The people of Cheyenne might have some of the best skin in the country, according to our top 10 best cities for your skin story, but apparently, not a lot of that perfect skin is uh ... "decorated." With about five listed tattoo parlors per 26,500 people, Cheyenne -- the largest city in Wyoming -- doesn't seem to have much ink to go around. Looks like these folks might prefer to see works of art displayed in their many art galleries instead of on their pelvises.
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No. 7: Bennington, Vt.
Edging out the city of Brattleboro for the fewest tattoo parlors per capita in the state of Vermont, the scenic town of Bennington averages two listed tattoo parlors for 15,737 people. Known more for its historic landmarks than a bustling art scene, Bennington seems to be filled with mostly middle-aged family types and senior citizens. (Like Wyoming, the 65-and-up population makes up 14 percent of the residents, according to the Harris Interactive poll.) Apparently, grandma and grandpa aren't exactly fans of inked half-sleeves.
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No. 6: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Don't expect to find Michelle "Bombshell" McGee hanging out in Sioux Falls. (We're sure they're relieved.) For a growing city regarded as urban and "white-collar," Sioux Falls still has a ways to go when it comes to tats. The mid-western town, which has 157,935 residents -- with 11 percent of whom are over the age of 65, has only nine listed tattoo parlors to handle their inking needs.
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No. 5: Grand Forks, N.D.
Being nearly a two-hour drive from Fargo, North Dakota's largest and probably most famous city, doesn't help Grand Forks. Fargo only averages about five shops per 100,000 people (which is probably why we don't remember seeing any tattoos in the movie), while Grand Forks only has about two listed tattoo shops. (That's like having four tattoo shops per 100,000 people.) But hey, no one sees tattoos in the winter, anyway, eh? Yah, we thought so.
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No. 4: Anderson, S.C.
With about 20 percent of its residents aged 65 or older, Anderson -- nicknamed "The Friendliest City in South Carolina" -- doesn't seem that crazy about tattoos (OK, maybe if they're of smiley faces). Despite being a university town, we found only one listed tattoo parlor for all of its 25,514 residents. However, since Anderson is part of the greater Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area, its residents likely have easy access to at least 22 other listed tattoo parlors nearby, making it slightly more likely to show some ink.
Think tattoos are sexy ... or sleazy? Well, to hear men's magazines and tabloid fodder (cough, Sandra Bullock) tell it, you'd think tattoos were part of a magical formula for an instant hook-up. About half of the women on "Maxim's" Hot 100 and "Playboy's" Top 25 Sexiest lists are inked (think Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry and Jessica Alba). Even Miley Cyrus and big-screen sweetheart Reese Witherspoon have reportedly boarded the tattoo train -- contributing to the trend's rise in popularity since the '70s. That said, there are still quite a few places in the U.S. where tattoos have yet to shed their stigma.
And as of 2008, approximately 14 percent of the country's adults had at least one tattoo, according to a Harris Interactive poll, with the least tattooed people being above age 65 and living in the East and Midwest regions, according to a 2003 Harris Interactive poll. In 2006, a Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology study found that nearly 75 percent of Americans between ages 18 and 50 were not tattooed. And while the Harris poll, which was based on survey responses by more than 2,000 Americans, reported that people with tattoos thought they were "sexy," "rebellious," "attractive" and "spiritual," those without ink said that tattoos seemed "rebellious," less "sexy" or "attractive," less "spiritual," and less "healthy." (Ouch.)
To find out which towns in America might dare to dock Scarlett Johansson's sexy meter for her big forearm tattoo, we went through every state in several public directories, including Yellow Pages, Google listings, Tattoo Yellow Pages and AAA Tattoo Directory, to narrow down the states with the fewest listed tattoo parlors. Then we looked up which cities in those states had the fewest listed tattoo parlors per capita with populations based on the latest U.S. Census numbers. We also took into consideration the city's demographics, its proximity to youth-populated urban centers, and the fact that not all tattoo parlors were listed. See which cities made the list, and let us know if you think we left a good one out!
