These Are The 10 Best Cities For Hippies In California

You might think that the whole hippie movement has faded away, but the truth is, there are plenty of hippies out there in California.

While they aren’t necessarily in your face all the time with war protests and the next Woodstock isn’t being planned any time soon, we thought it would be fun to look at which cities in the Golden State where the most hippies would live.

And, after crunching the data, you know what? It was pretty spot on, we have to say.

How do you decide where the most hippies live? By the number of yoga studios, organic markets, and most importantly, where the liberals live in droves.

Using that criteria, it’s not hard to scrape the internet, run some scientific data on where hippies might live in California, and then put out a list.

So, put on your tie dye shirt and your sandals as you go through this list with us.

After analyzing all cities with a decent amount of people in them, we came up with this list of the 10 best cities for hippies in California:

1. Piedmont (Photos)
2. Emeryville (Photos)
3. Atherton (Photos)
4. Corte Madera (Photos)
5. Albany (Photos)
6. Sausalito (Photos)
7. Fairfax (Photos)
8. Larkspur (Photos)
9. Capitola (Photos)
10. Rolling Hills Estates (Photos)

Read on below to see where your town ranked, young flower child.

And if you already knew these places were hippie heavens, check out the best places to live in California or the safest places to live in California.

How do you determine the most beatnik city in California?

In order to rank the best cities for hippies in California, we had to determine what criteria defines a hippie.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the Google Places API, the Census’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey, and Voter Registration data, this is the criteria we used:

• Number of yoga studios per capita
• Number of organic markets per capita
• Number of pet adoption centers per capita
• Number of vegan restaurants per capita
• Number of thrift stores per capita
• Each city’s liberal voting population

Note: For the sake of getting reliable numbers, we counted places within a ~4.5 mile radius of a city’s center. The average city in America is about 18 square miles.

All of these results are listed in a per capita basis, meaning number of stores per person in a city. Additionally, we limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 5,000 people.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 414 in each category, where 1 was the most hippie.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a hippie index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the highest hippie index the ‘Best City for Hippies In California.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Piedmont.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in hippie central. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from hippiest to most square.

1. Piedmont

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 5.48
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 2.37
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 1.64
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 4.11
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 5.48
Piedmont is a small, mostly-residential, semi-suburban city located in Alameda County, California, United States. Piedmont is completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. The name comes after the region of Piedmont in Italy, and literally means foothill. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907, and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s. The Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) includes three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools.

2. Emeryville

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 5.72
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 2.29
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 1.52
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 3.33
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 4.38
Emeryville is a small city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and Silicon Valley has been a catalyst for recent economic growth.

3. Atherton

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 3.98
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 2.27
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 1.28
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.56
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 3.41
Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,159 as of 2013. Atherton is ranked to be the wealthiest city in the United States, and is regularly ranked among the most expensive zip codes in the country.

4. Corte Madera

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 3.06
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 1.27
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.74
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.58
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 3.48
Corte Madera (/krt mdr/; formerly Adams) is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Corte Madera is located 3.25 miles (5.2 km) south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 39 feet (12 m). The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census.

5. Albany

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 2.05
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 1.05
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.79
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.47
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 1.84
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.

6. Sausalito

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 3.55
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 1.56
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.57
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.7
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 1.7
Sausalito is a city in Marin County, California. Located 8 miles (13 km) south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m), and is located 7 km north of San Francisco.

7. Fairfax

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 3.05
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.66
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.53
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.46
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 3.05
Fairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located 3.25 miles (5.2 km) west-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 feet (35 m). The population is 7,441 at the 2010 census. Fairfax is the only town in America that holds a Green Party majority in the town council.

8. Larkspur

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 2.56
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.74
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.58
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.24
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 2.64
Larkspur is a city in Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 43 feet (13 m). As of the 2010 Census, the city’s population was 11,926. Larkspur is located north of San Francisco near Mount Tamalpais. Larkspur’s Police Department is shared with that of the neighboring Corte Madera and town of San Anselmo as the Central Marin Police Authority. Intersecting Larkspur’s downtown is Madrone Canyon, a residential area amidst a redwood grove.

9. Capitola

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 2.69
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 1.29
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.4
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.19
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 2.09
Capitola is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, on the coast of Monterey Bay. The population was 9,918 at the 2010 census.

