Few of us are clamoring to live where hostility and ill-temper rule the social structure. You don’t hear friends and colleagues looking through real estate ads to find a neighborhood full of discontent and aggression. Instead, people clamor to find real neighborhoods that feel like the friendliest TV towns, such as Stars Hollow, Pawnee, and Schitt’s Creek.
But that made us wonder whether America had any areas that resemble these friendly but fictitious towns and what elements help to create these neighborhoods in real life. So we conducted a study to determine which American cities are the friendliest.
We compiled a list of popular neighborhoods across the United States based on the 200 most-viewed city neighborhoods on Zillow in 2022. Then we analyzed nearly 150K Google reviews from the past year for businesses in those neighborhoods.
From banks and bars to coffee shops and grocery stores, we analyzed the reviews of businesses people regularly visit, using the percentage of reviews with the word “friendly” in them to determine our rankings. This post details what we discovered so you can see how your city measures up.
Key Takeaways
- Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood emerged as friendliest, followed by Kingwood (Houston, TX), and Highland (Saint Paul, MN).
- Among well-known businesses, Trader Joe’s, The UPS Store, and Great Clips have earned the highest marks for friendliness.
- Overall, Prestige Cleaners, Inc., Drip-Thru Coffee, and Morgan’s Pharmacy topped the list of friendliest businesses.
The West Has the Most Friendly Neighborhoods
It could be that the mountains and ocean air inspire geniality. A whopping 6 out of the 10 friendliest neighborhoods on the list fall within Western states, and only 1 out of the 10 least friendliest is a Western state.
The Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle took the top spot, and three other neighborhoods in coastal states made the top 10: Mount Tabor in Portland, Oregon, (7), and two San Diego neighborhoods — Rancho Bernardo (4) and Rancho Penasquitos (9).
Saint Paul’s Highland neighborhood is the lone Midwestern entry, and Tucson claims two neighborhoods in the top 10: Casas Adobes (6) and Catalina Foothills (8). Texas rounds out the list with not only the second-friendliest neighborhood — Houston’s Kingwood — but South Boulevard-Park Row Historic in Dallas comes in at number 5.
Tribeca Is New York City’s Friendliest Neighborhood
Sometimes one block feels entirely different from the next, and it isn’t just because the buildings have doormen and the coffee shops make their own scones. We went looking for the areas where you’re less likely to get jostled on the sidewalk and scowled at in the grocery store — and found friendly neighborhoods in every major metropolis, like Tribeca in New York City and Bel Air in Los Angeles.
Chicago brings the “Midwest Nice” in Bucktown, and Washington, D.C., pushes politics aside in Capitol Hill. Texas has more big cities than any other state — four of the top 10 populated cities — and unsurprisingly has six neighborhoods in our top 25 list: Houston’s Kingwood, San Antonio’s The Dominion, South Boulevard-Park Row Historic in Dallas, the incredibly aptly named Jollyville in Austin, Fort Worth’s South Hills, and Northwest in El Paso.
Trader Joe’s Is the Friendliest Well-Known Store
Can a sprawling chain or big-box store exude warmth across hundreds of locations? Relatively, at least. At the top of our list of well-known stores sits Trader Joe’s, which was described as friendly in 15.35% of reviews. That might not be a surprise for a store that bills itself as offering “adventure, humor, and a warm sense of community.” The UPS Store is right behind it (2), followed by Great Clips (3), Starbucks (4) and Dunkin’ (5) to round out the top five.
Several grocery stores make an appearance, including Safeway (10), ALDI (12), and Whole Foods Market (13). The only restaurants to make the list are Applebee’s Grill + Bar (15), Chili’s Bar & Grill (18), and TGI Friday’s (23).
Dry Cleaners Top List of Friendly Businesses
Some trends emerged when we dug into data for ten business types: coffee shops, dry cleaners, and pharmacies ruled the top 10 friendliest list. On the other hand, banks barely made it, and post offices got left off the list entirely.
Based on our analysis, the friendliest business overall was Prestige Cleaners Inc. in Phoenix, which had 39% of reviews with the word “friendly” in them. The high-ranking dry cleaner was followed by Drip-Thru Coffee (Atlanta) and Morgan’s Pharmacy (Washington D.C.). Since none of the neighborhoods these top three businesses are in made it into our top 10 friendliest, this list shows us stand-out friendly businesses in maybe not-so-friendly neighborhoods.
If you’re going out to drop off the cleaning, pick up cold medicine, and grab a latte, go to the bank first so you’re most likely to end your errands with a smile.
Conclusion
The prevailing wisdom about real estate is that location is everything. So maybe a friendly location is everything plus, and if you can walk to a friendly pharmacy, coffee shop, and megastore, so much the better.
No matter where you end up, making your own home as friendly and inviting as possible is easy with All Star Home. For roofing, siding, gutter repair, and more, the friendly faces at All Star Home ensure your most hospitable habitat.
Methodology
In November 2023, we formed a list of popular neighborhoods across the United States by looking at the 200 most-viewed city neighborhoods on Zillow in 2022. We analyzed nearly 150K Google reviews for businesses in those neighborhoods.
For each neighborhood, we analyzed businesses in ten categories:
- Banks
- Bars and pubs
- Beauty salons
- Car-repair shops
- Coffee shops
- Convenience stores
- Dry cleaners
- Grocery stores
- Pharmacies
- Post offices
For the majority of neighborhoods (195) we analyzed at least 15 businesses; for the other neighborhoods (Streeterville, Studio City, Wynwood-Edgewater, SouthPark, and South Boulevard), we analyzed between 7 and 14 businesses. To determine the friendliest neighborhoods and businesses, we only looked at the average number of reviews with the word “friendly” in them. To be fair, we only looked at reviews that had been given within the past year.
