Salem 91·Park City 90·Leavenworth 89·St. George 84·Alexandria 80·Bozeman 79·New Glarus 77·Billings 75·Medora 74·Detroit Lakes 73·Bentonville 71·Cedar City 67·Mackinac 66·Pella 64·Glenwood 60·Anoka 49·Salem 91·Park City 90·Leavenworth 89·St. George 84·Alexandria 80·Bozeman 79·New Glarus 77·Billings 75·Medora 74·Detroit Lakes 73·Bentonville 71·Cedar City 67·Mackinac 66·Pella 64·Glenwood 60·Anoka 49·

The idea

A field study, updated weekly. We grade small tourism towns on one honest rubric, then publish what we find.

The problem

Good towns go unfound

A town does not lose visitors because it lacks charm. It loses them because travelers cannot find it, picture it, or choose it.

The instrument

One small rubric

Seven weighted categories and a Unique Hook multiplier, scored on a single afternoon, the same questions asked of every town.

The discipline

Read it as a budget

The score is a position, not a verdict. The category just below the composite is where the next dollar goes.

What we believe

A flawed town with one unrepeatable thing beats a pleasant town that could be anywhere.

Six years of fieldwork across more than forty towns converged on eight observable qualities that explain a tourism outcome the others cannot. We keep the corpus open, the rubric small, and the voice honest.

Read the method

Find out where your town stands.

The towns that win the next decade get serious about their story now.

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