Columbia #2 on "manliest city" list | Community Spirit

A new list puts Columbia near the top when it comes to being "manly."

This year, Oklahoma City took the No. 1 spot and claimed the title of “America’s Manliest City,” but Columbia moved up three spots from 2011.

COMBOS partnered with Bert Sperling, the research expert behind the popular “Best Places to Live” studies to develop the fourth iteration of the annual study.

The COMBOS “America’s Manliest Cities” study measures manly city data like number of home improvement stores, steak houses and motorcycles per capita.

Rounding out the Top 5 are No. 3 Memphis, Tenn.; No. 4 Nashville, Tenn. (last year’s “America’s Manliest City”); and No. 5 Birmingham, Ala. 

San Diego ranked last out of the 50 cities surveyed, earning it the dubious distinction of “America’s Least Manly City.”

2012 “America’s Manliest Cities” Rankings

*Change from 2011 rankings follows each city

1. Oklahoma City, OK (▲ 2 spots)
2. Columbia, SC (▲3 spots)
3. Memphis, TN (▲ 1 spot)
4. Nashville, TN (▼ 3 spots)
5. Birmingham, AL (▲ 2 spots)
6. Houston, TX (▲ 3 spots)
7. St. Louis, MO (▲ 3 spots)
8. Toledo, OH (▲ 4 spots)
9. Cleveland, OH (▼ 3 spots)
10. Charlotte, NC (▼ 8 spots)
11. Louisville, KY (▲ 2 spots)
12. Cincinnati, OH (▲ 2 spots)
13. Indianapolis, IN (▼ 2 spots)
14. New Orleans, LA (▲ 3 spots)
15. Dallas, TX (▲ 6 spots)
16. Pittsburgh, PA (No change)
17. Atlanta, GA (▲ 6 spots)
18. Dayton, OH (▲ 8 spots)
19. Milwaukee, WI (▼ 11 spots)
20. Kansas City, MO (▼ 5 spots)
21. Jacksonville, FL (▲ 12 spots)
22. Richmond, VA (No change)
23. Tampa, FL (▲ 16 spots)
24. Providence, RI (▲ 3 spots)
25. Phoenix, AZ (▲ 7 spots)
26. Salt Lake City, UT (▼ 7 spots)
27. Columbus, OH (▼9 spots)
28. Orlando, FL (▲ 2 spots)
29. Philadelphia, PA (▼ 9 spots)
30. Grand Rapids, MI (▼ 1 spot)
31. Detroit, MI (▼ 6 spots)
32. Portland, OR (▲ 5 spots)
33. Buffalo, NY (▲ 1 spot)
34. Denver, CO (▼ 3 spots)
35. Baltimore, MD (▼ 7 spots)
36. Miami, FL (▲ 8 spots)
37. Chicago, IL (▼ 13 spots)
38. Las Vegas, NV (No change)
39. New York, NY (▼ 4 spots)
40. Minneapolis, MN (▼ 4 spots)
41. Seattle, WA (No change)
42. Harrisburg, PA (▼ 2 spots)
43. Washington, DC (▼ 1 spot)
44. Sacramento, CA (▼ 1 spot)
45. Rochester, NY (▲ 1 spot)
46. Los Angeles, CA (▲ 4 spots)
47. Boston, MA (▼ 2 spots)
48. Oakland, CA  (▼ 1 spot)
49. San Francisco, CA (▼ 1 spot)
50. San Diego, CA (▼ 1 spot)