Movoto Calls Sacramento Fourth Nerdiest City in America

The term nerd has come to describe many things. No longer is the term relegated to connote a pejorative, rather something to be proud of. At least, that's what real estate blog Movoto noted when it declared Sacramento the fourth nerdiest city in America in a recent post.

Nerd culture has virtually taken over the mainstream. TV shows like The Big Bang Theory celebrate them. Stars dress like them with their thick-framed eyeglasses, tight pants and checkered tops. But the meaning runs deeper than that, and for those who truly embrace nerd culture, the facade can seem condescending, if not insulting.

For many being a nerd means more than simply dressing the part. It's a way of life; and for many it's a life they may not have wanted. It wasn't only till recently that bragging about one's collection of comic books, knowing every minor character in Star Wars and debating whether or not Han actually shot first became en vogue.

Maybe it's for that reason Movoto gets into what constitutes a "nerdy city" and it brings specific statistical criteria to prove its point. Here's what it came up with:

• Number of annual comic book, video game, anime, and sci-fi / fantasy conventions
• People per comic book store
• People per video game store
• People per traditional gaming store
• People per computer store
• People per bookstore
• People per LARPing group
• People per science museum
• Distance to the nearest Renaissance faire

In those statistics Sacramento beat other cities like Las Vegas, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis, just to name a few.

Here's the whole list:

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Portland, OR
3. Seattle, WA
4. Sacramento, CA
5. Minneapolis, MN
6. Boston, MA
7. Las Vegas, NV
8. Miami, FL
9. San Jose, CA
10. Denver, CO

Curiously a city like San Diego, which is home to the San Diego Comic Con, didn't even make the list.

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What do you think? Did Sacramento truly earn its place among the best cities for nerds? Was another city robbed of the title? Sound off in the comments.