Seattle is the Second Coolest City in America. Wait, Second?!

A new ranking from Forbes confirms that Seattle does, in fact, rule.

By Michael Rietmulder October 26, 2017

second-coolest-seattle

Judging by the sheer number of people signing up to rent Seattle’s overpriced broom closets, our city is a desirable place to live. Arguably too desirable, considering the ever-skyrocketing housing costs.

But when the congested streets and staggering mortgages got you down, take solace in the fact that an online ranking confirms that we are indeed living in a very cool city. You might say we’re the municipal equivalent of Beyoncé, expensive denim jackets and cigarettes in the ‘70s (well, maybe not Beyoncé).

According to a new ranking from America’s leading business magazine and a 67-year-old man named Bert, Seattle is the second coolest city in America. Forbes hooked up with noted quality of life author Bert Sperling to calculate the cool points of the country’s 100 largest metros using “a few universal quotients of cool.” You can check out the precise methodology here, but in a nutshell, they looked at entertainment and recreation options, the food and drink scene, transit choices, population growth and where young people are living, among other factors.

The biz rag doesn’t give a ton of info about how each city scored, beyond the ranking. But we do know that Seattle earned the top spot in two categories: recreation and the jointly weighted coffee shops and breweries (no surprise on the latter). Apparently, we got docked for low small business growth and our lack of diversity.

The only town that cumulatively outranked us was San Francisco, a city we increasingly resemble in all the wrong ways. Forbes touted the city’s ratio of local-to-chain restaurants, one of the highest in the nation, as well as museums and reliable mass transit. San Francisco also scored points for hiking and biking options, and (ugh) NBA superteam the Golden State Warriors. San Diego, New Orleans and Portland rounded out the top five.

Noticeably absent from this list: alleged hipster mecca Columbus, Ohio.

Forbes and Sperling note that San Francisco, like many of the top cities, suffers from one glaring affliction; an influx of well-paid tech workers driving up home prices. Sperling argues that a city’s desirability (or coolness, if you will) drives the housing demand up. “It would be an anomaly if you found a place that was really really cool but was really really cheap,” he tells Forbes.

So, this is the burden of cool, huh? Maybe one day we’ll get the Sonics back and at least be No. 1.

Follow Us

Bumbershoot Eyes Former Bed Bath & Beyond Space 

Bumbershoot Eyes Former Bed Bath & Beyond Space 

Bumbershoot and Muckleshoot Tribe plan music, arts venue

Bumbershoot producer New Rising Sun has partnered with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to convert the vacant 66,000-square-foot space for an opening by spring 2025.

Molbak’s Returns

Molbak’s Returns

Popular store launches community hub for gardening

Molbak’s has launched a new community initiative called Green Phoenix Collaborative at Molbak’s, which will transform the former retail site into a community hub for all things gardening. The collaborative will feature programs, classes, and events.

Historic Cornish College Building For Sale

Historic Cornish College Building For Sale

Kerry Hall was the original home of college founder Nellie Cornish

The historic Kerry Hall building, at 710 E. Roy St. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, was built in 1921 and was the home of Nellie Cornish, who founded the arts college in 1914 and ran it for 25 years. The college was formed in the building and has occupied it since then.

Seattle: Again The Place To Be

Seattle: Again The Place To Be

Seattle nears pre-pandemic visitor levels in impressive turnaround

Visit Seattle released preliminary figures for 2023 at its annual meeting Wednesday, and found that the region hosted 37.8 million visitors last year, an 8.9% increase from 2022. That’s just 10% less than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.