Nerd-vana: America’s Nerdiest Cities, Ranked

Nerd culture is pop culture. For over a decade, the box office has been dominated by superhero movies based on comic books. At the same time, the popularity of Star Wars and other franchises such as Dune have made science fiction one of the most popular genres in all of entertainment.

Looking beyond the screen, other niche nerd activities are becoming more mainstream, collectible trading card games are experiencing a boom, and multi-day conventions filled with cosplaying sci-fi fans can be found in cities across the country.

Given how influential nerdy interests and nerd culture have become, the All About Cookies team was curious to see which U.S. cities are the “nerdiest” in the country. To find out, our research team analyzed 75 of the biggest cities in America and ranked them based on metrics like comic and gaming shop availability, educational attainment, search volume for nerdy topics, and more.

Key Findings

• Seattle, Washington ranks as the nerdiest city in the U.S.
• With an overall nerd score of 87.1/100, Seattle received such a high score due to its abundance of comic book shops, gaming stores, and high frequencies for Google searches of nerdy interests. Seattle also ranks highly for residents with advanced degrees, patents being released, and the availability of STEM jobs.
• California is the only state with three cities in the top 20: San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose all make the list.
• Ohio (Cincinnati and Cleveland) and Texas (Dallas and Austin) are the only other states with multiple top 20 cities
• For convention lovers, Atlanta, Georgia, is the best city, boasting more conventions per capita than anywhere else in the country.

How we chose these metrics

• Percent of the population with an advanced degree: The term “nerd” originally described someone enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject, and what could fit that definition better than having a Master’s degree or a PhD covering a specific field of study.
• Comic book shops (per capita): Comic book shops are a safe haven for anyone looking for nerd culture, a role they still serve today even after nerdy interests became more popular.

• Gaming stores (per capita): Some long-time table-top games like Dungeons & Dragons and trading card games like Pokémon are experiencing surges in popularity, which can increase the visibility and demand for similar games as new fans are introduced to those genres. Dedicated gaming stores are the perfect place for nerds, new and old, to scratch their gaming itch.
• Annual per-person library visits: Libraries are a great place to find more information on a particular nerdy topic, find new authors and genres to explore, or get the latest sci-fi or fantasy novel from a beloved author.
• STEM jobs environment: While nerds can come from all walks of life and work in any number of fields, STEM jobs (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are typically thought of as “nerdier” professions, so cities where more people are working in those fields can reasonably be seen as nerdier than their peers.
• Patents issued (per capita): One way that nerdom can manifest is through invention, as people who are enthusiastic experts in a particular area are better suited to understand specific problems or needs in their field of expertise and come up with new solutions.
• Fan and comic conventions (per capita): Comic cons aren’t limited to a few specific cities once or twice a year anymore, as fan conventions celebrating beloved shows, movies, characters, and more are regularly scheduled for cities all across the country.
• Average search volume for nerdy terms: The internet is an excellent resource for nerds. We measured how often residents of the city were searching for a nerdy interest or hobby, from cosplay to anime to the next nearby Comic Con.

The nerdiest cities in the United States

No matter where you live in the United States, there is likely to be some kind of nerd-friendly community or culture nearby, although these communities and cultures are definitely more robust in some cities compared to others.

1. Seattle, Washington

Seattle is home to the headquarters of tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, so it is no surprise that demand for STEM jobs in the city is among the highest in the country, more than double the national average. Seattle also ranks near the very top of the list when it comes to patents issued per capita and the prevalence of gaming and comic shops. Seattle residents also search for nerdy terms online at the highest rate of any city in the country. While Seattle ranks below average in terms of the sheer number of conventions, it is also worth noting that the Emerald City Comic Con held there is among the largest comic conventions in the United States, attracting tens of thousands of attendees annually.

2. Boston, Massachusetts 

Boston is another tech and STEM-focused city, with above-average demand for those kinds of jobs and a top-10 rank in the country when it comes to the number of patents issued per 100,000 people. However, Boston’s biggest nerd credentials come in the form of how educated the people who live there are, which makes sense given that Harvard University and MIT are both located in nearby Cambridge. 24.6% of Boston’s population has a Master’s degree or higher, the third-highest rate of any city after San Jose, California, and Washington, D.C.

