Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities in America: Seattle is Number One

Seattle jumped from number four last year to this year’s most well-read city in America, according to Amazon.com. Portland, Ore.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Washington, D.C., round out the top five.

Alexandria, Va.; Miami, Fla.; and Knoxville, Tenn., were the first, second, and third most well-read cities last year, respectively. They didn’t make the list this year.

The rankings are based on the online retailer’s book, magazine, and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle formats, from April 2014 to April 2015, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents.

Las Vegas & Romance

Seattle, where Amazon is based, bought the most books overall. It also bought the most Kindle books, magazines, and newspapers. Out of the 20 cities, three are in California, making it the most well-read state based on this list. As a romance author, it’s interesting to note that Las Vegas readers bought the most romance books.

Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities

Here are Amazon’s top 20 most well-read cities in America. Did your city make the list? Salt Lake City, where I live, was ranked 14 last year. It didn’t make the cut this year.

1. Seattle, Wash.
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Las Vegas, Nev.
4. Tucson, Ariz.
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Austin, Texas
7. San Francisco, Calif.
8. Albuquerque, N.M.
9. Denver, Colo.
10. Louisville, Ky.
11. Charlotte, N.C.
12. Baltimore, Md.
13. San Diego, Calif.
14. Houston, Texas
15. Indianapolis, Ind.
16. San Jose, Calif.
17. Jacksonville, Fla.
18. San Antonio, Texas
19. Nashville, Tenn.
20. Chicago, Ill.

You can read more about Amazon.com’s press release about the list here.

Read last year’s top 20 most well-read cities and compare it with the new list.