Most Extroverted US City Is ... Keota, Iowa?

Even the residents are a bit confused
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2012 9:15 AM CDT
Updated Jun 2, 2012 7:00 PM CDT
Most Extroverted US City Is ... Keota, Iowa?
Thumbs up for extroverts?   (Shutterstock)

The most extroverted city in the US seems to be a somewhat random pick—even to the residents of said city. Keota, Iowa, came in first on the most recent list from "psychological marketing" firm Pyco, leading many in the small town of 1,009 to wonder just what methodology was used. "Did they drive down the street and see how many people were sitting on the porch and how many waved?" wondered the wife of the mayor, noting that such a poll would definitely have resulted in quite a few friendly waves. Keota measured 61.639% extroverted, much higher than the national average of 52%.

The actual methodology, which the Des Moines Register attempts to explain, remains fairly mysterious: Pyco collected a vast quantity of data, fed it through a 2,000-page algorithm, and "ultimately it's the correlations that lead to the Pyco Score," says the company's COO. Those correlations favor small towns (although they have to have at least 1,000 residents to make the list) and communities east of Texas, and the COO adds that you'd likely see high participation in community groups and activities as well. Coming in second was Manchester, New York, at 61.5% extroverted—see the Register for the complete top 10. (More small towns stories.)

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