Travel
The 10 Best US Cities for Morning People
Here's where you should live if you want to be an early riser.
As someone who has had to set at least three alarms for every 8 a.m. appointment over the course of my entire life, I’m inclined to think that morning people are born with the gift of early rising. But according to a new study by Next Day Blinds—a maker of custom blinds, shades, and shutters—there might just be a geographical component to the whole thing as well.
The recently released data scored the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas (by population density) on their morning amenities, in an effort to identify which cities are best-suited for early birds. Next Day looked at factors like preponderance of coffee and breakfast spots per capita, gyms opening at the crack of dawn, and early commuters to patronize them.
The best American city for morning people is apparently not a bustling coastal metropolis like New York or Los Angeles, but rather the southwestern city of Mesa, Arizona, which scored 40 out of 50 total points. Why Mesa? For starters, this city has the highest percentage of people who leave for work before 7 a.m., at 39.5% of the workforce, as well as the second-highest number of coffee shops per capita, and the second-highest number of gyms open at 5 a.m. or even earlier. Mesa does have a relatively low showing in terms of breakfast restaurants (61 total) and donut shops (62 total), so here’s hoping those coffee shops are well-stocked.
Next, with an overall score of 34 points, is Long Beach, California, with 32.1% of people leaving for work before 7 a.m., the highest number of coffee shops per capita, and even the most donut shops. In third place, with 26 overall points out of 50: Las Vegas. Despite being rather notorious for its nightlife, apparently 32.5% of the city's residents are out the door early and making the most out of their 440 coffee shops and 456 breakfast restaurants.
Next Day found that Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; and Virginia Beach, Virginia, all score 25 points out of 50, followed by Arlington, Texas (24 points); Phoenix, Arizona; and Sacramento, California (tied for 23.5 points). Finally, Minneapolis, Minnesota (22.5 points), takes tenth place.
Interestingly, of the 10 top cities, only Phoenix has a population over 1 million, at 1.6 million residents. In fact, New York City, with the greatest population of over 8.55 million people, receives the second-lowest score of 8.5 points. Los Angeles, with a population of 3.97 million, scores 15.5 points, and Chicago, the third-most populous city in the US at 2.7 million, scores 16 points. (San Francisco, with a population of 864,816, comes in last with just 6 points.)
See what other Food52 readers are saying.