Time flies! It’s time again for one of our most popular studies, our fourth annual list of America’s Manliest Cities.

It elicits a chuckle from some folks – but not only is Manliness important, it turns out it’s also quite quantifiable.

We look at things like number of major-league sports teams, nearby NASCAR events, steakhouses and BBQ joints. Prevalence of activities like woodworking, fishing, bowling, and home improvement also translated into higher rankings. On the flip side, “unmanly” things like minivans, sushi restaurants and home decor stores hurt cities’ “Manly” score.

Once again the South and the Midwest dominated the top spots. Here’s the full list, along with how each city changed its ranking from last year:

1. Oklahoma City, OK (▲ 2 spots) 26. Salt Lake City, UT (▼ 7 spots) 2. Columbia, SC (▲3 spots) 27. Columbus, OH (▼9 spots) 3. Memphis, TN (▲ 1 spot) 28. Orlando, FL (▲ 2 spots) 4. Nashville, TN (▼ 3 spots) 29. Philadelphia, PA (▼ 9 spots) 5. Birmingham, AL (▲ 2 spots) 30. Grand Rapids, MI (▼ 1 spot) 6. Houston, TX (▲ 3 spots) 31. Detroit, MI (▼ 6 spots) 7. St. Louis, MO (▲ 3 spots) 32. Portland, OR (▲ 5 spots) 8. Toledo, OH (▲ 4 spots) 33. Buffalo, NY (▲ 1 spot) 9. Cleveland, OH (▼ 3 spots) 34. Denver, CO (▼ 3 spots) 10. Charlotte, NC (▼ 8 spots) 35. Baltimore, MD (▼ 7 spots) 11. Louisville, KY (▲ 2 spots) 36. Miami, FL (▲ 8 spots) 12. Cincinnati, OH (▲ 2 spots) 37. Chicago, IL (▼ 13 spots) 13. Indianapolis, IN (▼ 2 spots) 38. Las Vegas, NV (No change) 14. New Orleans, LA (▲ 3 spots) 39. New York, NY (▼ 4 spots) 15. Dallas, TX (▲ 6 spots) 40. Minneapolis, MN (▼ 4 spots) 16. Pittsburgh, PA (No change) 41. Seattle, WA (No change) 17. Atlanta, GA (▲ 6 spots) 42. Harrisburg, PA (▼ 2 spots) 18. Dayton, OH (▲ 8 spots) 43. Washington, DC (▼ 1 spot) 19. Milwaukee, WI (▼ 11 spots) 44. Sacramento, CA (▼ 1 spot) 20. Kansas City, MO (▼ 5 spots) 45. Rochester, NY (▲ 1 spot) 21. Jacksonville, FL (▲ 12 spots) 46. Los Angeles, CA (▲ 4 spots) 22. Richmond, VA (No change) 47. Boston, MA (▼ 2 spots) 23. Tampa, FL (▲ 16 spots) 48. Oakland, CA (▼ 1 spot) 24. Providence, RI (▲ 3 spots) 49. San Francisco, CA (▼ 1 spot) 25. Phoenix, AZ (▲ 7 spots) 50. San Diego, CA (▼ 1 spot)

We do this in partnership with Combos – it’s always a lot of fun and generates a lot of discussion.

They have the study up at this website:

http://www.americasmanliestcities.com

On a final note of analysis, it’s interesting to note that California has five of the ten “Least Manly” Cities. Hmm…