3. San Francisco, California

As part of Silicon Valley, it should come as no surprise to find out that San Francisco is an inventive city, with 806 patents issued for every 100,000 residents living there last year. That is the second-most of any city in the country, behind nearby San Jose. Tech work isn’t the only thing San Fran has going for it when it comes to nerdy credentials, either, as the city boasts 25.6 gaming stores per 100,000 people, one of the 10 highest rates in the country.

4. Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah as a whole has a nerdy reputation, and that is reflected in the state capital of Salt Lake City. SLC ranks in the top 10 in the country when it comes to search volume for nerdy terms and lands in the top 15 when it comes to conventions and gaming stores per capita.

5. Minneapolis, Minnesota 

Minneapolis is a perfect place for someone with a nerdy hobby or interest. The city has 27.1 gaming stores per 100,000, the sixth-most of any city, while Minneapolis’s rate of 9.4 comic book shops per 100,000 is 10th in the country. Minneapolis is also a great place for convention lovers, as it ranks in the top 15 when it comes to fan conventions per capita.

6. Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is America’s convention capital, hosting 4.3 conventions for every 100,000 residents in 2025. That is about 25% more than any other city, as Boston was second with 3.2 conventions per 100,000. Atlanta also ranks in the top five when it comes to comic book shops per capita and in the top 10 for per capita gaming stores and patents issued in the last year.

7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

Pittsburgh’s nerd bona fides are well-rounded, as the city doesn’t place near the very top in any one metric we evaluated, but scores highly in multiple areas. Pittsburgh ranks in the top 10-15 for multiple nerd markers such as comic book stores, gaming shops, patents issued, and conventions per 100,000 people.

8. St. Louis, Missouri

STEM job demand in St. Louis is lower than the national average, but the city has incredibly strong credentials when it comes to more classical nerd signifiers. St. Louis has the second-highest number of comic book shops (12.8) and gaming stores (33.7) per 100,000 people of any city in America. STL’s location in the middle of the country also makes it a prime host city for conventions, so it is no surprise that St. Louis ranks in the top 10 when it comes to conventions per capita.

9. Dallas, Texas

Dallas has a similar number of gaming stores per capita as St. Louis, though there are far fewer comic shops in the Big D. Dallas is also a convention favorite, hosting 2.8 per 100,000 people this year, the fifth-most of any city.

10. San Jose, California

Rounding out the top 10 is the heart of Silicon Valley. Demand for tech and STEM-related jobs in San Jose is the highest in the country, four times higher than the national average and significantly higher than any other city. More than a quarter of people living in San Jose (27.6%) have an advanced degree, and nearly 850 patents per 100,000 people were issued to applicants in San Jose last year. Those are the highest rates of any city in the country for both metrics.

Enclaves of the educated

Across the 75 cities we evaluated, about 15.5% of people hold a Master’s degree or higher, though in some cities it can be much higher. We wanted to spotlight the 10 cities where that percentage is highest.

San Jose, California, leads the way, in a virtual tie with the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. San Jose is America’s top tech hub, so it makes sense that residents of that city (and nearby San Francisco and Oakland) would have an outsize ratio of advanced degrees.

Washington is home to the federal government, with many complex and important jobs requiring the kinds of expertise and specialized knowledge that come with a Master’s degree or a PhD, so it is encouraging to see that more than a quarter of D.C.’s residents hold advanced degrees.

Library-loving locales

Graduate school isn’t the only source of knowledge available to nerds, as the local library is a great place to learn about any number of topics (with a much lower price tag).

No city loves its libraries more than Madison, Wisconsin, as each resident there averages five trips to the library per year. That is the most of any city, and nearly double the all-cities average of 2.6. Madison may be number one overall, but the people of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Cleveland, Ohio, utilize their libraries at nearly the same rate. It is also worth noting that 7 of the top 10 cities with the most library visits per person are located in the Midwest, with the only cities from other parts of the country on the list being Boston, San Jose, and Hartford, Connecticut.

