vacation homes: 8,416

Number of total homes: 68,321

6. Boca Raton, Florida, has a population of 99,244.

Percentage of vacation homes: 13.1%

Number of vacation homes: 7,122

Number of total homes: 54,380

5. Fort Myers, Florida, about two hours south of Tampa, has a population of 82,254.

Percentage of vacation homes: 13.23%

Number of vacation homes: 5,205

Number of total homes: 39,355

4. Cape Coral, Florida, adjacent to Fort Myers, has a population of 189,343.

Percentage of vacation homes: 15.82%

Number of vacation homes: 13,627

Number of total homes: 86,155

3. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has a population of 182,595.

Percentage of vacation homes: 16.15%

Number of vacation homes: 15,170

Number of total homes: 93,917

2. Pompano Beach, Florida, just north of Fort Lauderdale, has a population of 111,954.

Percentage of vacation homes: 18.72%

Number of vacation homes: 10,794

Number of total homes: 57,675

1. Miami Beach, Florida, has a population of 11,510.

Percentage of vacation homes: 24.89%

Number of vacation homes: 17,509

Number of total homes: 70,349

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