The Best Cities To Live In If You’re a Witch
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Witches are among us. You just won’t find them wearing pointy hats, riding broomsticks, or boiling eye of newt in a cauldron — not the real ones, at least.
Unfortunately, not every city encourages a charmed lifestyle, so where should you live if you want to cast spells and brew potions?
With Halloween shaping up to be extra enchanting this year, Lawn Love did a little data magick to conjure up 2021’s Best Cities for Witches.
We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on access to tarot readers, astrology classes, and, of course, covens. We also looked for cities brimming with natural healers, herbalists, and metaphysical supply stores.
Use our rankings, in-depth analysis, and local tips to get your own coven together and celebrate the spookiest time of the year.
In this article
City rankings
See how each city fared in our ranking:
Results in depth
Bewitched in The Big Apple
The City That Never Sleeps is also the city of spells and sorcery: New York City bubbled up to the top spot in our ranking. As No. 1 overall, as well as No. 1 in both Covens and Supplies, it’s not hard to see why “The Witches of New York” flew ahead of other magickal cities.
The Big Apple has plenty of witchy groups to join and supply shops to help you brew potions and cast spells. NYC is also home to Witchsfest USA, an annual festival where witches from around the country meet and participate in local workshops.
Nearby Jersey City, New Jersey (No. 4 overall), tops New York City in Health (No. 3), thanks to its abundance of healers (reiki, naturopathic, and holistic) and yoga classes. Jersey City also pulls ahead in the Spirituality rank (No. 5), meaning there are more astrologers and psychics in Chilltown than in its bustling neighbor.
Local witch tip: Take a trip to Stick, Stone & Bone to get all the crystals you need. Be sure to cross New York’s oldest witchcraft center, The Magickal Childe, off your cauldron bucket list.
Spellbound in SoCal
Los Angeles has more than movie magic. With more than 3,800 members in its Pagans & Witches Network and growing, the City of Angels takes silver in this ranking, while its suburb, Pasadena, claims bronze.
LA ranked high in Covens (No. 2) and Supplies (No. 3), meaning there are plenty of fellow witches to meet and supply stores to provide all your witchcraft needs. On the other hand, Pasadena ranked second in both Health and Spirituality, thanks to the city’s abundance of healers, herbalists, tarot readers, and supernatural experts.
Nearby Orange (No. 6 overall) also ranked high in Spirituality (No. 4) and Health (No. 5) with plenty of psychics to consult and reiki healers to restore your energy. Torrance (No. 9) and Fullerton (No. 10) round out our top 10, with Torrance placing first in the Health category, owing to its many healers and yoga classes.
Local witch tip: The Green Man is a metaphysical and apothecary store in LA that hosts various witchcraft-related classes and workshops. West Coast witches also can gather annually to celebrate Pagan Pride Day on Nov. 7 in Orange County.
Pacific Coast Paganism
San Francisco (No. 5) continues the witchy vibes of the West Coast. The Golden City ranked high for its Supplies (No. 2) due to a high number of mineral, herb, and candle shops.
San Fran isn’t the only city in the West that’s suitable for seasoned witches, though. Its northern neighbor Seattle (No. 8) ranked high for its number of covens, reaching No. 3 in that category with more than 1,600 members in its local Witches Meetup group.
Local witch tip: San Franciscans can join a local Meetup for Modern Witches and shop at bay area apothecaries, such as The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. or The Sword and Rose.
In Seattle, Edge of the Circle Books is a magickal pagan store with plenty of books and supplies on hand to expand your knowledge of enchantment.
Hexes in Texas — and Beyond
Texas cities Laredo (No. 200), Lubbock (No. 198), and Amarillo (No. 196) burned to the bottom of our cauldron, mostly due to their lack of witchy Health and Spirituality services.
Moreno Valley, California (No. 199), and Jackson, Mississippi (tied with Amarillo at No. 196), also did poorly in our ranking. Luckily for witches in Moreno Valley, LA isn’t too long of a drive for gathering spell-casting supplies.
Methodology
We ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities from best to worst (1-200) based on their overall witchy scores (out of 100 points), averaged across the weighted metrics listed below.
Covens
- Witch, Wiccan, Pagan, and Magick Groups (Weight: 3)
- Witch Facebook Groups (Weight: 3)
Health
- Reiki Healers per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
- Naturopathic/Holistic Establishments or Healers per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
- Herbalists per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
- Yoga Classes per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
Spirituality
- Unitarian Universalist Congregations per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
- Cemeteries (Weight: 1)
- Astrology Classes per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 2)
- Astrologers per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 2)
- Tarot Readers per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 2)
- Supernatural Readings per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
- Psychics per 100,000 Residents (Weight: 1)
Supplies
- Spiritual Shops (Weight: 2)
- Metaphysical Supply Stores (Weight: 2)
- Gemstone and Mineral Shops (Weight: 2)
- Herb and Spice Shops (Weight: 2)
- Candle Stores (Weight: 2)
Sources
American Herbalists Guild, Facebook, Find a Grave, Findastrologer.com, Gemstone Well, Herbalists Without Borders, Meetup, The Real Yellow Pages, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Yelp
Final thoughts: Enchanted by pop culture
Witches have cast a spell on us, and it’s easy to see through the lens of pop culture. From “Macbeth” to “American Horror Story,” we’ve remained bewitched by their magic throughout the ages.
There are plenty of ways to find magic in your day-to-day life, whether by casting spells alongside Hermione, talking to our cats like Sabrina, or just singing along with Elphaba.
Despite our society’s age-old interest in the occult, however, stereotypes and misconceptions about witchcraft continue to pervade the media we consume. But why not consider taking a break from the screens by planning a trip to learn more witchy history and explore some of America’s most enchanting destinations?
- Salem, Massachusetts: Possibly America’s most notable witchy city, Salem is home to many occult shops. Take a trip to the Witch House, Witch Museum, and Witch Dungeon Museum to learn more about this city’s magical history.
- Cassadaga, Florida: Known as the “Psychic Capital of the World,” this small community just 30 minutes north of Orlando is home to a large community of spiritualists and mediums.
- New Orleans, Louisiana: This city is home to all things supernatural. Visit the Voodoo Museum and learn about The Big Easy’s very own queens of Voodoo.
- Lily Dale, New York: Since 1879, this small town in Western New York has been “the world’s largest center for spiritual development” associated with the Spiritualist movement. Get in touch with the supernatural by visiting and mingling with mediums.
- Hartford, Connecticut: While Salem is better known for its infamous witch trials, Connecticut actually held the first large-scale witch trials three decades earlier in the Hartford area. In nearby Wethersfield, you can visit the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum and take a historically accurate “Witches and Tombstones” tour.
Hosting your coven in your yard to cast some late-night spells? Contact a Lawn Love professional to help get your landscape in magical shape.
