Best Area in Each State to Get Away from People

Howdy, it's Kyle talking about the best part of each state to get away from people. This is not a statistical analysis. I'm not looking at the pinpoint spot where the fewest people are. That's usually the middle of a national park or just somewhere else you can't live. I'm looking more at a larger area, perhaps as large as a county that has the least number of people in that state. A lot of small towns that a lot of tourists during the summer or whatever, or maybe an area along a lake with a lot of vacation homes, but nothing like that. These are areas with not many people, no one's visiting there, and not much is going on. So some of these places are kind of rough, but it's the number one thing I'm looking for is to get away from people. These are the best parts of each state for us to do it. Starting off with Alabama, the town of Camden in Wilcox County. And in the south, many of these lightly populated areas are going to be in what's referred to as the Black Belt, rural areas between the cities of the Piedmont and the coastal areas. And in Alabama, that's exactly what this is. Camden has about 2,000 people, Wilcox County has 10,000. And it's also surrounded by rural Alabama as well. For Alaska, you can basically pick anywhere that isn't Anchorage or Fairbanks, but where I went with is this area around Kobuk and Ambler. This is the middle of nowhere with Ambler having 300 people, Kobuk having 200 people. And for me, this is a dream canoe trip to do the Kobuk River, but there's nobody around here. Going into Arizona, right along the New Mexico border in the central part of the state is the town of Alpine with about 150 people. And as the name implies, it is higher elevation in Arizona wilderness. And with it being so far from Phoenix, although it is a nice area, there isn't a lot of tourism there. A lot of beauty, a lot of solitude, but for many of these western ones, also a big wildfire hazard. For Arkansas, as well as Louisiana and Mississippi, the spots are going to be fairly close to each other because as you get closer to the Mississippi River, it gets pretty swampy and not the best land to be living on. The town of Hermitage has about 500 people. It's located in Bradley County with 10,000 people. Arkansas is a very poor state, and this is the poorest part of the state. And this is a poor city within that poorest part of the state, but not many folks there. California, big state, a lot of people. You got to go to the edge to get away from them. Way up in the far north on the Oregon border is the town of Tule Lake. There are only about 900 people in this town, and it's the biggest town for a decent radius. This northeastern corner in general is the most sparsely populated part of the state, and most of it has been losing population for quite some time. For Colorado, you'll have to get away from the mountains to get away from the tourists and all the vacation homes. The southeastern corner of the state has high plains and small towns becoming ghost towns. The entirety of Baca County has 3,500 people, and Springfield has 1,300 of those. Small town, empty main street, but wide open skies. Connecticut, small state, but densely populated, so it's hard to get away from people. But the best part of the state to do it is Sharon and Sharon Valley. There are about 2,600 people in this township, and it's not in a heavily touristed part of the state. But with basically everywhere in New England being close to a major population center, you can't truly get away from people in the same sense here as you can in other parts of the country. But if you want to get away from it in Connecticut, go to Sharon. For several states, including Delaware, the best part to get away from people is actually on a beach, but that's not really a very nice beach. And for Delaware, it's Woodland Beach, so it isn't exactly a sandy beach where you're sitting out there getting a tan. It's mostly kind of swampy and wetland and not a really popular spot for going to the beach or having a vacation home, which is why it's great for this list. If you want to get away from people in Florida, you have to get off the coast and go into the swamp. For Florida, the town of Palmdale has about 300 people, and it's located in Glades County with about 12,000 people. And even with all of the growth in Florida recently, Glades County is decreasing in population. To keep the theme of people not wanting to live near swamps, the southeastern portion of Georgia is the swampy part of the state, and you have the fewest number of people living there. In the center of this sparsely populated area is the small town of Alma in Bacon County. Alma has 3,400 people, Bacon County has 11,000. Wide open spaces and no tourists. All right, this one's frustrating to do, but for Hawaii, you have to go to the island of Lanai. And what's frustrating about this is that 98% of the island is owned by Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle. But nonetheless, if you're looking to go to Hawaii and away from people, go to Lanai where there isn't really tropical rainforest or really beautiful beaches. You could really go anywhere in Idaho that isn't on