Poll: Newport Among Country's Most Popular Beaches

A new poll just released from the website The Daily Beast has named Newport Beach as the seventh most popular beach in the U.S.

(Sure beats ).

That's the second-highest ranking of any California beach in their poll—Laguna Beach took the No. 6 spot—beating out similar sandy destinations like Oceanside, Huntington Beach, San Diego and Del Mar.

The nation's most popular beach in this less-than-scientific poll? Jacksonville Beach in Florida.

To compile the list, the Daily Beast pollsters say they "took the 2010 total beach-attendance figures from the United States Lifeguard Association, as well as the total resident population of each beach town according to the census, to determine which beaches had the most visitors overall, as well as those that lure the most guests compared with residents. Total visitors and a metric of visitors divided by residents were weighted equally to determine the overall rank."

OK, maybe it's a little scientific. But we assume the Daily Beast really meant beach towns.

These were the most popular beaches in the United States in 2010, according to The Daily Beast website:

1. Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
2. Ocean City, Md.
3. Miami, Fla.
4. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
5. Belmar, N.J.
6. Laguna Beach, Calif.
7. Newport Beach, Calif.
8. Ocean City, N.J.
9. Huntington Beach, Calif.
10. Del Mar, Calif.
11. San Diego, Calif.
12. Coronado, Calif.
13. Encinitas, Calif.
14. Daytona Beach, Fla.
15. Clearwater, Fla.
16. Honolulu, HI
17. Nags Head, N.C.
18. Imperial Beach, Calif.
19. Santa Rosa, Fla.
20. Oceanside, Calif.