10. Rolling Hills Estates

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 4.03
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 1.34
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 2.2
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 1.71
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 4.89
Rolling Hills Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 8,067 at the 2010 census, up from 7,676 at the 2000 census.

There You Have It — The Hippies Of California

If you’re measuring the locations in California where there are lots of liberals, and there are many options for vegan food, yoga and thrift stores, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious, here are the most square places in California:

1. Corcoran
2. Paradise
3. Woodlake

For more California reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In California
• These Are The 10 Safest Places In California
• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In California

Detailed List Of The Hippiest Cities In California

City	Rank	Population
Piedmont	1	10,957
Emeryville	2	10,497
Atherton	3	7,034
Corte Madera	4	9,478
Albany	5	19,020
Sausalito	6	7,043
Fairfax	7	7,546
Larkspur	8	12,131
Capitola	9	10,043
Rolling Hills Estates	10	8,184
Los Altos Hills	11	8,244
La Habra Heights	12	5,398
San Anselmo	13	12,527
Signal Hill	14	11,245
Sebastopol	15	7,535
San Marino	16	13,294
Hillsborough	17	11,148
Woodside	18	5,427
Tiburon	19	9,100
Mill Valley	20	14,178
Beverly Hills	21	34,536
Cotati	22	7,347
Hermosa Beach	23	19,725
El Segundo	24	16,839
Sierra Madre	25	11,060
Lomita	26	20,539
Palos Verdes Estates	27	13,568
West Hollywood	28	35,053
Hawaiian Gardens	29	14,432
Lawndale	30	33,155
Indian Wells	31	5,089
Belmont	32	26,503
Artesia	33	16,698
Moraga	34	16,549
Villa Park	35	5,911
Solvang	36	5,345
Los Altos	37	29,762
Solana Beach	38	13,146
Campbell	39	40,327
San Gabriel	40	40,173
Maywood	41	27,703
South Pasadena	42	25,914
Santa Fe Springs	43	16,859
Manhattan Beach	44	35,534
Sonoma	45	10,818
San Carlos	46	29,166
Commerce	47	12,975
Lafayette	48	24,685
Millbrae	49	22,177
El Cerrito	50	24,136
Pleasant Hill	51	33,842
Saratoga	52	30,627
Los Alamitos	53	11,598
East Palo Alto	54	28,920
Pismo Beach	55	7,789
Menlo Park	56	32,792
Loomis	57	6,589
Fort Bragg	58	7,274
Grass Valley	59	12,861
Los Gatos	60	30,163
South El Monte	61	20,375
Santa Monica	62	91,619
Healdsburg	63	11,466
Big Bear Lake	64	5,104
Burlingame	65	29,618
Claremont	66	35,569
Ojai	67	7,558
Laguna Woods	68	16,302
Duarte	69	21,676
Calabasas	70	23,956
Pacific Grove	71	15,365
Agoura Hills	72	20,630
Lemon Grove	73	25,963
Pinole	74	18,754
La Verne	75	31,592
Bell	76	35,896
Grover Beach	77	13,337
Redondo Beach	78	67,511
Berkeley	79	115,688
Marysville	80	12,144
Grand Terrace	81	12,252
Montclair	82	37,685
Monterey	83	28,053
Cupertino	84	59,787
Scotts Valley	85	11,711
San Pablo	86	29,516
Seal Beach	87	24,477
Orinda	88	18,390
St. Helena	89	5,895
Coronado	90	24,333
Calimesa	91	8,143
Auburn	92	13,690
Rancho Palos Verdes	93	42,282
Palo Alto	94	65,998
Laguna Beach	95	23,114
Loma Linda	96	23,648
Riverbank	97	23,310
Half Moon Bay	98	11,803
Arroyo Grande	99	17,536
Cerritos	100	49,599
La Palma	101	15,791
Laguna Hills	102	30,768
Arcadia	103	57,251
Rancho Mirage	104	17,634
