I always find it really fascinating to find out how people from different places can perceive the same things so differently.
And especially how people from other countries, regions, and cities perceive my city, region, and country – what they focus on, and what things stand out in their mind. In other words – people’s country, region, and city stereotypes.
For years – it has always been an interesting conversation to have – but finding out stereotypes has always been anecdotal. But last year – Renee DiResta had the brilliant idea to apply something that we all use everyday – Google AutoSuggest – to find out US State Stereotypes (you can see that post here).
Here’s the same methodology used on the top 50 US cities (by metro area population) to get the top 4 to 5 city stereotypes of each.
Just FYI – Google Auto Suggest works by using the most common and trending searches to auto-suggest the rest of your search. So when you go to Google and start typing in a search, Google uses other previously searched for terms to try to guess what you are looking for.
So, for this experiment, the search “why is CITYNAME so” will auto suggest the terms that people most commonly (or most recently) are using to complete that search. That search is like a window into what people are actually thinking and trying to find out about your city. Here they are in descending order of population (#50 to NYC).
Just to be clear – the images are from Google. They are not my perceptions. They are made up of what people actually search for.
50. Salt Lake City
Yes – I confirmed that Salt Lake City is the most smog-choked cities in the US. And yes, they do have absurdly wide streets.
49. Buffalo
Alas, I didn’t have any other pre-conceptions about Buffalo. This is going to be a theme among all the rust belt cities.
48. Birmingham
Apparently Birmingham is important (ie, people who slept through the Civil Rights part of history class?) – and I can totally confirm that it is quite ugly. There are definitely beautiful parts – but I-20 and I-59 really mess things up.
47. Raleigh
Yes – Raleigh is growing that fast. Not sure about the boring part.
46. Hartford
I had no idea about this one.
45. New Orleans
Yes, New Orleans is all of those – but is coming back from what I hear.
44. Richmond
Expensive?
43. Louisville
That fits from what my sources say – it’s a great city, but no one knows quite why.
42. Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is riding on the coattails of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant here.
41. Memphis
This seems to be a theme among America’s third-tier cities.
40. Jacksonville
Why smoky? The Okefenokee Swamp.
39. Milwaukee
Apparently the last 2 actually fit. It’s cold – it’s nearly in Canada, and it is highly segregated.
38. Providence
Sorry Providence, not enough people cared enough to Google anything about you.
37. Virginia Beach
I had no idea Virginia Beach was the #37 metro area in America. Seriously. I would say they need to work on their branding, but it’s the headquarters of America’s Navy, so I don’t think they want the publicity.
36. Nashville
Looks like the same theme as Louisville – but hotter.
35. Austin
Ok, I think Austin wants to fit in with its stereotypes.
34. San Jose
Spot on from what I hear.
33. Indianapolis
Apparently the one thing people think of when they think of Indianpolis is the fabulous SoBro Cafe.
32. Columbus
Poor Columbus, OH – they could go for some brand disambiguation.
31. Las Vegas
Like Austin – I think Las Vegas embraces their stereotypes.
30. Kansas City
The last suggestion says it all about Kansas City.
29. Cleveland
Cloudy? Hmm – maybe Cleveland is still trying to shake this image.
28. Cincinnati
Conservative and racist?
27. Sacramento
Hot?
26. Orlando
Orlando-ites: this is spot on FWIW.
25. San Antonio
Windy?
24. Portland
Ok, I think Portland has some sort of brand management going on here. They want to fit their stereotypes (err, maybe not the white part – but the others definitely).
23. Charlotte
Charlotte: so boring that book characters overtake them in Google AutoSuggest.
22. Pittsburgh
Bravo Pittsburgh! You have overcome the Cleveland/Buffalo/Middle America perception.
21. Denver
Denver is sending mixed signals here.
20. Baltimore
The Wire was set in Baltimore. I’m not sure that helped things.
19. St. Louis
St. Louis: you and Memphis need to get together and hash out a plan here.
18. Tampa Bay
Total surprise – my stereotype was one of retirement homes.
17. San Diego
I’d loved to be proved wrong by San Diego. It looks interesting, and is definitely California’s under the radar city.
16. Minneapolis
How is it that so many people are wondering why Minneapolis would be cold?
15. Seattle
Warm?
14. Detroit
Hmmm. The urban conundrum that is Detroit.
13. Phoenix
Yes – Phoenix is extremely polluted - being out in the desert doesn’t help things.
12. Inland Empire
I didn’t even know this was that big of a metro area.
11. San Francisco
I’ve heard that those fit for the most part.
10. Boston
Double-expensive – that’s my impression as well.
9. Atlanta
My city! Yes – Atlanta has a large gay community. Yes, it is a big city. I’m not sure what the sentiment of “ghetto” is – but there are some very under-developed and high-crime areas in the Southwestand West of the city (both on the way to the Airport and Downtown). And Atlanta can have a couple cold days in the Winter…but it’s pretty hot overall.
8. Miami
I’ve never really had a pre-conception of Miami – I’d be interested to hear from someone who lives there.
7. Washington DC
Very revealing. Expensive and poor. There’s a dissertation for you.
6. Philadelphia
From my sources – Philadelphia really is a love it or hate it kind of city.
5. Houston
Houstonians: These are very true.
4. Dallas
Windy? Otherwise, dead-on.
3. Chicago
Yep, dead on.
2. Los Angeles
I think LA has more appeal than these – but I totally see where they come from.
1. New York City
I’d say New Yorkers would agree (and would have fun comparing these to LA’s).
That’s all for America, but you can do this with anything – cities, people, things, companies, etc. Here’s a few more international cities I looked at.
Toronto
I always think of Toronto as the Dallas of Canada for some reason.
Sao Paulo
Spot on from what I hear.
Shanghai
Cold? Yeah – I think of Shanghai as hot, but if I looked at the actual weather, it would throw me off.
Hong Kong
Spot on in my opinion.
Paris
Spot on from what I hear.
London
Spot on from what I hear.
Tokyo
And I think Tokyo wins the city stereotype contest.