one of the interstates, but it's especially desolate around Elk City. And there's a whole 170 people that live in this town. But pretty beautiful scenery, and it's probably pretty quiet there too. But because it takes so long to get there, it's also not a popular tourist spot. A lot of people in Illinois, a lot of decent sized towns scattered throughout the state, but this west central part is where you have the fewest people. The small town of Camden has about 60 people. It's located in Schuyler County, which has under 7,000 people. And like many other places on this list, it's not very touristy. So some of the more pretty parts of Illinois have a lot of state parks and tourists, but not around here. For Indiana, if you make a triangle between Indianapolis, South Bend, and Chicago, the center of all that is kind of no man's land. Pulaski County has about 12,000 people. The largest town is Winnemac with 2,300. And running theme, not a very beautiful part of the state, so not many tourists and vacation homes. Iowa has many rural counties, and I'm going with Pocahontas County in the northwestern portion of the state for this list. The county has 7,000 people. The town of Pocahontas has about 1,900. It's surrounded by even more rural and farm areas. The town is nicknamed the Princess City, and what a beautiful homage to the princess herself. Most of western Kansas is very sparsely populated, and most of the counties are losing population. But for here, I'm going with the town of Tribune in Greeley County. Tribune has 770 people, and Greeley County has 1,300. When you drive across the state along Highway 96, you go through a lot of really small towns, many of which are on the verge of becoming a ghost town. Similar story for Kentucky, you get into the rural mountainous areas off of the main highways, and it's pretty desolate. Boonville has a population of 170 people, and it's located in Owsley County with 3,900. And like many other places on this list, it's going to be economically depressed, but there aren't many folks there. Coming back into the Mississippi Delta area, these regions along the Mississippi River in northeastern Louisiana have very few people. St. Joseph has 800 people, and the Paris has 3,800. This is another area that's kind of swampy and also economically depressed, but an economically depressed swamp is a perfect spot for no people. Just about anywhere in northern Maine could have made this list, but I'm going with the towns of Allagash and Dickey in the far north of the state. There are only about 250 people in this whole Allagash-Dickey twin town area. The Allagash River is well known, and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway is a popular spot for paddlers, but the town of Allagash is very small. And just like with Delaware, some of the best parts of Maryland to get away from people are going to be areas right along the coast, just not with a great beach. So for Maryland, I'm going with the towns of Bishop Head and Crappo. Like so many other places in this video, it's kind of wetland and swampy and not great for growing a lot. So wetland coastal without good beaches means few tourists and no vacation homes. For Massachusetts, you might think it'd be the western end of the state in the Berkshires, but very touristy, very pretty, a lot of leaf peepers, a lot of vacation homes. But right in the middle of the state in Barry Township, just very few folks, not on one of the main highways, not really a good reason to be going through there. And there are only about 5,500 people in this relatively large township, so that's low density for Massachusetts. For Michigan, if you want to get away from people, you have to be in the UP and not on one of the lakes. That's why you have to go to the Felch-Hardwood metro area, which has about 500 people. And this is admittedly not the prettiest part of the UP, but that's what keeps the crowds away, what keeps the vacation homes away. For Minnesota, same type of thing. You want to get away from the northeastern corner where there aren't many people, but many lodges and vacation homes and tourists. But that north central part of the state, there are very few people there. The county I'm talking about here is Lake of Woods County, which has about 3,700 people. Once you get just east of here, you get to Voyagers National Park and the Boungy Waters area. Beautiful spots, a lot of tourists, but here, almost nobody. And going back down to the old Mississippi Delta area, for Mississippi itself, the spot you want to go to is near the Tri-State Point with Arkansas and Louisiana. Talking about the town of Marysville here with about 430 people, located within Issaquahna County with 1,300. This town had 800 people in 2000, so in just 20 years, it's lost half its population. That sounds like a great place for this list. Missouri is another state where some of the lowest populations are in a very pretty part of the state where you have vacation homes and tourists, but up in the northwestern portion of the state near the Iowa border, it is lightly populated and no vacation homes. The town of Grant City has 800 people, it's located in Worth County with about 2,000. From Montana, you