Mountain View	105	76,741
Placerville	106	10,415
Santa Cruz	107	62,045
Martinez	108	36,876
Fowler	109	5,908
Fountain Valley	110	56,440
Cudahy	111	24,073
Arcata	112	17,679
San Bruno	113	42,090
La Mirada	114	49,038
Pacifica	115	38,283
Walnut Creek	116	65,923
Hercules	117	24,596
Hawthorne	118	85,889
San Rafael	119	58,588
Monrovia	120	37,035
Dublin	121	49,694
Ukiah	122	15,956
San Juan Capistrano	123	35,562
Huntington Park	124	58,787
Kingsburg	125	11,582
Walnut	126	29,822
Rosemead	127	54,457
Newark	128	43,635
West Sacramento	129	49,946
Placentia	130	51,860
Yreka	131	7,675
Alameda	132	75,763
La Mesa	133	58,239
Petaluma	134	58,912
Seaside	135	33,729
Bellflower	136	77,521
Stanton	137	38,455
Aliso Viejo	138	49,437
Hughson	139	6,895
Santa Clara	140	119,525
Alhambra	141	84,400
Tustin	142	77,765
Gardena	143	59,682
Malibu	144	12,830
Truckee	145	16,191
Ripon	146	14,645
Lakewood	147	80,926
Benicia	148	27,450
El Paso De Robles (Paso Robles)	149	30,522
Morro Bay	150	10,383
Monterey Park	151	60,966
Bell Gardens	152	42,712
Goleta	153	30,333
La Puente	154	40,342
Danville	155	42,891
Eureka	156	27,039
San Dimas	157	33,896
Imperial	158	15,782
Torrance	159	147,181
Encinitas	160	61,008
Escalon	161	7,252
Mammoth Lakes	162	8,154
Brea	163	40,443
South Lake Tahoe	164	21,394
Pleasanton	165	73,164
Mountain View	166	76,741
Wildomar	167	33,601
Costa Mesa	168	111,635
Carpinteria	169	13,323
Clayton	170	11,328
Upland	171	75,089
Palm Desert	172	49,953
Windsor	173	27,113
Anderson	174	10,066
Dana Point	175	33,861
Rohnert Park	176	41,352
Poway	177	49,040
Imperial Beach	178	26,857
Inglewood	179	111,133
Laguna Niguel	180	64,299
San Luis Obispo	181	45,911
Citrus Heights	182	84,678
Cypress	183	48,748
Pico Rivera	184	63,698
Norco	185	27,143
Calistoga	186	5,244
San Ramon	187	73,826
Novato	188	53,451
La Habra	189	61,341
Oakley	190	37,391
Newport Beach	191	86,594
El Cerrito	192	24,136
San Mateo	193	100,114
Red Bluff	194	14,069
Montebello	195	63,353
Brentwood	196	54,062
Pasadena	197	139,065
Fortuna	198	11,863
Santa Barbara	199	89,669
Willows	200	6,118
Westminster	201	91,255
San Fernando	202	24,050
Rocklin	203	59,002
Marina	204	20,198
Carson	205	92,475
San Leandro	206	87,159
Atascadero	207	28,792
Napa	208	78,511
Covina	209	48,429
Santee	210	55,435
Milpitas	211	69,346
Paramount	212	54,813
Azusa	213	47,420
Glendora	214	50,855
Folsom	215	73,334
Richmond	216	106,469
Watsonville	217	52,085
Lincoln	218	44,397
Baldwin Park	219	76,411
Pomona	220	151,142
Yucca Valley	221	21,083
Corning	222	7,617
Palm Springs	223	45,827
Selma	224	23,808
Port Hueneme	225	21,949
Oroville	226	16,015
Norwalk	227	106,455
El Cajon	228	101,582
American Canyon	229	20,089
Canyon Lake	230	10,810
Gridley	231	6,566
South San Francisco	232	65,537
Barstow	233	23,110
Sunnyvale	234	145,921
Lathrop	235	19,163
Highland	236	54,032
Chico	237	87,517
Tehachapi	238	13,818
South Gate	239	95,515
Buena Park	240	82,191
Lynwood	241	70,789
Davis	242	66,093
Mission Viejo	243	95,246
Cloverdale	244	8,692
Farmersville	245	10,675
Lake Forest	246	78,940
Whittier	247	86,400
Concord	248	125,017
Paradise	249	26,246
San Jacinto	250	45,497
Carlsbad	251	109,296
Lompoc	252	43,045
Diamond Bar	253	56,259
El Centro	254	43,268
Reedley	255	24,858
Orange	256	138,980
Lodi	257	63,158
Rio Vista	258	7,646
