Find the Most Progressive Cities in the US & Canada

AProgressive LivingResource


The purpose of this resource is to help you to find local, geographical community in the most progressive cities in the US and Canada. If you're an American Progressive, then you are a member of a sizable (and growing) minority. (In the 2000 presidential election, about 3 million Americans voted for Ralph Nader. Substantially more might have voted for him had they been more confident he could win.)
Since human relationships are among the most important things in life, and since it greatly increases the quality of life to be able to share one's life with others who share one's values, we suggest that Progressives join communities where they can meet other Progressives. Moreover, there is political strength in numbers: a large number of Progressives in any given community free it up to make enormous strides. Progressive communities make it possible for Progressive politicians to gain experience. And supersuccessful progressive cities like Boulder, Colorado and Burlington, Vermont and Toronto, Canada make the case for Progressivism far more strikingly and conclusively than a thousand political discussions. (So far as we can tell, Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America" didn't result in worldly bliss anywhere in Georgia, let alone the rest of the US.)
A while back, UTNE magazine created a list of the most progressive cities in each state or Canadian province. We're reproducing the bare essentials of that list here (we're amazed at how many of our links have died over the years). Our recommendation would be that Progressives interested in joining progressive communities consider moving to those cities. Note that for American states we've also indicated the percentage of the state that voted Green in the 2000 election, in order to provide a sense of how progressive the state as a whole is.
We've also added links to the city governments of those cities where government links are available.)


State/Province
UTNE Progressive City
% of votes in 2000
% Green %Democratic

Alabama Birmingham : 1/41.6

Alaska Homer : 10/27.7

Arizona Bisbee 3/44.7

Arkansas Fayetteville : 1/45.9

California Arcata : 4/53.5

Colorado Boulder : 5/42.4

Connecticut New Haven : 4/55.5

Delaware Newark : 3/55

Florida Tampa : 2 /48.8

Georgia Athens : .5/43

Hawaii Kamuela : 6/55.8

Idaho Boise : 2/27.6

Illinois Bloomington : 2/54.6

Indiana Bloomington : .8/41

Iowa Iowa City : 2/48.5

Kansas Lawrence : 3/37.2

Kentucky Berea : 2/41.4

Louisiana Lafayette : 1/44.9

Maine Portland : 6/49.1

Maryland Takoma Park : 3/56.6

Massachusetts Northampton : 6/59.8

Michigan Ann Arbor : 2/51.3

Minnesota Minneapolis/St. Paul : 5/47.9

Mississippi Oxford : .8/40.7

Missouri Columbia : 2/47.1

Montana Missoula : 6/33.4

Nebraska Lincoln : 4/33.3

Nevada Carson City: 2/46

New Hampshire Portsmouth : 4/46.8

New Jersey Trenton : 3/56.1

New Mexico Santa Fe : 4/47.9

New York Ithaca : 4/60.2

North Carolina Durham : */43.2

North Dakota Fargo : 3/33

Ohio Athens : 3/46.5

Oklahoma Norman : */38.4

Oregon Portland : 5/47

Pennsylvania Pittsburgh : 2/50.6

Rhode Island Providence : 6/61

South Carolina Charleston : 1/40.9

South Dakota Sioux Falls : */37.6

Tennessee Chattanooga : 1/47.3

Texas Austin : 2/38

Utah Salt Lake City : 5/26.3

Vermont Burlington : 7/50.6

Virginia Arlington : 2/44.4

Washington Seattle : 4/50.2

West Virginia Morgantown : 2/45.6

Wisconsin Madison : 4/47.8

Wyoming Laramie : 2/27.7

Alberta Canmore :
British Columbia Vancouver
Manitoba Winnipeg
New Brunswick Burnt Church
Newfoundland St. Johns
Nova Scotia Halifax
Ontario Toronto
Prince Edward Island Wellington
Quebec Montreal
Saskatchewan Regina

Logical initial physical contact points for Progressives in each of these cities would be local Unitarian churches (which often have singles groups), or state Green Party headquarters. Please note that we are also developing a resource for the creation of intentional communities. To find out more, follow this link. An intentional community may provide an even better fit for you than a progressive city — or maybe you'd like to start an intentional community in a progressive city?
And while we're making suggestions, why not start a Progressive charter school once you get to the Progressive city of your choice? Find out more here.

The EditorsProgressive Living