LENOX — Who’s the fairest town of all?

Every March, Yankee Magazine puts out its list of “25 Best Small Towns in New England to Live In,” focusing on the most idyllic villages, not necessarily “picturesque tourist spots,” according to the editors, “but rather, vibrant towns where community spirit reigns.”

This year, in the March-April issue of the magazine, and online at newengland.com, Lenox was chosen No. 3 on the top 25. Requirements listed by Yankee include a population under 10,000, location within a couple of hours of a major airport and a grocery or hardware store within 30 minutes.

Also considered in making the list were schools, diversity, crime rates, property taxes and real estate prices. Other pluses: Churches, festivals, outdoor activities and locally owned restaurants and bars.

Following No. 1, Essex, Conn., and second-place Middlebury, Vt., Lenox landed under photos of Tanglewood and of The Mount’s lush gardens.

After citing the outdoor concerts at the Boston Symphony’s summer home and Shakespeare & Company, “one of the country’s top Shakespearean troupes,” Yankee offers a historical sketch.

Noting that the town “made its mark as a Gilded Age playground, where the moneyed set from New York and Boston came to summer,” the magazine suggests that “a bit of opulence survives in the stunning gardens and turrets of ‘cottages’ such as Edith Wharton’s The Mount and the Elizabethan-style Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Mansion & Museum.”

Summing up its catalog of praise, Yankee, founded in Dublin, NH, in 1935, observed that “today’s pilgrims come for more modern-day pampering at Canyon Ranch or Miraval Berkshires Resort and Spa, while year-round residents enjoy a different kind of richness in the top-notch schools and still-reasonable housing prices, a farm-to-table dining scene, and abundant red and gold foliage in fall.”

In a statement, Yankee Executive Editor Ian Aldrich described the 2026 Best Places to Live magazine issue as “a celebration of New England’s most timeless institution: its small towns. These places, with their community-connected Main Streets and promise of tranquility, have never been more appealing than right now.”

Citing the tribute to the town at a recent meeting, Lenox Selectman Neal Maxymillian noted that he had lived in all three of the top small towns and Lenox is the best.

“Go Lenox!” was Town Manager Jay Green’s response to the pot-of-gold publicity.

Four other Massachusetts towns made the top 25 list:

• Shelburne, the Pioneer Valley town along the Mohawk Trail;

• Manchester-by-the-Sea, famed for its Cape Ann ocean vistas and used as a backdrop for 11 feature films, including the 2016 movie of the same name (no hyphens), starring Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams;

• Lincoln, site of the American Revolution’s first battle and the capture of Paul Revere;

• Chatham, on the southeast tip of Cape Cod, with a major wildlife refuge (Monomoy) and an often-photographed lighthouse dating from 1806.

The Top 25

Yankee Magazine has chosen the following towns for its annual “25 Best Small Towns in New England to Live In”:

1. Essex, Conn.

2. Middlebury, Vt.

3. Lenox, Mass.

4. Peterborough, N.H.

5. Camden, Maine

6. Jamestown, R.I.

7. Bethlehem, N.H.

8. Shelburne, Mass.

9. Manchester, Vt.

10. Stonington, Maine

11. Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.

12. East Haddam, Conn.

13. South Berwick, Maine

14. Meredith, N.H.

15. Salisbury, Conn.

16. Cape Elizabeth, Maine

17. Hopkinton, R.I.

18. Randolph, Vt.

19. Lincoln, Mass.

20. Marlborough, Conn.

21. Greenville, Maine

22. Charlestown, R.I.

23. Henniker, N.H.

24. Chatham, Mass.

25. Saint Johnsbury, Vt.

Source: Yankee Magazine (March-April issue); newengland.com