As the credits roll on an action-packed superhero movie, have you ever wondered what it would be like if a supervillain set up shop in your city? Would a superhero be happy to patrol your city’s skyline? And just how on earth would your neighborhood bounce back after an epic clash of superhuman strength and dastardly deeds?
Wonder no more. Using neighborhood amenities data from Yelp, Trulia considered important factors like the number of tall buildings (to leap in a single bound, of course) to the wealth of banks and jewelry stores for a supervillain to plunder to find out which cities in the U.S. would be attractive to good and evil.
Do you live in a city that’s alluring to supervillains or do you live in a superhero city? Find out below!
These cities are a supervillain’s perfect playground
With lots of trees for blocking the view of pesky flying superheroes, scores of banks and jewelry stores to pilfer from, and plenty of innocent civilians to toy with, it’s no mystery why any self-respecting supervillain would choose to settle in one of these cities. However, you might be surprised that Washington, DC, tops the list of supervillain-friendly cities and is also in the top five cities for superheroes. It’s the ultimate showdown for the forces of good and evil … and no, we’re not talking about politics.
But if you’re a supervillain on a budget, you might want to look at settling down in Richmond, VA. The city ranks fourth on our list but has a far more affordable median sales price than Washington, DC. Homes in the nation’s capital fetch a median sales price of $533,000, while homes for sale in Richmond cap out at a median sales price of just $179,000. With prices like that, a supervillain could afford to buy a top-secret compound for their entire crew.
Who is best prepared to bounce back from a supervillain attack?
You know how we said Richmond would be a good place for a supervillain to buy big? Well, they might rethink settling down in Virginia after reading this. Richmond might be fourth on our list of best places for supervillains, but it’s number one on our list of cities most likely to recover from an attack.
For the most even matchup, better head to Honolulu, HI. The island city is number two for its attractiveness to both superheroes and supervillains. But before you buy a home for sale in Honolulu, know this: The big island metropolis didn’t even rank on our list of cities best prepared to bounce back after a supervillain attack.
Superhero cities are scattered across the country
Are you a superhero looking for a new city to rescue? Better head to San Francisco, CA, the number one city on our list. Using an index that includes tall buildings to leap over, plenty of law enforcement buddies, and mass media (hey, even superheroes need a day job!), we were able to hone in on which cities are prime for a hero on the move.
The good news? San Francisco checks all the boxes on our Superhero Index. The bad news? With a $1 million median price tag on homes for sale in San Francisco, only Bruce Wayne (ahem, Batman) could afford to buy. Sorry, Spider-Man and Superman — those newspaper gigs won’t cover skyrocketing rents in San Francisco. Maybe try moving across the Bay to Oakland, CA? It’s the fifth-best city for superheroes on our list.
