Miami finished second on a new list of the 50 largest U.S. cities ranked by how pumpkin-friendly they are, according to Mid-South Ag Equipment, a Mississippi-based agricultural equipment dealer. Atlanta took first with an overall score of 6.42. Miami scored 6.24, and Las Vegas placed third at 6.06.
The company scored each city out of 10 on farmers markets, coffee shops, bakeries and pumpkin patches. Miami led the study in bakeries, with 26 per 100,000 residents. It also had 31 coffee shops per 100,000 residents, the most common stop for pumpkin spice lattes this time of year.
The city posted four farmers markets per 100,000 residents. Researchers counted nine pumpkin patches per 100,000 people across Miami-Dade County, which is where the patches were tallied.
Dusty Vauters, an agricultural expert with Mid-South Ag, said Miami is not known as farm country, so the ranking surprised the company. He said the strength of the local bakery scene shows people want pumpkin treats no matter the weather.