have to get away from the National Parks and all those celebrity vacation homes. You get to the east central part of the state into Garfield County and the town of Jordan. Jordan has 350 people, Garfield County has 1,200, and here's a street side view of the busiest intersection in the entire county. One of my favorite places in the entire country for getting away from people is northwestern Nebraska, and I'm going with Arthur County here, which is especially desolate. This entire county has 430 people, and Arthur, this town, is the only town in the entire county. And not only that, Arthur County is surrounded by other counties whose population is only in the hundreds. I bet you guys never thought that you'd be going to a bar in Manhattan for this video. Take away Vegas and Reno, and you can just throw a dart for Nevada, and that's going to be a good spot for this video. Where this little town of Manhattan is, it covers an area the size of Connecticut with a population of only 1,000 people. It's hard to get away from crowds in New England because most of the small towns are very pretty and a lot of folks want to visit them. And that's certainly true for New Hampshire as well, but this town Errol is in the far north of the state and not very touristed. There are only about 300 people here, and this part of the state can have a lot of snowmobilers and ATV people during the winter, but it's pretty quiet for most of the rest of the year. New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, but you wouldn't know it by going to this part of the state. I'm looking around the town of Chatsworth and Wharton State Forest in an area known as the Pinelands. And here it's just mostly small towns and wetlands, so not a lot of people living there. So it makes it very quiet and surprisingly peaceful for New Jersey. For New Mexico, get off the interstates and get away from the most beautiful scenery and go to this part of the state. I'm looking at Harding County, which has about 650 people and it's two big towns, Mosquero and Roy, which each have about 100. It's mostly ranching out here, not much industry, but none of those pesky tourists either. For New York, the key is to be away from population centers, but also be away from Adirondack Park. I'm looking at the village and town of Lowville, which combined have about 8,000 people, and Lewis County, in which it's in, has 26,000. Those are really low numbers for New York. Now granted, the scenery here is not as beautiful as the Adirondacks, but that's what keeps people away. Like several other states, the best place to get away from people in North Carolina is on the coast, but near a swamp. I'm talking about the town of Swan Quarter, which is so little known that Google doesn't spell it right. It's actually two words, but it's coastal with no beach, so not many people want to live there. And because it's you can't really grow crops there, so few people. For North Dakota, go to the southwestern portion of the state with the least people. Slope County has 670 people, and the big town of Amidon has a whole 24 people. This county was founded in 1920 and has lost population every single year of its existence. For Ohio, you go to the southeastern portion of the state, close to the West Virginia border. You have a little more economic depression and fewer people. I'm choosing the town of Woodfield with 2,200 people, located within Monroe County with 13,000 people. This is one of the bigger towns for this list, but there isn't really many good spots in Ohio to completely get away from people. It's almost like New England in that regard. The only spot to go in Oklahoma for this video is the Panhandle. The westernmost county in the Panhandle is Cimarron County with 2,200 people, and the largest city is Boyce City with 1,100. Very few people living here, and the Oklahoma Panhandle in general is basically becoming one giant ghost town. Not many folks living there at all, and the few that are there are leaving. Southeast Oregon is very lightly populated, and this part of southeast Oregon is lightly populated for that part of the state. I'm talking about the towns of Fields and French Glen in the Alvord Desert. This is the kind of place where have to drive two hours one way once a month just to stock up on groceries. Sounds perfect for this list. A rather large tract of wilderness exists in north-central Pennsylvania in what's referred to as the PA Wilds. Within this area, I'm looking at the towns of Wharton and Driftwood. I'm actually surprised this area hasn't become more touristy and vacation-homey, but for right now, it isn't, so enjoy it. Rhode Island, another state where it's hard to completely get away from people, but I'm going with this west-central part of the state right along the Connecticut border. This is West Greenwich Township in the town of Esquihag. I'm sure that's not how you pronounce it, but whatever. So in this part of the state, you're nowhere near I-95, the Providence suburbs, or the coast, so for a small state, that's where you have to go to get away from the people, and this is the best spot to do it. Having worked for the state of South Carolina for a couple of years, I drove around