These Are the 10 Most Exciting Small Cities in America

Not everyone can live in Oakland, CA. But after the Movoto Real Estate Blog named it the Most Exciting City in America, it seemed like everyone in the Bay Area was thinking about giving it a shot. Sure, living in a big city can be exciting, stimulating, educational, and tons of fun, but often the tradeoff for living in a bustling city is a high cost of living and constant crowds. It seems the trend now is to seek out the perfect blend of small-town vibes and accessibility to culture and activities. If you’re the type to prefer a quieter lifestyle without sacrificing fun, we crunched the numbers to rank the top cities that provide the best of both worlds.
What did we find? We’re sure the passionate citizens of New Jersey will be happy to learn that their very own Hoboken took the (flashing, noise-making, spinning) crown of excitement after our results had been tallied. The birthplace of baseball—a sport whose degree of excitement varies depending on who you talk to—headed up a diverse top 10 of miniature metros. Find out what makes these small cities so exciting.
Top 10 miniature metros including:
1. Hoboken, NJ
2. La Crosse, WI
3. Chapel Hill, NC
4. Lancaster, PA
5. New Brunswick, NJ
6. Manhattan, KS
7. Lakewood, OH
8. Royal Oak, MI
9. San Marcos, TX
10. Sarasota, FL

How Do You Measure Excitement?

A unique challenge was how we could quantify something like “fun” with numbers. What we came up with is a combination of six criteria designed to translate excitement into something measurable:

• Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
• Live music venues per capita
• Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
• Fast food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
• Percentage of restaurants that are fast food (the lower the better)
• Percentage of young residents ages 20 to 34 (the higher the better)

With these metrics, we compiled this list of small cities across the country with populations between 50,000 and 60,000 residents, which came to a total of 140. We then analyzed our six criteria within each city and awarded a score from 1 to 140 in each criterion.
After all of the individual criteria has been scored and ranked, we averaged all the individual rankings for each city to produce an overall Big Deal Score—the lower this number, the better. The 10 cities with the lowest overall scores were our most exciting small cities.
If you think you can handle the excitement, we’ve detailed where Hoboken and the top nine other highest achievers excelled below. You can also find a complete ranking of the top 50 cities.

1. Hoboken, New Jersey

This hip, young Garden State town taking top honors actually didn’t surprise us much. While it’s widely known as a popular New York City commuter town, Hoboken itself has plenty to offer. When we said Hoboken was young, we meant it. Over 50 percent of its population is between 20 and 39 years of age—the largest such group in our top 10. Hoboken’s youthful population seems to be getting its kicks mostly at bars and clubs with the city posting the best overall score (third place) in nightlife out of any place in our top 10.
Hoboken also scored especially well (fourth overall) in the percentage of its restaurants that are fast-food chains—a minuscule 2.5 percent. Instead of mass-produced dreck, they’re dining on exciting fare like La Isla’s famed stuffed French toast, which even Bobby Flay couldn’t top when the Cuban hotspot appeared on the Iron Chef’s show “Throw-down.”
Learn more about New Jersey

2. La Crosse, Wisconsin

We know what you’re thinking: How can a town situated in the shadow of “Grandad Bluff” be exciting? Well, the numbers don’t lie. Numbers like five, which is the place La Crosse took when it came to nightlife. And we’re sure regulars at places like Bodega Brew Pub and the Starlite Lounge would agree if we could get them to put down their glasses for a second.
La Crosse also posted great numbers when it came to active life and having a young population. It ranked 20th for the former and 11th for the latter, with a median age of 28.8.

3. Chapel Hill, North Carolina

One point of North Carolina’s “Research Triangle” and home to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill claimed a fourth-place finish for active life options, which isn’t surprising given its large student population. Its 14th place ranking for nightlife isn’t a surprise either when you consider it is home to spots like Local 506 and the Cave, venues that play host to world-renowned musical acts throughout the year.
While Chapel Hill only ranked 49th for the percentage of non-fast food chain restaurants it boasts, that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of unique gems like the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen and Merritt’s Grill, where the BLT is not so much a sandwich as it is an art form.

4. Lancaster, Pennsylvania

If our 15th president James Buchanan were alive today, we can’t help but think he’d be living it up and enjoying Lancaster’s nightlife. We say that because the city certainly has plenty to offer, ranking seventh overall in this category. We’d probably find old Jimmy at places like Annie Bailey’s and Lancaster Brewing, practicing his mid-19th-century pickup lines on the ladies.
Lancaster also did well in terms of its percentage of non-fast food restaurants (96 percent for a 12th place finish there) and its percentage of 20- to 34-year-old residents (coming in at number 15 in that category).

