You might say surveys are “a dime a dozen.” Every week a group seems to be doing a survey on some topic. These surveys cover a range of topics from what state in the United States has the most employed people, what state is the happiest and unhappiest to what state has the healthiest people.

This week the results of one of the surveys, or studies, arriving by email ranked two North Dakota towns as the “coziest small towns in the U.S.” for a winter weekend escape. MyDating Adviser.com composed this survey. If you wonder which towns received that ranking, it’s Medora (No. 6) and Garrison (No. 69th).

To rank the towns, the survey group compared 170 “well-known small towns across the country” on 10 key metrics. The surveyors looked into winter temperature, average snowfall, cafes, bakeries, crafts and bookshops, among other indicators of a small town. By analyzing these data points, each town received a “Cozy Town Index Score” representing the level of coziness someone might experience in that small town. Medora’s indicator, according to the survey, included travelers heading to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Medora Musical. It was noted the Medora Musical is a seasonal event so it would not be part of a winter visit. It was also noted as a “fun fact” that Medora was named for its founder, Marquis de Mores, a Frenchman. Actually Antoine de Vallombrosa, Marquis de Mores, named the new townsite in honor of his wife, Marquise Medora von Hoffman.

Garrison’s central feature included “its large artificial lake” and fishing being “a way of life and a local pastime.” Lake Sakakawea was created with the construction of the Garrison Dam years ago. The annual Dickens Village Festival held in November and December was given as a “fun fact” about Garrison.

Two towns in neighboring South Dakota were named among the top 20 coziest towns: Keystone (No. 8) and Deadwood (No. 11). No towns in Montana and Minnesota were on the top 20 list. The No. 1 honor went to Stockholm, Wisconsin, followed by Stowe, Vermont, for No. 2 You can decide whether to believe the various surveys. If nothing else, they offer some “food for thought.”