Best Fall Cities: Boston Tops the List

No big-market radio tease here. A study on the best fall cities in the U.S. has been released, and Boston is Number One.

When I heard this news, I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought the list-topper would be another spot in Massachusetts: Salem. And since I just finished putting together this piece on how you'd have to be out of your mind to visit Salem in October, I thought I'd look pretty foolish if Salem was named number one. Thankfully, that's not the case. Oh, and do visit Salem. Just not in October.

Playstar recently asked: which U.S. city is the best to visit during the fall? And they came up with this study. As always, I'm interested in the "how" when it comes to pieces like this. Their overall scores for cities were calculated by taking into account Starbucks per capita, Instagram per capita, pumpkin patches per capita, urban tree coverage, and Gilmore Girls search volume. No kidding.

Again, I wasn't looking to bury the lede here: Boston came in first with an overall score of 67. What I'm interested in is the other nine cities that round out the Top 10. Now that we know the criteria used to tally up the scores and lay out the list, let's take a look and pass judgement. Because we're in New England, where autumn rules. And this is what we do.

Scroll through the Top 10 below with my pithy comments peppered in. And if you want more, be sure to check out our Wicked Fall Guide, chock-full of fun fall things to do and see. Oh, and one more plug for the full study, which has all the cool graphics and an interactive map. You can take a look at all of that here.

Overall score: 67

I mean, was there any doubt? Tourists the world over visit Boston in the fall. It's picture-perfect.

Overall score: 66

Hey, Seattle's pretty close to where the filmed Twin Peaks. And those views were always stunning. So this tracks. Oh, and there's the whole coffee thing, too.

Overall score: 54

Pretty steep dropoff in score between No. 2 and No. 3. Jersey City, huh. Maybe burning the leaves after they fall covers up that whole "Jersey" smell?

Overall score: 46

Sadly, this is the Portland in Oregon. Not the Portland in Maine. Which is a shame, because Portland is lovely in autumn.

Overall score: 46

Usually, in a list like this, you'd have a tie between two with the same score. But they have Portland ahead of Chicago. Probably edged them out in the "urban trees" cagegory.

Overall score: 44

As the American South and Mid-Atlantic regions get warmer due to climate change, it will be interesting to see what fall looks like in places like this decades from now.

Overall score: 42

Not Washington State. Washington D.C. Which is odd, as D.C. is known for the cherry blossoms in spring. Turns out it's cool to visit in fall, too.

Overall score: 39

I've been to Philly in the fall and I'm here to tell you: it's great. Planning on spending Thanksgiving there with family this year!

Overall score: 39

Look at D.C., Philly, and Baltimore getting that autumn love! Good for them, but where are the New England cities?

Overall score: 36

TWO New Jersey cities and only ONE New England city? I cry foul!