Fullerton	259	137,945
San Clemente	260	64,673
Turlock	261	69,875
Santa Rosa	262	170,782
Hollister	263	36,067
Oakdale	264	21,260
Vista	265	96,181
Morgan Hill	266	39,875
Gilroy	267	50,776
Ceres	268	46,570
Atwater	269	28,686
El Monte	270	115,243
Yucaipa	271	52,406
Woodland	272	56,390
Compton	273	97,663
Rancho Cordova	274	67,167
Colton	275	53,129
Redlands	276	69,787
Shasta Lake	277	10,143
West Covina	278	107,441
Livermore	279	83,901
Glendale	280	195,380
Gustine	281	5,610
Oakland	282	402,339
Rancho Santa Margarita	283	48,758
Manteca	284	70,693
Santa Paula	285	29,990
Ridgecrest	286	28,282
San Buenaventura (Ventura)	287	108,449
Temecula	288	104,955
Fremont	289	221,654
Redding	290	90,725
Yorba Linda	291	66,335
Downey	292	113,082
Clearlake	293	15,121
Dinuba	294	22,828
Patterson	295	20,736
Camarillo	296	65,985
Santa Clarita	297	179,030
Thousand Oaks	298	128,126
Hanford	299	54,523
San Marcos	300	87,808
Vacaville	301	93,994
Oceanside	302	171,400
Apple Valley	303	70,561
Banning	304	30,281
Dixon	305	18,718
Tracy	306	84,573
Lake Elsinore	307	56,243
Orland	308	7,451
Hayward	309	149,596
Salinas	310	154,077
Roseville	311	124,250
Parlier	312	14,750
Murrieta	313	106,326
Garden Grove	314	173,853
Jurupa Valley	315	97,247
Clovis	316	98,815
Indio	317	82,539
Chino	318	80,810
Colusa	319	5,962
Brawley	320	25,478
Lancaster	321	159,092
Long Beach	322	468,594
Beaumont	323	39,620
Antioch	324	105,630
Hemet	325	81,203
Merced	326	80,490
Lincoln	327	44,397
Dos Palos	328	5,023
Los Banos	329	36,626
Pittsburg	330	65,761
Taft	331	9,063
Exeter	332	10,468
Shafter	333	17,261
Fairfield	334	107,983
Modesto	335	205,984
Galt	336	24,280
Twentynine Palms	337	25,601
Huntington Beach	338	195,686
Newman	339	10,553
Lemoore	340	24,788
Calexico	341	39,281
Sacramento	342	476,075
Santa Maria	343	101,468
Victorville	344	119,603
Chino Hills	345	76,187
Vallejo	346	118,078
Ontario	347	166,892
Desert Hot Springs	348	27,678
Mcfarland	349	12,784
Palmdale	350	155,810
Eastvale	351	55,298
Elk Grove	352	158,455
Moorpark	353	35,033
Santa Ana	354	331,266
Simi Valley	355	125,699
Irvine	356	229,850
Winters	357	6,843
Fillmore	358	15,203
San Jose	359	986,320
Blythe	360	20,101
Escondido	361	147,603
Oxnard	362	201,744
Porterville	363	54,949
Sanger	364	24,587
Soledad	365	26,008
Rialto	366	101,367
Susanville	367	16,537
Chula Vista	368	253,031
Riverside	369	313,041
Los Angeles	370	3,862,210
Stockton	371	297,223
Fontana	372	201,355
Corona	373	157,395
San Francisco	374	829,072
Lindsay	375	12,688
Coachella	376	42,576
Ione	377	7,318
Santa Cruz	378	62,045
Rancho Cucamonga	379	170,170
Moreno Valley	380	198,872
Visalia	381	126,942
Hesperia	382	91,757
Madera	383	62,559
Holtville	384	6,067
La Quinta	385	38,774
San Bernardino	386	213,044
Orange Cove	387	9,473
Chowchilla	388	18,411
Livingston	389	13,461
Fresno	390	506,132
San Diego	391	1,341,510
Guadalupe	392	7,160
Waterford	393	8,579
Coalinga	394	17,235
Delano	395	52,883
Gonzales	396	8,336
Perris	397	71,377
Bakersfield	398	358,700
Anaheim	399	342,973
Wasco	400	25,865
Williams	401	5,166
Calipatria	402	7,599
Menifee	403	81,658
Tulare	404	60,663
Huron	405	6,777
Kerman	406	14,110
Firebaugh	407	7,935
Adelanto	408	31,773
Arvin	409	20,028
Avenal	410	14,553
Mendota	411	11,360
Woodlake	412	7,452
Paradise	413	26,246
Corcoran	414	23,634