The late-summer spread of COVID-19 is reaching into vacation destinations – places where people retreat for holiday rentals in the hopes of being able to relax, have fun…and be safe from the unrelenting pandemic.
To determine the U.S. tourist destinations emerging as COVID-19 hot spots, 24/7 Tempo reviewed county-level data on new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cities, towns, villages, and census-designated places were ranked based on the number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in their Hospital Service Area (HSA) in the week Aug. 27-Sep. 2, 2023 per 100,000 residents. Only places with at least 1,000 residents where at least 40% of housing units are vacant for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use were considered. (COVID aside, these are the best places to buy a vacation home.)
The late-summer spread is happening as a new variant, EG.5, has become the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the U.S., based on estimates from the CDC. It is not clear whether this variant is to blame for the surging numbers of hospitalizations, however.
What is clear is that older people are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19, and hospitalization rates are likely to be higher in states or communities with older populations. That might explain why towns in Florida that are tourist destinations occupy 12 places on our list. Florida has the fifth-oldest population in the United States – at an average of 42.2 years – according to World Population Review. Texas has three towns and California two on the list. (Because it’s back-to-school time, here’s also a list of 25 college towns emerging as COVID hotspots.)
Vacation spots are typically small towns. Sunny Isles Beach in Florida is the most populous, with 22,234 people. In fact, eight of the 10 most populous towns on our list are in Florida.
25. Pymatuning Central, Pennsylvania (Crawford County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 8.3 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 8 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 57.7%
> Total town population: 2,282
24. Butler Beach, Florida (St. Johns County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 8.5 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 42.0%
> Total town population: 4,973
23. Sargent, Texas (Matagorda County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 8.6 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 61.6%
> Total town population: 1,319
22. Osage Beach, Missouri (Camden County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 8.6 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 62.3%
> Total town population: 4,917
21. Pine Mountain Lake, California (Tuolumne County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 8.9 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 44.8%
> Total town population: 3,017
20. Navarre Beach, Florida (Santa Rosa County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.0 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 57.9%
> Total town population: 1,515
19. Miramar Beach, Florida (Walton County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.0 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 49.0%
> Total town population: 9,059
18. Destin, Florida (Okaloosa County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.0 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 40.0%
> Total town population: 13,751
17. Sunnyside-Tahoe City, California (Placer County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.1 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 9 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 67.4%
> Total town population: 1,507
16. Southampton, New York (Suffolk County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.5 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 54.6%
> Total town population: 4,380
15. Poipu, Hawaii (Kauai County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.7 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 63.3%
> Total town population: 1,008
14. Ponce Inlet, Florida (Volusia County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 9.9 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 41.0%
> Total town population: 3,342
13. Dauphin Island, Alabama (Mobile County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 10.0 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 53.8%
> Total town population: 1,771
12. Tavernier, Florida (Monroe County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 10.1 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 45.6%
> Total town population: 2,286
11. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida (Broward County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 10.1 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 41.1%
> Total town population: 6,231
10. Sunny Isles Beach, Florida (Miami-Dade County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 10.1 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 10 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 45.2%
> Total town population: 22,234
9. Jekyll Island, Georgia (Glynn County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 10.8 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 11 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 47.7%
> Total town population: 1,182
8. North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Horry County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 10.8 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 11 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 43.4%
> Total town population: 18,502
7. Longboat Key, Florida (Manatee County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 11.7 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 12 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 47.6%
> Total town population: 7,446
6. Hutchinson Island South, Florida (St. Lucie County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 12.4 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 12 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 50.9%
> Total town population: 4,535
5. Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 12.4 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 12 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 42.5%
> Total town population: 9,175
4. Sam Rayburn, Texas (Jasper County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 12.5 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 13 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 41.0%
> Total town population: 1,100
3. Golden Shores, Arizona (Mohave County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 14.1 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 14 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 45.4%
> Total town population: 1,089
2. Indian Shores, Florida (Pinellas County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 16.8 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 17 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 60.1%
> Total town population: 1,133
1. Port O’Connor, Texas (Calhoun County)
> New weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate: 16.9 per 100,000 residents in hospital service area
> Total new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations: 17 in hospital service area
> Housing units designated as vacation homes: 60.7%
> Total town population: 1,084
Methodology
To determine the U.S. tourist destinations emerging as COVID-19 hot spots, 24/7 Tempo reviewed county-level data on new weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cities, towns, villages, and census-designated places were ranked based on the number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in their surrounding Health Service Area (HSA) in the week Aug. 27-Sep. 2, 2023 per 100,000 residents in the hospital service area. Data on COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the hospital service area was derived by the CDC using calculations performed at the Health Service Area level, the smallest geographic unit for which hospitalization data is available, and was assigned to the county level by the CDC. Only places with at least 1,000 residents where at least 40% of housing units are vacant for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use were considered. Only the largest qualifying place in each county was included. Data on population and vacancy status came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.