Patent-producing places

Earning a patent for a new product or process is a notable achievement, one that requires the kind of knowledge and passion that could earn someone the nerd moniker.

In this regard, America’s tech hubs lead the way. San Jose and San Francisco are home to Silicon Valley and the dedicated tech workers who keep companies like Google and Apple on the leading edge of innovation. It is no surprise, then, that those are the only two cities where more than 800 patents per 100,000 were issued last year. One other city did come close to matching that pace, however, as 789.6 patents per 100,000 people were issued in the emerging tech hub of Boise, Idaho.

Convention capitals

Many nerds love sharing their passions with other people and building a community around their shared interests, no matter how niche they may be. Fan and comic conventions are the perfect places for nerds to connect and celebrate with one another (as long as they’re careful when using public wi-fi in the convention center).

Atlanta is the top city in the country when it comes to conventions, as the ATL hosted 4.3 conventions per 100,000 people this year, well above Boston’s 3.2 per 100K in second place. Cleveland, Ohio, is the only other city to host at least three conventions per 100,000 people this year. However, it is worth noting that nine of the top 10 cities in this metric hosted at least 2.2 cons per capita, double the all-cities average of 1.1.

A city-by-city breakdown of America's nerdiest cities

City	Overall City Score	% Population with Advanced Degree	Comic Shops Per 100K	Gaming Stores Per 100K	Library Visits Per Capita	Patents Per 100K	STEM Jobs Location Quotient	Conventions Per 100K	Average Nerd Term Search Volume
Albuquerque, NM	44.3	15.9%	3.0	6.4	2.2	45.5	0.92	1.6	49
Anchorage, AK	26.7	14.1%	2.1	6.3	2.0	0.7	0.5	0.0	60.2
Atlanta, GA	78.3	16.7%	11.9	26.2	1.8	322.8	1.23	4.3	47.8
Austin, TX	66.1	19.1%	2.8	11.5	2.5	256.3	1.88	1.6	49
Baltimore, MD	69.4	21.0%	7.8	12.2	2.8	61.9	1.42	1.6	47.3
Baton Rouge, LA	24.6	10.4%	3.2	10.5	3.0	21.9	0.55	0.5	43.2
Birmingham, AL	48.4	13.2%	4.6	16.3	2.6	38.6	0.76	2.0	43.9
Boise, ID	53.0	12.7%	1.7	14.4	2.9	789.6	0.81	1.7	54.4
Boston, MA	84.8	24.6%	7.3	20.8	3.8	252.4	1.45	3.2	44.6
Buffalo, NY	33.6	15.7%	4.4	12.0	1.5	16.7	0.73	0.4	47.1
Charlotte, NC	52.1	14.8%	3.0	11.5	1.7	356.5	1.34	1.5	43.4
Chicago, IL	54.5	17.2%	5.2	13.0	3.1	90.0	0.87	1.4	46.1
Cincinnati, OH	69.6	15.5%	10.0	18.3	3.3	258.4	0.84	1.6	48.7
Cleveland, OH	66.8	14.5%	9.7	14.6	4.9	120.5	0.83	3.0	47.2
Colorado Springs, CO	62.5	18.2%	3.1	7.4	2.7	15.3	1.6	1.6	60.6
Columbus, OH	56.0	15.7%	4.1	8.9	4.3	51.1	0.94	1.8	51.5
Corpus Christi, TX	17.2	8.7%	2.8	5.1	1.3	0.0	0.4	0.6	52.6
Dallas, TX	71.5	14.8%	6.1	23.9	1.7	162.7	1.41	2.8	50.5
Denver, CO	68.7	19.2%	4.3	16.5	2.8	90.4	1.56	2.5	44.7
Des Moines, IA	47.1	13.5%	4.8	9.0	3.9	22.8	1.34	0.5	48.8
Detroit, MI	53.0	13.6%	9.6	15.0	2.1	178.8	0.96	0.5	49.4
Fort Wayne, IN	38.6	11.1%	5.6	8.5	4.9	13.0	0.59	0.4	56.2
Grand Rapids, MI	54.0	13.0%	7.6	16.8	3.5	103.3	0.62	1.0	52