the entire state for my job, and I can tell you that Williamsburg County that I've highlighted is very lightly populated, and like so many other places on this list, it's very poor and kind of swampy, but bonus points for being home to one of the best barbecue joints in the southeast. For South Dakota, I'm going to send you to the part of the state that borders the part of North Dakota I sent you to. Go to the northwestern corner of the state and the town of Buffalo, which is not Buffalo County, that's a different part of the state. The town has 350 people, and Harding County, where it is, has 1,300. Another area, decreasing population, slowly becoming a ghost town, that's your chance to swoop in. For Tennessee, this portion of the state along the Kentucky border is very lightly populated. The town of Birgetown has about 800 people, it's located in Pickett County with about 5,000, and broken record here, it's a very poor city, economically depressed, and not much agriculture going on in the rural areas either. However, this area is very pretty once you leave the town, so it's got some very nice scenery. When it comes to Texas, there's only one place you can go, and it's straight to Loving County. It's the least populous county in the country, there were 64 people in the county at 2020 census. These are two photos I took of the town of Mentone, which is the only town in the county, it has 22 people, and you've seen the entire town with these two photos. Utah is a state where some of the least populated areas have a lot of tourists, like the national parks, but this area in the west central part of the state along the Nevada border, no one lives there. I'm talking about these towns here, you can zoom in all the way, and there aren't any side streets for these towns. And in fact, the road on this map is dirt, and there's no paved road for almost 100 miles in any direction. Doesn't that sound like heaven for this video? Vermont, you'll have to get away from the cute small towns and the beautiful mountains. In the northeastern corner of the state is Essex County with about 5,900 people, and this is the poorest county in the state. It borders a county in New Hampshire that has a big problem with opioids, so you have some of that problem here too, but few people. For Virginia, go to this corner of the state right in the Appalachians to a town called Monterey in Highland County. The whole county has only 2,200 people, and the town of Monterey has 130. With it being at the intersection of two U.S. highways, it's not completely unvisited, but it also isn't anything like the big areas of the Appalachians or the Shenandoah Valley. Earlier I took you to a bar in Manhattan, now we're going to a Starbuck in Washington. The town of Starbuck has about 130 people, and it's located in a twin county area that has a combined population of 7,000. Like many other places mentioned in this video, it's losing population and might become a ghost town in 20 years. For West Virginia, if you go to the more beautiful areas along the Virginia border, you have a lot of D.C. people, people buying up homes, and there's ski resorts there, but into this part of the state, there's nobody, including no tourists. I'm looking at the town of Grantsville with about 470 people. It's in Calhoun County with about 6,000 people, and this looks like Tokyo compared to some of the other places I've mentioned. You may have to actually look both ways before crossing the street. Wisconsin is kind of like Michigan. If you want to get away from people, you have to be not on a lake, not on a river, not in a national forest, and not in an area that's good for fishing. I'm looking at the town of Goodman with about 800 people, and this is maybe the nicest town of all the ones mentioned in this video, even though it's losing population as well. And saving perhaps the best for last, in the least populous state in the country, right in the middle of the state is a town slash ghost town of Armento. At last check, there were five people living in this town, and only one dwelling being occupied. And it's very possible that at the time of me recording this, actually nobody lives there, and it's a ghost town. So here you go, here's your opportunity to buy a piece of property and literally be the only person there. So there you have it, the best parts of each state to get away from people. So if you are a true misanthrope, these are some wonderful places, and there are all kinds of small towns in the U.S. that are gradually becoming ghost towns, especially in the western Great Plains and southern Appalachia. So if you're looking to find a little peace and solitude, check out one of these near ghost towns and take a claim. If you enjoyed this video, please give me a thumbs up to let me know you approve, and subscribe to this channel if you're interested in learning more about geography from a bit of a nerd. But yeah, thanks for watching, Geography King signing out. I'd like to give a special thanks to my superior patrons for their support, especially Jeremy. If you're interested in supporting the channel, please check out my Patreon page with the link in the description, and as always, thank you very much.