Grand Rapids Ranked 5th Most Hipster City in U.S.

A new study confirms what many have suspected... Grand Rapids is ripe with hipsters.

The Grand Rapids Business Journal reports that analytic and marketing service provider Infogroup ranks Grand Rapids No. 5 in its "The Top 10 Most Hipster U.S. Metro Areas" list.GR is the only city in the Midwest to make the top 10.

When you think of "hipster" you might picture thick-framed glasses, beards, fedoras, skinny jeans, plaid. Well, Infogroup posits that "true" hipster-ness is more than a look.

The research and marketing website cites Urban Dictionary's definition: "Hipsters are mainly men and women in their 20s and 30s who dislike anything ‘mainstream,’ have progressive political ideas and enjoy indie rock and art."

According to Infogroup, the businesses closely related to hipster culture are: microbreweries, record stores, coffee shops, thrift shops, music and live entertainment, bicycle dealers, and tattoo parlors.

To determine the ranking, Infographic looked at metro areas with more than 1 million people and compared their concentration of hipster businesses per 10,000 residents.

And they found Grand Rapids to be quite hip. According to Infogroup, GR is rich in thrift shops, coffee shops, and breweries:

"Making the top five, Grand Rapids proves it’s as hipster as your finest cold-brew coffee. Among businesses of interest in this city, thrift shops rank very high (30 percent), followed by coffee shops (15 percent) and tattoo parlors (14 percent). This city is also known for its famous summer downtown art gallery and farmers market. And if hipsters are looking for another reason to relocate, then they can add “best beer scene” to the city's list oh honors, according to USA Today. All in all, this great city seems to be attracting more and more hipsters every season."

Here's the rest of Infogroup's Top 10 most Hipster U.S. Metro Areas:

1. Seattle
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Denver
4. Sacramento, California
5. Grand Rapids
6. San Diego
7. Providence, Rhode Island
8. Pittsburgh
9. San Francisco
10. Rochester, New York