These Are The 10 Best Cities For Hippies In Massachusetts

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

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 Bay 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 Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts:

1. Everett (Photos)
2. Chelsea (Photos)
3. Melrose (Photos)
4. Somerville (Photos)
5. Medford (Photos)
6. Malden (Photos)
7. Cambridge (Photos)
8. Woburn (Photos)
9. Newburyport (Photos)
10. Salem (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 Massachusetts or the safest places to live in Massachusetts.

How do you determine the most beatnik city in Massachusetts?

In order to rank the best cities for hippies in Massachusetts, 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 39 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 Massachusetts.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Everett.

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. Everett

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 1.4
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.42
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.28
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.98
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.94
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Boston. The population was 41,668 at the time of the 2010 United States Census.

2. Chelsea

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 1.05
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.43
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.3
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.78
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.49
Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of 2013, Chelsea had an estimated population of 36,828. It is also the second most densely populated city in Massachusetts behind Somerville. With a total area of just 2.21 square miles, Chelsea is the smallest city in Massachusetts in terms of total area.

3. Melrose

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 1.13
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.25
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.22
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.47
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.98
Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population as per the 2010 United States Census is 26,983. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston and is situated in the center of the triangle created by Interstates 93, 95 and US Route 1.

4. Somerville

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.77
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.27
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.15
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.54
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.66
Somerville (/smrvl/ SUM-r-vil) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of 2010[update], the United States Census lists the city with a total population of 75,754 people, making it the most densely populated municipality in New England. As of 2010[update], it was the 16th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country. Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown. In 2006, the town was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe. In 1972, in 2009, and again in 2015, the city received the All-America City Award.

5. Medford

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 1.05
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.3
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.12
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.4
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.68
Medford is a city 3.2 miles northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford’s population was 56,173. It is home to Tufts University.

6. Malden

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.81
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.2
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.15
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.32
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.58
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2010 United States Census, the population was at 59,450 people. In 2009, Malden was named the ‘Best Place to Raise Your Kids’ in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek.

7. Cambridge

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.56
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.25
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.14
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.39
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.47
Cambridge (/kembrd/ KAYM-brij) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and part of the Boston metropolitan area.

8. Woburn

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.46
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.1
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.18
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.21
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.49
Woburn /wubrn/ is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located 9 miles (14 km) north of Boston, Massachusetts.

9. Newburyport

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.74
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.28
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.11
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.34
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.57
Newburyport is a small coastal, scenic, and historic city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Boston. The population was 17,416 at the 2010 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mooring, winter storage and maintenance of recreational boats, motor and sail, still contribute a large part of the city’s income. A Coast Guard station oversees boating activity, especially in the swift tidal currents of the Merrimack River.

10. Salem

Yoga Studios Per 1,000 People: 0.35
Organic Markets Per 1,000 People: 0.14
Pet Adoption Centers Per 1,000 People: 0.21
Vegan Restaurants Per 1,000 People: 0.14
Thrift Stores Per 1,000 People: 0.83
Salem is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, located on Massachusetts’ North Shore. It is a New England bedrock of history and is considered one of the most significant seaports in Puritan American history.

There You Have It — The Hippies Of Massachusetts

If you’re measuring the locations in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts:

1. Worcester
2. Fall River
3. Quincy

For more Massachusetts reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Massachusetts
• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Massachusetts
• These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Massachusetts

Detailed List Of The Hippiest Cities In Massachusetts