Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA, are the two biggest cities in the Pacific Northwest. They’re also two of the biggest city-versus-city rivals in the country.
As proof of the rivalry, we offer this swipe at Seattle from Andy Kryza, senior editor of Thrillist Portland:
Seattle likes to think of itself as Portland’s richer, grungier big brother. As the Jackson 5 proved, sometimes it’s the little brother who’s way cooler and way weirder.
Here’s some more ammo for those who adhere to the “Portland is way cooler” argument: Portland sits atop our list of the 5 U.S. Cities That Really Dig Gardening, while Seattle is in second place. (By the way, another Portland rival — Austin, TX — is No. 5 on our list.)
We based our ranking on which cities saw the most Google search activity for the term “gardening” from March 2012 to March 2017.
Google Trends analyzes a percentage of all searches for a term like “gardening” within the same time and location parameters, and then applies a search score (1 through 100) to a geographic area. For 2012 to 2017, Portland collected the highest score on the Google Trends scale — 100 — for the term “gardening.” Seattle’s score was 85. On the Google scale, a score of 100 indicates the maximum search interest for a chosen period and place.
(On the map, click on the plant symbol over each city to learn more.)
“We have a great climate for growing a wide range of vegetables, berries, fruits, landscape plants and lawns,” Miller says. “There is strong interest in native plants and plants that provide habitat.”
With Portland in the No. 1 spot, here’s our ranking of the 5 U.S. Cities That Really Dig Gardening.
1. Portland, OR
Google Trends score for gardening: 100
2. Seattle, WA
Google Trends score for gardening: 85
3. (tie) Denver, CO
Google Trends score for gardening: 76
3. (tie) Minneapolis, MN
Google Trends score for gardening: 76
5. Austin, TX
Google Trends score for gardening: 67
Top photo: Portland Wine Bar