The Kinkiest City In America Will Surprise You

We know which cities in America are the funniest, which city is the happiest, and even which city is the nerdiest, but what about the kinkiest? Public outreach program Kink University set off to answer that question and find the kinkiest city in America, which they did. I won’t hold out the suspense any longer: it’s Portland, Oregon. With a kink-identified population of 3.99 percent, Portland beat out all the other US cities, including San Francisco, which many people assumed would take the #1 spot.

So, how do you even go about determining the kinkiest city in America? Kink University analyzed four metrics: the total size of the kink-identified population (measured by the number of active members on Fetlife, a kink social network), the percentage of the population that identifies as kinky, the amount of resources available for kink-identified people (measured by the number of therapists, doctors, lawyers, etc. listed on the NSCF's directory), and the adult entertainment purchases in each city. The study was limited to cities with populations exceeding 500,000.

In the process, the researchers found out some interesting facts, like for instance, El Paso has the smallest kink population of any major US city. Also, while it didn’t make the top 10 because it doesn't have a population of 500k-plus, Harrisburg, PA has a kink population of over 10 percent, which is pretty crazy considering its total population is just over 49,000.

But you didn’t come here for these fun facts; you came here for the list. So without further ado, I bring you the top 5 Kinkiest Cities in America!

5. Washington, DC

That's right, our nation's capital viewed the most kinky porn. This sounds like a scandal waiting to happen.

4. Chicago, IL

Today I learned that Chicago is the birthplace of leather culture, and it should be no surprise that the city that's been hosting the International Mr. and Mrs. Leather contest since 1979, and the location of the Leather Archives and Museum, landed the #4 spot on the list.

3. New York, NY

With over 82,000 active Fetlife profiles, the Big Apple has more total kinky residents than any other city in America, even if that's a smaller percentage of the overall population.

2. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco is home to Kink University, and it has more professional resources for any kink-identified people than any other city on the list. However, rising rent costs, a city-wide nudity ban, and anti-porn legislation have been pushing the kink community elsewhere, which could account for why San Francisco isn't on top this year.

1. Portland, OR

Portland has the highest percent of kink-identified people per capita, topping out at almost 4 percent, and has resources widely available for the kink community.

Head over to Kink University for the full list.

Images: Ian Sane / Flickr; ollitz / Tumblr; Giphy; Getty (3)