Greensboro, NC	31.1	12.1%	6.6	4.6	2.3	53.9	0.55	0.7	46
Hartford, CT	68.3	19.5%	4.2	37.6	3.5	45.1	1.09	1.7	46.8
Honolulu, HI	27.5	14.9%	1.5	7.0	0.9	11.4	0.78	0.6	51.9
Houston, TX	45.0	14.1%	3.7	10.8	1.2	138.3	0.78	2.0	46.3
Indianapolis, IN	51.5	14.8%	4.9	10.6	3.2	106.4	0.87	1.1	52.2
Jacksonville, FL	29.6	12.9%	2.6	7.3	2.0	25.4	0.89	0.6	46.8
Kansas City, MO	47.5	15.3%	2.9	15.5	3.0	33.9	1.1	0.4	54.9
Las Vegas, NV	44.0	9.9%	6.5	10.7	2.0	135.4	0.51	1.1	60.1
Lexington, KY	38.9	18.6%	2.8	5.6	2.9	28.4	0.64	0.3	55.7
Lincoln, NE	37.6	14.1%	5.1	5.8	2.5	25.8	1.12	0.3	47.6
Little Rock, AR	36.1	12.5%	5.4	9.3	3.0	19.1	0.65	0.5	50.4
Los Angeles, CA	36.0	14.2%	2.6	13.0	1.8	35.3	0.86	0.3	54.8
Louisville, KY	26.1	12.8%	3.0	6.4	2.2	15.9	0.66	0.2	51.4
Madison, WI	65.8	19.9%	3.9	10.7	5.0	89.5	1.5	1.1	51.2
Memphis, TN	17.1	13.1%	1.8	4.7	1.4	49.3	0.57	0.3	42.1
Miami, FL	42.8	14.9%	4.4	28.1	2.1	64.9	0.71	0.4	43.9
Milwaukee, WI	46.8	14.3%	4.5	9.3	3.6	61.8	0.84	1.2	47.8
Minneapolis, MN	79.7	16.6%	9.4	27.1	2.8	216.2	1.13	1.9	49.1
Nashville, TN	34.6	15.7%	3.2	8.7	2.2	38.5	0.99	0.3	45.3
New Orleans, LA	33.8	15.0%	3.3	7.7	2.3	7.4	0.44	1.6	42.1
New York, NY	39.1	19.1%	2.1	7.4	3.0	65.6	1.04	0.2	44.6
Oakland, CA	69.9	23.3%	6.9	15.6	2.3	187.6	1.54	1.1	46.7
Oklahoma City, OK	33.5	12.9%	3.1	7.8	2.4	7.8	0.88	0.3	54.7
Omaha, NE	35.4	14.9%	3.5	8.1	2.4	26.1	1.05	0.2	47.8
Orlando, FL	65.1	13.0%	14.0	24.9	1.9	73.6	0.91	2.5	49.4
Philadelphia, PA	51.5	17.7%	6.0	14.7	2.0	81.0	0.92	1.0	46.1
Phoenix, AZ	38.1	13.6%	4.8	12.1	0.9	31.6	1.05	0.5	51.7
Pittsburgh, PA	73.5	15.6%	9.9	24.7	2.6	210.4	0.86	2.0	47.2
Portland, OR	62.1	16.5%	5.7	17.6	3.0	48.1	1.14	0.8	60.5
Providence, RI	53.7	14.8%	4.7	20.4	2.7	121.6	0.83	1.0	49.9
Raleigh, NC	63.2	20.6%	4.4	7.9	1.9	110.9	1.66	2.5	46.6
Reno, NV	28.1	12.1%	2.5	9.5	1.4	49.8	0.55	0.7	52.4
Richmond, VA	62.5	16.3%	5.7	13.5	2.7	150.9	1.05	2.2	47.2
Riverside, CA	30.7	9.2%	6.9	29.8	1.2	18.8	0.36	0.0	49.4
Sacramento, CA	44.0	14.3%	6.3	12.2	1.7	14.8	1.04	0.4	54.5
Salt Lake City, UT	81.6	15.3%	6.7	23.4	3.3	159.4	1.49	1.9	56.3
San Antonio, TX	42.4	12.4%	2.7	5.6	1.8	61.7	0.86	2.1	53.5
San Diego, CA	57.8	17.2%	4.2	9.4	2.7	551.2	1.13	0.6	58.4
San Francisco, CA	82.7	23.3%	6.3	25.6	3.2	806.0	2.14	1.2	52.2
San Jose, CA	70.6	27.6%	6.7	6.8	3.6	849.4	4.09	0.8	53.2
Seattle, WA	87.1	19.8%	10.7	30.8	2.9	446.0	2.31	0.8	62.2
Sioux Falls, SD	32.7	12.3%	3.4	9.2	3.2	25.7	0.86	0.5	44.8
Spokane, WA	39.3	12.4%	3.5	9.6	3.5	20.0	0.69	0.4	58.9
St. Louis, MO	71.8	15.9%	12.8	33.7	3.4	18.8	0.93	2.5	48.5
Tallahassee, FL	31.7	16.7%	3.5	3.0	1.7	28.7	1.23	0.0	44.6
Tampa, FL	53.3	13.2%	8.9	23.8	1.7	72.9	1.07	0.5	46.7
Toledo, OH	38.7	13.3%	12.1	7.9	4.2	17.7	0.39	0.0	50.7
Tucson, AZ	34.2	15.9%	1.3	5.8	2.3	40.4	0.95	0.2	55.3
Tulsa, OK	33.8	10.5%	3.6	7.5	2.7	29.1	0.65	1.0	53.2
Virginia Beach, VA	41.8	14.2%	6.0	10.8	2.1	11.0	0.97	0.4	52
Washington, DC	61.3	27.6%	4.7	19.6	2.7	104.4	2.23	0.3	47.2
Wichita, KS	26.0	11.6%	1.0	5.0	2.6	20.2	0.58	0.3	59.6
Average	53.9	15.5%	5.2	13.5	2.6	119.1	1.0	1.1	50.3

