What are the Best and Worst States for Bookstore Lovers?
When it comes to bookstores, not all states are equal. We can all agree that when we are browsing bookstore shelves, we like a little privacy, right?
So, by that logic, the fewer people there are per bookstore, the better. And if we just compare the number of bookstores* per state to the population of that state, we can see which states are optimal for bookstore-browsing.
Still with me? Good.
I took a look at information about the number of bookstores in each state and then just divided this by the number of people living in that state to figure out how many people there were per bookstore. And then we get two groups, the yellow and the red, for the best ten and the worst ten states for bookstore privacy-lovers.
Before I tell you… which do you think have the fewest bookstores per person?
Group A…. that’s where you want to live. If you want privacy while shopping for books, that is.
Yeah. The red ones are the bad ones, the states that have fewer and more crowded bookstores (or, you know, more people per bookstore).
Let’s start with the bad ones- the states that have the fewest (and so probably most crowded) bookstores compared to population. (These are the ones in Group B above).
State |
Population |
Bookstores |
People per bookstore |
5. Connecticut |
3,590,347 |
102 |
35199 |
4. Hawaii |
1,392,313 |
36 |
38675 |
3. New York |
19,570,261 |
505 |
38753 |
2. Rhode Island |
1,050,292 |
27 |
38900 |
1. New Jersey |
8,864,590 |
217 |
40851 |
And the best states for bookstore lovers?
State |
Population |
Bookstores |
People per bookstore |
5. Tennessee |
6,456,243 |
369 |
17497 |
4. Alabama |
4,822,023 |
286 |
16860 |
3. Vermont |
626,011 |
38 |
16474 |
2. Wyoming |
576,412 |
35 |
16469 |
1. Montana |
1,005,141 |
64 |
15705 |
Montana, you are now my favorite state. Wyoming and Vermont are OK, but I am never setting a foot in New Jersey.
*Source: a Publishers Weekly article from 2013