You can find treasures at yard sales and garage sales - but which cities are best for hunting for bargains and maybe a lost Monet or Rembrandt?
Indianapolis is a treasure hunter's paradise! According to Lawn Love, wo ranked the 200 largest U.S. cities to determine 2021’s Best Cities for Yard and Garage Sales. Metrics we looked at include the number of sales, the size of yards, and weather (because who wants to be sailing in the rain or snow?).
Surprising findings:
Gateway to the best sales: St. Louis has the Arch, gooey butter cake, The Hill, Imo’s Pizza - and tons of yard and garage sales. The Gateway City finished No. 1 on the ranking because it hosts the most sales, even though it landed in 72nd place in the weather category and 124th for yard size.
So why might so many people be “skipping to the Lou” to rummage through boxes and tables of items in yards and garages? Yard sales and garage sales are prohibited in St. Louis County, so maybe county residents flock to the city to snag some deals on the weekends.
Wander Indiana’s sales: Two Hoosier State cities - Fort Wayne and Indianapolis - landed in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, on the ranking.
Why Fort Wayne? Many people head to Summit City to trace their family history at the country’s largest public genealogy center, but locals clearly must enjoy sailing. The city finished No. 2 overall and third in the number of yard and garage sales.
Indianapolis, meanwhile, finished third overall and No. 2 for the number of garage and yard sales. In Circle City, you’re likely to find yard- and garage-sale devotees circling for a parking spot nearest the tables and boxes of often gently used items. As they say at the start of the 500, “Drivers, start your engines!”
Smaller cities, bigger yard (sales): Four of our top 10 cities for yard sales and garage sales are smaller cities with bigger yard sizes. Fort Wayne, our overall No. 2, ranks 9th for yard size, but Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at No. 4 overall is No. 1 in yard size. Clarksville, Tennessee, and Macon, Georgia, at Nos. 15 and 16 overall, are Nos. 4 and 2 for yard size.
What does this mean? Well, larger lawns can host bigger yard sales, and as a sailor you have more opportunities to find some gems.
Yard size doesn’t matter when you string hundreds of yards together, though. The world’s longest yard sale spans over 690 miles from Michigan to Alabama. Grab some friends -- you might as well turn it into a road trip.
The full ranking and analysis can be found here.