You know what they say. If you're in the Deep South, there's a church on every corner. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, there's a coffee ship on every corner. But... does the Pacific Northwest REALLY have more coffee shops as everyone seems to claim. Inquiring minds want to know so I did some digging.

Well, first I want to talk from personal experience as someone who has traveled the United States many times. I happen to know that it's much easier to find a coffee shop if you're traveling in Oregon or Washington than say Mississippi or Arkansas - MUCH easier in fact. In fact, from my unofficial personal experience I would say that the only state that could give the Pacific Northwest a run for it's money on coffee shops per capita is California.

Coffee shop culture does seem to be a west coat thing that has gradually spread across to other sections of the country at various rates. But what does the official statistics actually say about relative abundance of coffee shops across the United States?

Let's look at the Starbucks, the largest coffee shop company in the world with more than 11,000 coffee shops in the United States alone. Well, the first Starbucks opened in 1971 in none other than Seattle, Washington. If you look at the number of Starbucks per 10,000 people, Seattle is first followed by Portland Oregon.

Ok, the Northwest wins for Starbucks but what about all coffee shops, including chains and independents? According to the NPD Research Group, here are the top 10 cities for per capita coffee shops:

1. Anchorage, AK: 2.8 coffee shops per 10,000 people

2. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA: 2.5 shops

3. San Francisco, CA: 2.2 shops

4. Bellingham, WA: 2.1 shops

5. Portland, OR: Vancouver, Wash.: 2 shops

6. Bremerton, WA: 1.9 shops

7. Boulder-Longmont, CO: 1.8 shops

8. Olympia, WA: 1.8 shops

9. San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA: 1.6 shops

10. Santa Rosa, CA: 1.5 coffee shops per 10,000 people

As you can see, the Pacific Northwest wins with California coming in a close second. I was a little surprised by Alaska being first on the list but I guess if makes sense if you think about it.

I for one love coffee shops, not just for a place to get great coffee but also a place to meet and mingle with cool people.