Starbucks

I came across this fascinating analysis of the ubiquity of Starbucks in the United States. As a frequent Starbucks customer (I've been going since the first store opened in the San Gabriel Valley - Pasadena - for years), I've noticed how they have proliferated like toadstools. Not that I'm complaining, mind you; I enjoy the familiarity within difference of the manifold Starbucks experience, and love to while away the hours reading or internet browsing while sipping my Grande bold drip. But I didn't realize just how much they have become part of the American scene: There are ~311 million people living in the USA, with 82% living in urbanized areas. One might define urbanization in the modern era as the distance to the nearest Starbucks. An "urban" environment would therefore be anyplace within a 20 mile radius. Yes, more than 80% of the USA (that's 250,000,000 people) live within 20 miles of a Starbucks. Here's a great graph which lays out the % population to distance from a store:

Now, that's convenience!