Salt Lake City Ranks 3rd Most Hipster City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Tattoo parlors and coffee shops are among the criteria that the website movehub.com used to determine the ten most hipster cities in the world.

They also looked at vegan eateries, vintage clothing stores, and record shops, putting the cities that had the most per 100,000 residents at the top.

The Hipster Index:

1. Brighton and Hove, UK
2. Portland, OR, USA
3. Salt Lake City, UT, USA
4. Seattle, WA, USA
5. Lisbon, Portugal

10. Spokane, WA, USA
12. Eugene, OR, USA
19. Las Vegas, NV, USA
52. Boise, ID, USA

Michael Maccarrone, owner of Sound and Vision Vinyl, says he’s grateful for hipsters.

“It’s very cool, because they kind of helped bring the record store back, which never should have gone away,” Maccarrone said.

Aside from taking a break for a few years, Maccarrone says he’s run record stores for about 40 years.

“I work in a place that looks like my bedroom did when I was 14 years old,” he said. “You tell me somebody else who’s got that life.”

But as the New York City transplant will tell you, he’s not a hipster.

“Pfft,” Maccarrone scoffed. “Heck no. No way in heck. I’m just an old punk rocker who’s just out of my mind.”

While according to movehub.com the hang out of choice for hipsters is coffee shops, we had a tough time finding one inside Nostalgia Cafe, off 100 south and  250 east, or at least anyone who would admit to the label. Still, customer Soren Buchart says appreciates the new distinction Salt Lake City has earned.

“I think it really adds to the feeling of the diversity of the city,” Buchart said. “When people think of Salt Lake City, they think of the Mormon capitol of the world and not a whole lot else. It’s cool that there is more image than just that.”

Maccarrone however adds that the labels don’t really matter.

“We all know eventually (that)we’re all the same,” he said. “We try to go and make a statement. Just go and be who you are.”

You can see MoveHub’s full list of top hipster cities here.