Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
If you love all things indie, vintage, and obscure, then you’re likely to thrive in one of 2022’s Best Cities for Hipsters.
That’s the reason for this LawnStarter ranking of the 200 biggest U.S. cities: to help maximize your chances of finding a circa 1970s alpaca wool coat, cage-free eggs, and just chill vibes.
We looked at 30 anti-cool factors — from access to thrift stores, farmers markets, and vinyl records to unicycle- and morning rave-friendliness.
Check out the top cities for the modern Bohemian below.
1. New York, NY
Overall score: 83.94
Fashion rank: 1
Lifestyle rank: 2
Culture rank: 1
Food and drink rank: 1
2. Los Angeles, CA
Overall score: 67.26
Fashion rank: 2
Lifestyle rank: 7
Culture rank: 2
Food and drink rank: 5
3. Portland, OR
Overall score: 57.49
Fashion rank: 13
Lifestyle rank: 3
Culture rank: 4
Food and drink rank: 2
4. San Francisco, CA
Overall score: 56.52
Fashion rank: 19
Lifestyle rank: 1
Culture rank: 3
Food and drink rank: 4
5. Chicago, IL
Overall score: 52.61
Fashion rank: 4
Lifestyle rank: 26
Culture rank: 6
Food and drink rank: 3
6. Seattle, WA
Overall score: 51.88
Fashion rank: 14
Lifestyle rank: 4
Culture rank: 5
Food and drink rank: 6
7. San Diego, CA
Overall score: 48.88
Fashion rank: 6
Lifestyle rank: 11
Culture rank: 10
Food and drink rank: 7
8. Denver, CO
Overall score: 44.43
Fashion rank: 25
Lifestyle rank: 5
Culture rank: 18
Food and drink rank: 8
9. Austin, TX
Overall score: 43.21
Fashion rank: 9
Lifestyle rank: 10
Culture rank: 16
Food and drink rank: 12
10. Atlanta, GA
Overall score: 40.93
Fashion rank: 16
Lifestyle rank: 14
Culture rank: 8
Food and drink rank: 20
11. Miami, FL
Overall score: 39.88
Fashion rank: 11
Lifestyle rank: 6
Culture rank: 23
Food and drink rank: 17
12. Washington, D.C.
Overall score: 39.54
Fashion rank: 50
Lifestyle rank: 19
Culture rank: 11
Food and drink rank: 11
13. Oakland, CA
Overall score: 37.99
Fashion rank: 57
Lifestyle rank: 12
Culture rank: 13
Food and drink rank: 36
14. Sacramento, CA
Overall score: 37.09
Fashion rank: 17
Lifestyle rank: 15
Culture rank: 29
Food and drink rank: 18
15. Orlando, FL
Overall score: 36.76
Fashion rank: 20
Lifestyle rank: 33
Culture rank: 14
Food and drink rank: 14
Methodology
We ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities from best (No. 1) to worst (No. 200) for hipsters based on their overall scores (out of 100 possible points), averaged across all the weighted metrics listed below.
- Number of Urban Outfitters Locations
- Number of Thrift Stores
- Number of Vintage and Consignment Shops
- Number of Tattoo Parlors
- Number of Barber Shops
- Environmental Consciousness
- Car-Free-Friendliness
- Biking-Friendliness
- Urban Gardener-Friendliness
- Crafter-Friendliness
- Stoner-Friendliness
- Number of Yoga Studios
- Hosts Morning Rave
- Number of Record Stores
- Music Venues per 100,000 Residents
- Number of Antique Shops
- Number of “Local Flavor” Spots
- Number of Art Galleries
- Number of Art Houses and Independent Movie Theaters
- Number of Independent Bookstores
- Number of Electric Scooter Rental Providers
- Skate Parks per 100,000 Residents
- Number of Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants
- Farmers Markets per 100,000 Residents
- Number of On-Farm Markets Within 30 miles
- Number of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Locations
- Number of Craft Breweries
- Number of Dive Bars
- Number of Whiskey Bars
- Number of Coffee Roasteries
Sources: Art House Convergence, BreweryDB, Daybreaker, Eventbrite, IndieBound, other LawnStarter studies, The Skatepark Project, TheThriftShopper.Com, Trader Joe’s, TripAdvisor, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Urban Outfitters, Whole Foods, and Yelp
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