Indian Rocks Beach Among Most Affordable In U.S.

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -- Clearwater Beach may have been named TripAdvisor's No. 1 beach in America but Indian Rocks Beach has it beat for beach bargain.

Just in time for spring break, HomeToGo, the world’s largest vacation rental search engine, revealed the results of its annual Beach Price Index. And Indian Rocks Beach ranked No. 6 in the country for affordability.

This comes just after Indian Rocks Beach was named one of America's top romantic getaway destinations.

Clearwater Beach did make the affordable beach list. It ranked 34.

See related stories:

No Surprise; Clearwater Beach Named America's Top Beach Again

Indian Rocks Beach Named No. 2 Romantic Seaside Getaway In U.S.

The ranking, which includes HomeToGo’s 50 most-popular U.S. beach destinations for 2019 based on search volume, exposed the vast gulf that separates the nation’s most affordable and most expensive beaches. With nine of the top 10 cheapest locations situated on the East Coast, compared to seven of the top 10 most expensive being situated on the West Coast, budget-savvy beach-goers are likely to throw shade on the Pacific this spring break.

In order to rank the beaches based on price, seven factors were researched:

• Parking
• Sunscreen
• A bottle of water
• A portion of fish tacos
• A beer
• A cocktail
• Accommodation for one night

Visitor bureaus and online tools provided parking prices for spring 2019, and local retailers were consulted for the price of a bottle of water. Online menus were used to determine the price of fish tacos, beers and cocktails in a restaurant close to the beach.

HomeToGo used its own metasearch data to forecast the average cost of accommodations (per person per night) for spring 2019. Jacksonville Beach sails to the top of this year’s ranking, while Newport Beach takes a dive and sinks to the bottom of the list.

“Beaches have an irresistible pull on travelers all around the globe, and the U.S. is no exception,” said head of Inbound Marketing, Joanna Booth. “We are excited to take a dip into the beach vacation market by producing this guide to our most popular destinations for spring break 2019, helping people discover which beach suits their geography and budget.”

Additional takeaways from this year’s Beach Price Index:

• A day at the most expensive beach in this year’s ranking (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, California) is 92 percent more expensive than the same day at Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the cheapest beach in this year’s ranking.
• The Gulf of Mexico dominates this year’s ranking: 19 of the top 50 most popular beaches on the shortlist are situated there.
• 18 of the beaches in this year’s ranking are located on the East Coast; 13 of the beaches are located on the West Coast.
• None of HomeToGo’s top 50 most-searched beaches are located on The Great Lakes.
• Florida is the best-represented state in this year’s ranking (20), followed by California (12), and the Carolinas (both with four).

The 50 Most Affordable Beaches In The United States

1. Jacksonville Beach, Florida

2. Nye Beach, Newport, Oregon

3. Coligny Beach Park, South Carolina

4. Hatteras Beach, Outer Banks, North Carolina

5. St. Augustine Beach, Florida

6. Indian Rocks Beach, Florida

7. Bethany Beach, Delaware

8. Surfside Beach, South Carolina

9. Crystal Sands Beach, Destin, Florida

10. Myrtle Beach Main Beach, South Carolina

11. Fort Myers Beach, Florida

12. Orange Beach, Alabama

13. Panama City Beach, Florida

14. Pensacola Beach, Florida

15. Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Florida

16. Galveston Beach, Texas

17. Miramar Beach, Florida

18. South Padre Island Beach, Texas

19. Folly Beach, Charleston, South Carolina

20. Gulf Shores Public Beach, Alabama

21. Carolina Beach, North Carolina

22. New Smyrna Beach, Florida

23. Ocean City Beach, Maryland

24. Coquina Beach, Bradenton Beach, Florida

25. Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida

26. Daytona Beach, Florida

27. Smathers Beach, Key West, Florida

28. Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

29. Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Virginia

30. Fernandina Beach, Florida

31. La Jolla Cove, California

32. Port Aransas Beach, Texas

33. Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, California

34. Clearwater Beach, Florida

35. Mission Beach, San Diego, California

36. Easton's Beach, Newport, Rhode Island

37. Naples Beach, Florida

38. Venice Beach, Calfornia

39. Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

40. Fletcher Cove, Solana Beach, California

41. Huntington Beach, California

42. Palm Beach Municipal Beach, Florida

43. South Beach, Miami, Florida

44. Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach, California

45. East Beach, Santa Barbara, California

46. Bowman's Beach, Sanibel Island, Florida

47. Santa Cruz Main Beach, California

48. Manhattan Beach. California

49. Carmel Beach, California

50. Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, California

Beachy Facts

More than 39 percent of the American population live in counties directly on the shoreline, and this figure is projected to rise.*

Florida is the best-represented state in this year's ranking, with 20 of the 50 beaches heralding from the Sunshine State.

Alaska has more miles of coastline than any other U.S. state (6,640 miles). That's the same distance as Los Angeles to Shanghai.

Thirty U.S. states have a coastline: 23 with an ocean coastline, eight with a Great Lakes coastline, and one with both (New York).

How HomeToGo Produced This Guide

Total Cost = Parking + Sunscreen + Water + Fish Tacos + Beer + Cocktail + Accommodation

Parking: The cost of parking was provided by local visitors bureaus and online tools such as Parkopedia. The given price is for a five-hour period, or for an entire day when there was no hourly option.

Sunscreen: The cost of sunscreen was provided by a leading online retailer for an 8-ounce SPF 50+ bottle. This price includes sales tax.

Water: The cost of water was provided by local retailers located in each of the 50 destinations. The price is for a 12-ounce bottle of still water.

Fish Tacos: HomeToGo used Yelp's online menus to find out the price of a regular portion of fish tacos at an oceanfront restaurant in each of the locations. It selected prices from restaurants in Yelp's $$ price category.

Beer: HomeToGo used Yelps's online menus to find out the price of a 12-ounce bottle of domestically produced beer from an oceanfront bar in Yelp's $$ price category.

Cocktail: HomeToGo researched the price of a Mojito cocktail (or nearest available alternative) from an oceanfront bar classified as being in Yelp's $$ price category.

Accommodation: The accommodation price is the average price per person per night to stay in a six-person vacation rental found on HomeToGo close to the beach, for one night between the dates of March 23, 2019 and June 22, 2019. HomeToGo's own metasearch data provided this information.

*Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

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