Bottom line

There’s always a way to experience the best of nerd culture right at your fingertips if you’re not able to travel to big conventions or one of the nerdiest cities in the country.

• Free yourself from excessive advertisements. Whether you’re watching a nerdy cult classic, watching YouTube, or binging your favorite anime on Crunchyroll, download one of the best ad blockers for a much smoother experience.
• Protect your favorite nerd devices. You built your own gaming PC from the ground up. Now give it the protection it deserves with the best antivirus software to keep hackers and viruses out.
• Stream your favorite nerdy classics. If your nerdy cult classic is no longer available on Netflix, learn how to use Netflix with a VPN so you can get access to the library of other countries and open up the possibilities.

Methodology

All About Cookies collected data on 75 of America's biggest cities. We found data for eight “nerdy” factors relating to things like education, employment, and nerd culture in each city. Data was collected in September 2025.

Factors were compared using a dynamic formula that assigned each city a score of 0-5 relative to every other city. Those factor scores were then weighted to assign each city a final value out of 100, with higher scores indicating cities with more nerd credentials.

For each factor, a weight of 2.50 serves as the baseline, with weights above 2.50 having a larger impact on a city's total score and those below 2.50 having a lesser impact. The weights and sources for the individual metrics used are as follows:

Criteria	Source	Weight
% of the population with an advanced degree (Master's or higher)	U.S. Census	3
STEM job location quotient	U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics	3
Fan and pop culture conventions per 100,000 people in 2025	FanCons.com	3
# of gaming stores per 100,000 people	U.S. Census	2.75
# of comic book shops per 100,000 people	YellowPages.com	2.75
Annual library visits per person	Institute of Museum and Library Services	2
Average search volume for 10 different nerdy terms	Google Trends	2
# of new patents per 100,000 people issued last year	United States Patent and Trademark Office	1.5