5. New Brunswick, New Jersey

Remember when we said that New Jersey had not one, but two cities in our top 10? New Brunswick might’ve gotten trounced (relatively) by Hoboken, but a fifth-place finish is still something to be excited about. Like Chapel Hill, New Brunswick likely owes some of its fun cred to the fact that it’s a college town—in this case the home of Rutgers University.
This clearly had a hand in New Brunswick’s fourth place ranking for 20- to 39-year-olds of 43 percent. The city also ranked respectably for non-chain restaurants (17th) and nightlife (19th). The latter category is headlined by places like Clydz, which—in addition to myriad libations—serves unusual fare including alligator, python, and kangaroo. Weird, yes, but undeniably exciting.

6. Manhattan, Kansas

Yes, we’re starting to sense a trend here, too. By that we mean that, like Chapel Hill and Lancaster, Manhattan—nicknamed the “Little Apple”—is also a college town. In this case, that college is Kansas State University. Again, this translates to a large population of young people between 20 to 34 years old (it placed third for that criterion) and plenty of nightlife (enough to get it ranked 15th).
A good chunk of that is centered in and around “Aggieville,” the city’s main cultural hub and an area that also hosts Manhattan’s mock-holiday, Fake Patty’s Day, which occurs just before the real deal each year. Local bars, like Aggieville hotspot the So Long Saloon, get in on the excitement, while more sane-minded folks can be found elsewhere in the city enjoying sober fun at places like the Sunset Zoo.

7. Lakewood, Ohio

Out of all the criteria we measured, this Cleveland suburb ranked highest for things related to active life. This isn’t really surprising when you consider all of the things to do on and around Lake Erie. Things like the Lakewood Park and the Rocky River Reservation.
In the town proper, there’s a pretty happening nightlife scene along Madison and Detroit Avenues. There are even places lauded for their dual specialization in grub and brews, such as Melt (with its deep fried sandwiches) and and Buckeye Beer Engine, which is renowned in the area for its burgers. Best of all, they aren’t chains; only 7 percent of restaurants in Lakewood are, which is something to be excited about.

8. Royal Oak, Michigan

We can’t say we’re too surprised to see Royal Oak in our top 10. After all, the city was ranked number 7 on our list of the best cities in Michigan. In terms of this ranking, however, it had to measure up to a very different set of criteria. In those, it did best when it came to young residents, where it placed 17th overall with 39 percent of its population ranging between the ages of 20 to 39.
Like the other nine most exciting small cities, Royal Oak did quite well across the board, with places like the trendy SCL Royal Oak or the divey Gusoline Alley to bolster the nightlife score, the Redcoat Tavern on non-fast food eating, and a bustling art scene.

9. San Marcos, Texas

When it comes to the excitement generated by a young, active population, our top 10 has no better representative than San Marcos, home to Texas State University. This city ranked second in both active lifestyle options and 20 to 34 population, which currently stands at 44 percent.
“San Marvelous,” as it’s nicknamed, offers lots of reasons to get outdoors, such as the Meadows Center Glass Bottom Boat Tours and a chance to go spelunking in the Wonder World caves. From caverns to taverns, nightlife in San Marcos is headlined by the likes of the Taproom, Zelicks Icehouse, and Riley’s Tavern.

10. Sarasota, Florida

Last—but in no way least—we have Sarasota, which was the exact opposite of last in a couple of key categories, namely live music and nightlife where it placed first overall. The latter category is bolstered by more than a hundred bars, including Shakespeare’s, and trendy lounges like Pangea Alchemy Lab.
For the active minded, Sarasota was another standout at seventh overall, helped in no small way by numerous beaches, while its ninth place finish in non-fast food eateries was thanks to places like Amish (yes, Amish) restaurant Yoder’s and the Cuban fare at Columbia. Just don’t expect to see as many 20- to 34-year-olds in these places; the city placed 88th overall in that category.

Small Cities, Big Fun

Hopefully by now, you’ve started to see the light: You don’t have to be a big city to be in an exciting city. There’s just so much these small towns have to offer those seeking active lifestyles with plenty to do at all hours (and plenty of folks to do things with). So if it’s an exciting small city you’re after without the stress and noise, here are some locations to put on your list.