California is the Most Hipster State in Nation

Love them or hate them, hipsters are this generation's Bohemians, and California seems to be filled with them, according to a study by a big-data firm.

Hipsters, for all their faults (or attributes), have done a lot to contribute to the state's economy. They have given us such things as artisanal cheese, craft beers and cold-brewed coffee. But they are also responsible for the bearded look and the man-bun — so, you gotta take the good with the bad.

Based on its research of more than 15 million businesses that cater to the mustachioed, thick-framed-glasses-and-skinny-jean-wearing bunch, Infogroup identified these three cities in California as some of the most hipster metro areas in the nation. Actually, California has the most hipster cities in the nation, making it un-ironically the most hipster state.

The firm made its decisions by identifying the types of businesses that are closely related to “hipster” culture, such as microbreweries (manufacturers), record stores, music dealers, non-chain coffee shops, thrift shops, bicycle dealers, tattoo parlors and music and live entertainment, in metro areas with more than 1 million residents. The cities were then ranked based on the concentration of hipster businesses per 10,000 residents.

San Diego was ranked sixth in the top 10 hipster cities because of its fair mix of microbreweries, coffee shops, thrift shops, tattoo parlors, bicycle dealers and music and live entertainment. In fact, San Diego could arguably be California's craft beer capital with more than 100 breweries in the county, and counting.

Surprisingly, California's capital made the list at No. 4. The type of business that catapulted Sacramento to one of the top spots? Thrift stores. Thrift shops dominated the landscape with more than 30 percent of the counted, according to Infogroup.

Disappointingly, California's most liberal and Bohemian city, San Francisco, only barely cracked the top-10 spot, making it to No. 9. The home of the Beat Generation and the hippie movement is only ranked ninth in the nation? Despite the abundance of single-store coffee shops and record stores in the City by the Bay, with only 2.32 businesses per 10,000 residents, that was the deciding factor.

The No. 1 spot on the list should be no surprise to anyone, it's Seattle, Washington.

Here's the full list of the top hipster cities in the nation:

1. Seattle. Washington
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Denver, Colorado
4. Sacramento, California
5. Grand Rapids, Michigan
6. San Diego, California
7. Providence, California
8. Pittsburgh, Ohio
9. San Francisco, California
10. Rochester, New York

— photo via Shutterstock