You might think that the whole hippie movement has faded away, but the truth is, there are plenty of hippies out there in Connecticut.
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 Constitution 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 Connecticut, 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 Connecticut:
- Groton (Photos)
- Derby (Photos)
- West Haven (Photos)
- Milford (Photos)
- New London (Photos)
- Naugatuck (Photos)
- Ansonia (Photos)
- New Britain (Photos)
- Shelton (Photos)
- Bristol (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 Connecticut or the safest places to live in Connecticut.
How do you determine the most beatnik city in Connecticut?
In order to rank the best cities for hippies in Connecticut, 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 21 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 Connecticut.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Groton.
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. Groton
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.64
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.11
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.75
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.43
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.96
Groton /rtn/ is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 40,115 at the 2010 census.
2. Derby
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.55
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.39
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.16
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.16
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.47
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,903 at the 2010 census. It is the smallest consolidated city of Connecticut by area and population.
3. West Haven
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.25
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.05
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.16
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.18
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.31
West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2010 census, the population of the city was 55,564.
4. Milford
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.33
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.06
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.14
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.16
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.25
Milford is a Coterminous municipality within Coastal Connecticut and New Haven County, Connecticut, between Bridgeport, Connecticut and New Haven, Connecticut. The population was 51,271 at the 2010 census. The city includes the borough of Woodmont and the village of Devon. Milford is part of the New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. It is the headquarters of the mega business Subway
5. New London
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.22
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.04
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.25
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.18
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.44
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States. It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Southeastern Connecticut.
6. Naugatuck
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.22
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.06
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.16
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.09
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.19
Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury, and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, which has its own post office, Straitsville on the southeast (along Route 63), and Millville on the west (along Rubber Avenue). As of the 2010 census, Naugatuck had a population of 31,862.
7. Ansonia
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.31
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.31
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.1
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.0
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.52
Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, on the Naugatuck River, immediately north of Derby, and about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of New Haven. The population was 19,249 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code for Ansonia is 06401. The city is served by the Metro-North Railroad. Ansonia Station is a stop on the railroad passenger commuter service’s Waterbury line, connecting to New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Ansonia also is served by the Connecticut Transit bus carrier. Connecticut Route 8 serves Ansonia (Northbound, Exit 18; Southbound, Exit 19).
8. New Britain
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.15
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.04
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.12
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.04
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.19
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Hartford. According to 2010 Census, the population of the city is 73,206.
9. Shelton
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.22
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.1
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.07
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.07
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.2
Shelton is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,559 at the 2010 census.
10. Bristol
Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.1
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.02
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.07
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.17
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.18
There You Have It — The Hippies Of Connecticut
If you’re measuring the locations in Connecticut 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 Connecticut:
- Bridgeport
- Torrington
- Meriden
For more Connecticut reading , check out:
- These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Connecticut
- These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Connecticut
- These Are The 10 Safest Places In Connecticut
Detailed List Of The Hippiest Cities In Connecticut
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| Groton | 1 |
| Derby | 2 |
| West Haven | 3 |
| Milford | 4 |
| New London | 5 |
| Naugatuck | 6 |
| Ansonia | 7 |
| New Britain | 8 |
| Shelton | 9 |
| Bristol | 10 |
| Stamford | 11 |
| Danbury | 12 |
| Norwich | 13 |
| New Haven | 14 |
| Middletown | 15 |
| Hartford | 16 |
| Norwalk | 17 |
| Waterbury | 18 |
| Meriden | 19 |
| Torrington | 20 |
| Bridgeport | 21 |
