America’s most beautiful cities

With so much to see and do, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to planning a trip in the United States.

Comprised of 50 states, the USA occupies an area that’s almost the same size as Europe, and it’s in this vast country that you will find a diverse array of natural landscapes, cityscapes, people, and cultures.

With an annual footfall of almost 80 million international visitors and a further 2 billion domestic trips taken each year, Booking.com wanted to uncover which cities in the US are the most beautiful, and therefore, well worth a visit.

This was achieved by analyzing a mixture of popular city-based hashtags on Instagram, which are indicative of the city’s beauty, to reveal which city has the most photos taken per square mile.

#1 Miami, 2,661 pictures per mi²
Famous for its impressive weather, immaculate beaches, and Latin-American influences, Miami has everything you need for a vacation, and it’s also the most photographed city in the US; with on average, 2,661 Instagram photos taken per square mile. A coastal city with over 400,000 people, Miami is a center of trade, arts, finance, and culture. It’s the ultimate vacation destination and there’s never a bad time to visit.

#2 Boston, 2,213 pictures per mi²
Boston is second on the list, with an average of 2,213 pictures taken per square mile. Known as one of the most historic cities in the US, it is popular with locals, tourists, and students alike. Everywhere you look, beautiful historic architecture is mixed with 21st-century buildings. Boston’s famous landmark, the Old State House, is the oldest surviving public building in the city, and its beautiful red brick Georgian design is more than worthy of a slot on your Instagram feed.

#3 Chicago, 1,529 pictures per mi²
In third position is Chicago, with an average of 1,529 Instagram pictures taken per square mile. This bustling city is home to skyscrapers, historic streets, and one of the most iconic shopping areas in the world, the Magnificent Mile. Here you’ll find some of the most beautiful buildings, such as the John Hancock Observatory, the Water Tower, and the Chicago Tribune, making it easy to see why it’s a tourist hotspot and ranks in the top three most photographed cities.

#4 New York, 1,098 pictures per mi²
With an instantly recognizable skyline and more than eight million people who call it home, New York City is unlike any other city in the world. It’s also a tourist hotspot, thanks to its diverse culture and multitude of attractions, ranking fourth on our list, with an average of 1,098 pictures taken per square mile. From the iconic Chrysler Building to the artistic construction of Rockefeller Plaza, the city provides plenty of Instagram-worthy pictures.

#5 St Louis, 1,095 pictures per mi²
St. Louis takes fifth position, with approximately 1,095 pictures per square mile. Lying along the west bank of the Mississippi River, St. Louis is one of Missouri’s gems. The city is loaded with spectacular views and amazing places to visit. As well as plenty of pretty parks and green spaces, it is home to lots of beautiful historic attractions and museums.

#6 Seattle, 1,052 pictures per mi²
The largest city in Washington, Seattle is surrounded by water, mountains, and forests. It is a beautiful, photogenic city and Instagram spots aren’t hard to come by, which may explain why it ranks in sixth place, with an average of 1,052 pictures per square mile.

#7 San Francisco, 1,039 pictures per mi²
One of the must-do things for all visitors to San Francisco is to take advantage of the scenic beauty. Set along the ocean, with rolling hills and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States and the jewel of Northern California. It also ranks in seventh place, with an average of 1,039 pictures per square mile.

#8 Sacramento, 1,019 pictures per mi²
When most people think of taking a trip to California, images of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego often come to mind. However, the capital city of Sacramento should not be forgotten. Surrounded by the Sacramento River and the American River, the city offers breathtaking scenery and ranks in eighth place, with 1,019 pictures per square mile.

#9 Cleveland, 666 pictures per mi²
Cleveland is the second-largest city in Ohio and has a thriving social scene. Its landscape, architecture, and sunsets are exceptional in terms of beauty, which is why it ranks in ninth place, with an average of 666 pictures taken per square mile.

#10 Orlando, Florida, 654 pictures per mi²
Although Orlando is known for being the home of Disney and Universal, it has much more to offer – from golf, lakes and wildlife to an array of cuisines, designer outlets and malls. With 236 sunny days every year, it’s easy to see why it features in the list of the top 10 most photographed cities in America, with 654 pictures taken per square mile.

Every country in the world has something to offer, but few other places on earth have the same geographic range as the United states. Home to an astounding array of incredible landscapes, the US boasts plenty of Instagram-worthy locations.

Methodology
The list of cities was collated from SimpleMaps as the 100 most populated cities in the United States, the biggest cities in each state outside the most populous 100, and cities often referred to as “most beautiful” by publications such as TimeOut and TheCultureTrip.

Hashtags were a mixture of popular city-based hashtags, indicative of the city’s beauty or tourist attraction: #ilove(city), #love(city), #beautiful(city), #(city)love, #(city)view, #visit(city), #(city)gram, #welcometo(city). For each of these hashtags, the total count of pictures were pulled from Instagram.

For cities that have namesakes in other parts of the world (e.g. Naples, Manchester, Birmingham), post counts were averaged across hashtags that included and did not include state abbreviations, e.g. #ilovenaplesfl and #ilovenaples.

To account for Instagram posts typically using multiple hashtags, an average post count was taken across the hashtags analyzed for each city. That average number of posts was then divided by the area of the city in square miles. All data available upon request.