Every metro area has its highlights, but recently a research agency dove into a new question. The real estate agency Clever explored where avid readers and book lovers could find a solid literary landscape, and Milwaukee held its own.
They analyzed publicly available data from Libraries.org, IndieBound, the National Center for Education Statistics, Publishers Weekly, and Google Trends to rank the 50 most populous metro areas in the U.S. from the best to the worst cities for book-lovers.
Altogether, Milwaukee ranks as the 16th-best book city in America.
Milwaukee is home to 84 libraries. (Check out 6 must-visit libraries for kids.) That’s 5.3 libraries per 100,000 residents—13% more than the average metro.
Milwaukee is also home to 13 independent bookstores, or 0.8 independent bookstores per 100,000 people, just below the national average of 1.0, making it a close competition between Milwaukee and other metros for the top 15 spots.
Their weighted rankings evaluated various criteria including:
- 4x: The number of libraries per 100,000 residents in each metro
- 4x: The number of independent bookstores per 100,000 residents in each metro
- 3x: Google search trends in each metro for 10 selected books from Publishers Weekly’s top 25 bestselling books for 2021
- 2x: Average literacy rate scores for each metro out of 500
- 1x: Google search trends in each metro for 5 common book-related terms
- 1x: The number of coffee shops per 100,000 residents in each metro
Milwaukee also ranked as the best coffee city in America in a previous study.
Looks like we live in the perfect place to enjoy a book with a cup of coffee!
Calie Herbst, Editor-in-Chief of Milwaukee With Kids, has spent over a decade combining her experiences as a parent of three to create a hub for Milwaukee’s family adventures.
Her decade-long teaching career in Milwaukee Public Schools and academic background, including a Master’s in Teaching from Marquette University and dual B.A.s in Sociology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, fuel her passion for inclusive and engaging family content.
Calie is also a recognized voice in local media, contributing to WISN Channel 12 News, WTMJ Wisconsin Morning News, Fox 6’s Real Milwaukee, and B93.3.
Discover more about Calie’s journey and editorial approach on her About Page and Editorial Policy Page.
