LIST: 2021’s Best and Worst Cities for Vampires to Live (Or Die)
If Edward Cullen were here, he would have to agree. I mean the Pacific Northwest did make the top 10! If you love vampires, you aren’t alone. Heck, maybe you even enjoy hanging with your friends wearing black capes and fangs from dusk till dawn? I know I sure do…
If you hate garlic and mirrors, you can fang Lawn Love for ranking 2021’s Best Cities for Vampires this Halloween. Lawn Love looked for cities with plenty of warm bodies, blood centers, and homes with basements on the market. Lawn Love also searched for cities with other vampire-welcoming qualities like many cloudy days, few churches, and no garlic festivals.
2021’s Best Cities for Vampires
1 Naperville, IL
2 Pittsburgh, PA
3 Chicago, IL
4 Omaha, NE
5 Tacoma, WA
6 St. Paul, MN
7 Aurora, IL
8 Columbus, OH
9 Bellevue, WA
10 Paterson, NJ
2021’s Worst Cities for Vampires
191 Santa Clarita, CA
192 Huntington Beach, CA
193 Paradise, NV
194 Spring Valley, NV
195 Henderson, NV
196 Glendale, AZ
197 Tucson, AZ
198 Enterprise, NV
199 Sunrise Manor, NV
200 Tempe, AZ
Chicago has an active vampire community of more than 700 members, but that’s not the only reason the Midwestern city and its surrounding suburbs have proven to be top vampire destinations. Despite its family-friendly atmosphere, Naperville bit its way to the top of our ranking. With the perfect balance between cloud cover, available basements, and an abundant blood supply, the city landed at No. 4 in Lair Safety and No. 7 in Food and Drink.
Just an hour away, Chicago (No. 3) took first place in Food and Drink, meaning vampires would never go hungry, thanks to its large population and high numbers of blood centers and drives. Aurora, just outside of Naperville, claims the No. 7 spot. Despite its nickname, “City of Lights,” Aurora has similar cloudy conditions to Naperville and plenty of basements in which to lurk.
Many might imagine the Pacific Northwest as the ideal region for American vampires, thanks to “Twilight” and the cloudy weather. Tacoma (No. 5) and Bellevue (No. 9), both in Washington State, represent the PNW in our top 10. Both Tacoma and Bellevue scored well in Deterrents — Nos. 3 and 2, respectively — mostly due to low average yearly sunshine. Tacoma ranks higher overall, though, due to its higher number of blood centers and casket suppliers.
Vamping up: In 2015, there were at least 5,000 registered vampires in the U.S. — according to one source. While some iconic vampire cities might not have the most ideal conditions for a vampire to live, they continue to thrive in Portland, Oregon (No. 11), Buffalo, New York (No. 25), New Orleans (No. 104), and Atlanta (No. 117). New Orleans is especially known for its vampire spirit but didn’t come out on top of our ranking due to its low score in Lair Safety, with a low number of casket suppliers, basements, and cloud cover.
Yes, this ranking is tongue-in-cheek — or rather teeth-in-neck — for the most part, but there’s a serious side, too. The U.S. is in the midst of a national blood shortage. This is bad news for vampires, of course, but it’s good news for you because you can make a difference by donating blood and saving lives. You can find out how to donate blood in Charlotte here.
