Utah is the nerdiest place in the country


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SALT LAKE CITY — Don’t take it for granted — the fact your friends all love Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings could have something to do with geography.

Estately recently published a study using Facebook user data to crown Utah “The Nerdiest State in America.”

Measuring interests from Star Trek to cosplay to Dungeons & Dragons, the study revealed that Utah was the top fan in six of the 12 categories.

It shouldn’t be surprising to the geeks and nerds of Utah — 100,000 of whom contributed to making the Salt Lake Comic Con’s FanX the third-highest attended Con in the country — that this is a pretty great state for nerdom.

Check to see how many of the 12 fandoms and activities that determine nerdiness you are a part of:
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation
  • Cosplay
  • Harry Potter
  • Star Wars
  • Anime movies
  • Dungeons & Dragons
  • LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing)
  • Doctor Who
  • Fantasy Lit
  • Lord of the Rings
  • Magic: The Gathering
  • Comic books

Is it the generally friendly and accepting culture? The love of happy endings? Allegory? What makes Utah the perfect breeding ground for geek culture?

Besides the FanX, which was attended by Captains Picard and Reynolds, Estately also mentioned SLC Nerd, a festival dedicated to nerds, The Nerd Store, a legendary comic book store in West Valley, and the annual Nerdtacular, a mini-con centered around nerdy movies.

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UtahEntertainment
Amanda Taylor

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