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Best beach towns on the East Coast

Summer vacation has already begun for some across the U.S., and if Memorial Day is any indication, travelers should expect a busy summer season in 2023.

That holiday weekend, largely considered the unofficial start of summer, the Transportation Security Administration screened 9.79 million people, surpassing pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. And half of Americans said they would take a trip this summer, according to a survey from Deloitte, up from 46% in 2022. Trips abroad are gaining popularity, as people try to make up for time lost during pandemic-era travel restrictions. However, as inflation makes travel more expensive, budget-conscious travelers are opting to cut costs by driving to their destinations and choosing to stay stateside. AAA expected 2 million more travelers on the road on Memorial Day weekend in 2023 than on that weekend in 2022.

Beach destinations are popular this year, according to a survey from vacation-rental platform Vacasa, and outdoor recreation remains a top priority. Not only are beaches a great place to unwind and create family bonding moments, but they also boost people’s mental health.

So what makes a good beach town? Access to a beach, of course, but also plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to keep kids entertained, warm weather, and a long beach season. So perhaps it’s not surprising that Florida cities dominated the list of best beach towns on the East Coast. But besides the Sunshine State, beachgoers can enjoy the sand and surf in places off the beaten path in the Carolinas and New York’s Long Island shore.

Stacker crunched the numbers to find the best beach towns on the East Coast. To be considered a beach town, each city needed at least one beach on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National List of Beaches. The EPA list includes only beaches that are used recreationally and open to the public for free or for a fee; it has more than 6,000 beaches on the United States’ Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts and on the Great Lakes identified by states and tribes in response to the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000. The act requires states to report water quality monitoring to an EPA database.

Rankings were determined by a number of factors weighted by importance in the following order from most to least important: number of beaches monitored through the BEACH Act, the total shoreline of those beaches, access to beach-related businesses based on Census Bureau County Business Patterns, and Zillow median home prices.

Read on to get some inspiration for planning your next vacation.

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#50. Swansboro, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 8
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 20.5
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 80 degrees
– Median home price: $558,603

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#49. Carolina Beach, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 2
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 15.7
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $807,673

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#48. North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

– Number of beaches: 3
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 1.8
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 84 degrees
– Median home price: $784,190

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#47. Flagler Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 9.5
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $471,503

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#46. Southport, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 2
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 7.2
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $457,263

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#45. Buxton, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 3.9
– Average swim season length: 213 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $586,806

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#44. Dania Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 10
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 1.7
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $366,193

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#43. Bay Shore, New York

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 6.2
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 80 degrees
– Median home price: $710,732

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#42. Jupiter, Florida

– Number of beaches: 4
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 4.8
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $282,266

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#41. Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

– Number of beaches: 4
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 3.6
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 84 degrees
– Median home price: $385,570

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#40. Port Orange, Florida

– Number of beaches: 4
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 15.4
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $407,733

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#39. Atlantic City, New Jersey

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 2.4
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $461,941

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#38. Boca Raton, Florida

– Number of beaches: 10
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 31.5
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $364,587

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#37. Ormond Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 4
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 1.6
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 84 degrees
– Median home price: $355,482

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#36. Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 32.0
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $406,115

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#35. Key Biscayne, Florida

– Number of beaches: 8
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 5.7
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $589,552

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#34. North Miami Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 10
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 7.4
– Average swim season length: 136 days
– Average county summer temperature: 78 degrees
– Median home price: $275,898

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#33. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 11.8
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $322,102

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#32. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 3
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 14.4
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $738,216

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#31. Delray Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 4.0
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $455,660

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#30. Corolla, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 2
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 7.0
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 84 degrees
– Median home price: $874,422

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#29. Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 12
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 5.9
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 80 degrees
– Median home price: $1,322,625

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#28. Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 1
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 3.8
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $261,205

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#27. Saint Augustine, Florida

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 26.4
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $579,070

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#26. Saint Simons Island, Georgia

– Number of beaches: 4
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 25.4
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $632,517

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#25. Beaufort, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 1
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 4.0
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $498,629

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#24. Kure Beach, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 9.7
– Average swim season length: 208 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $603,876

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#23. Fort Pierce, Florida

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 11.5
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $928,755

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#22. Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 1
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 17.9
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $473,262

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#21. Ocracoke, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 4.9
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $514,087

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#20. Fernandina Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 3
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 19.9
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $514,421

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#19. Norfolk, Virginia

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 11.7
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $393,761

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#18. Holly Ridge, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 7
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 9.3
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $250,153

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#17. Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 7
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 19.6
– Average swim season length: 153 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $302,188

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#16. Salvo, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 3
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 11.3
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $351,510

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#15. Tybee Island, Georgia

– Number of beaches: 7
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 37.1
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $470,271

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#14. New Smyrna Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 2
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 13.9
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $365,863

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#13. Miami Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 9
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 6.9
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $369,768

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#12. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

– Number of beaches: 10
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 17.0
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $660,718

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#11. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

– Number of beaches: 4
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 15.0
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $432,034

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#10. Pompano Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 15
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 20.7
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $646,313

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#9. Vero Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 14.0
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $491,863

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#8. Emerald Isle, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 3
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 11.1
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $400,028

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#7. Hollywood, Florida

– Number of beaches: 14
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 13.0
– Average swim season length: 214 days
– Average county summer temperature: 79 degrees
– Median home price: $476,892

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#6. Nags Head, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 7.9
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $264,681

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#5. Jensen Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 7
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 9.5
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $581,150

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#4. Atlantic Beach, North Carolina

– Number of beaches: 22
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 24.0
– Average swim season length: 141 days
– Average county summer temperature: 78 degrees
– Median home price: $370,003

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#3. Daytona Beach, Florida

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 9.3
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $335,295

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#2. Virginia Beach, Virginia

– Number of beaches: 5
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 7.7
– Average swim season length: 364 days
– Average county summer temperature: 83 degrees
– Median home price: $385,022

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#1. Stuart, Florida

– Number of beaches: 6
– Miles of monitored shoreline: 22.7
– Average swim season length: 244 days
– Average county summer temperature: 82 degrees
– Median home price: $268,370

Data reporting by Elena Cox. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Paris Close.