Orange Beach is the 3rd-most picturesque small town in the U.S., according to a recent ranking compiled by North Carolina Travel Guides.

The panel of travel experts examined 500 small towns across the U.S., noting data including search trends, popularity with photographers and popularity for photographers with the general public. The panel used the following methodology to compile the rankings of the 120 most picturesque small towns:

• Search data for each small town was analyzed by looking at search data over the last 12 months for a variety of search queries related to photography, such as the name of the small town + “photography”, the name of the small town + “photo”, and the name of the small town + “photo shoot”.
• To determine the popularity of each small town with photographers, the panel looked at the number of posts for each small town on the website Flickr, a popular photo-sharing platform for photographers.
• To determine the popularity of the towns for photography with the general public, the panel looked at the number of posts on Instagram that were posted with a hashtag with the name of the small town and its state. In addition to that, we looked at other hashtag data related to each small town.

The published rankings highlighted the top 25, with the study’s authors having this to say about 3rd-ranked Orange Beach:

“Known for its gorgeous beaches and clear waters, Orange Beach, Alabama, is one of the most picturesque small towns in America. This town on the Gulf Coast of the state of Alabama has a lot to offer for those that love beautiful places. From going for a relaxing stroll on the town’s boardwalk to seeing Orange Beach from the water while doing a cruise to getting beautiful views of the water while hanging out at the beach, the beauty of the town will surprise you. In addition to that, Orange Beach is home to fun attractions and incredible dining options, making it a wonderful place for a getaway.”

Fredericksburg, Texas, and Cedarburg, Wis., were the two towns ranked ahead of Orange Beach. Communities from neighboring states to make the top 25 were Madison, Ga. (#5), Seaside, Fla. (#14) and Oxford, Miss. (#25).

Texas had the most towns on the list with 15, followed by New York with 10 and Georgia with seven.

Orange Beach wasn’t the only Alabama town represented in the rankings. Fairhope also made the cut, ranking #118 out of the 120 which were selected from the initial 500.

The complete rankings, with an interactive map, can be found here.