America’s 20 Most Well-Read Cities, According to Amazon

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If you live in a town like Cambridge, Mass., Alexandria, Va., or Berkeley, Calif., Amazon.com considers you among the most well-read in the country.

Based on sales data of book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle downloads, Amazon has compiled a list of America’s 20 cities with the most well-read people. Like the cities above, which boast Harvard University, Gannett Corp. and the University of California, Berkeley, most are home to large universities or corporate installations.

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The cities also fell into categories of what they like to read, for example, the cuisine-conscious populace of Boulder, Colo. (No. 5), ordered the most cooking, food and wine books. At the same time, kid-friendly Alexandria, Va. (No. 2) ordered the most children’s literature. There’s even an irony. St. Louis, Mo. (No. 17), also ranked as the nation’s third most dangerous city, according to an estimate by financial blog 24/7 Wall Street. Though the list should be taken with a grain of salt — after all, lots of well-read people buy books at places other than Amazon.

Amazon’s list is as follows:

1. Cambridge, Mass.
2. Alexandria, Va.
3. Berkeley, Calif.
4. Ann Arbor, Mich.
5. Boulder, Colo.
6. Miami
7. Salt Lake City
8. Gainesville, Fla.
9. Seattle
10. Arlington, Va.
11. Knoxville, Tenn.
12. Orlando, Fla.
13. Pittsburgh
14. Washington, D.C.
15. Bellevue, Wash.
16. Columbia, S.C.
17. St. Louis, Mo.
18. Cincinnati
19. Portland, Ore.
20. Atlanta

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