This map, a collaboration between Yelp and the Huffington Post, first appeared last spring. But it’s new to me, so of course I had to post it. HP explained how the map was derived:
“Yelp delved into its online catalogue of store listings and calculated the percentage of a given type of shopping business relative to the total number of business listings in that state.
Then, it compared those percentages with each type of store’s representation nationwide and produced a list of the top 10 most disproportionally [sic] common stores in each of the 50 states.”
I’ve no idea how accurate these results might be but I can honestly say in the ten years I’ve lived in Colorado I don’t recall ever seeing an ad for or hearing about a pool and billiards store. But I confess I struggle to grasp the concept of “most disproportionally common.” In its headline, HP explains the results as “the most wildly popular type of store” in each state and lists Yelp’s top 10 in each state.
The list for Colorado:
- Pool & Billiards — 619 percent higher than national average.
- Outdoor Gear — 464 percent higher than national average.
- Maternity Wear — 301 percent higher than national average.
- Bikes — 289 percent higher than national average.
- Brewing Supplies — 280 percent higher than national average.
- Sporting Goods — 227 percent higher than national average.
- Sports Wear — 198 percent higher than national average.
- Hats — 192 percent higher than national average.
- Newspapers & Magazines — 185 percent higher than national average.
- Knitting Supplies — 167 percent higher than national average.
… which still doesn’t explain the pool and billiards thing. Maybe you’ll have better luck with your state.
Those state ‘Top Ten’ lists for the most part are hilarious and quite entertaining I thought. For me they invoked such serious mysteries of the Universe as, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
Actually Colorado’s list looks to be fairly reasonable with of course the obvious exception – Number 1. Aspen and Vail must have a helluva lot of billiard tables to entertain its guest at night when the slopes are closed. 🙂
Yes, I thought our list, with its emphasis on outdoor life and recreation, was mostly a no-brainer. But that pool and billiards thing really has me scratching my head.
I live in Hawaii. I vouch for the surf shops.
Oh what a gorgeous place to live. Yes, I can believe the surf shops. I can imagine them constituting 50% of all the businesses in Hawaii — typical mainlander’s stereotyping.
Really funny results. With the intense heat and the cold in the panhandle, car batteries don’t last long here, so I guess that accounts for an abundance of battery stores in TX.
I have noticed when looking at houses on line in Co,there an awful lot of pool tables in houses up there.
You must be looking at some pretty nice houses if they’re sporting pool tables. 😉
Not anything we can actually afford. But surprising how many have them. Do they double as buffet tables for parties/family reunions?
Beats me. I’ve never had one or been around one. But I’ll bet a lot of them have some nifty way to be multi-purpose.