Starbucks vs. McDonalds

Mickey D's or Starbucks? What your coffee choice says about you
BY MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star
Tuesday, Feb 24, 2009 - 12:17:34 am CST

Turns out, where you get your food and drink says a lot more about you than you might think.For example: If you stopped by Starbucks this morning, you’re likely an upper-middle-class liberal with a college degree.In an absurdly thorough report, Pew Research Organization surveyed more than 2,000 people, asking them the question: “Would you prefer to live in a place with more McDonald’s or more Starbucks?”

A Pew Research Organization study shows that if you prefer Starbucks to McDonald's' coffee, you probably are more liberal, make more than $75,000 a year, have a college degree and live in the Western U.S.


A Pew Research Organization study shows that if you prefer Starbucks to McDonald's' coffee, you probably are more liberal, make more than $75,000 a year, have a college degree and live in the Western U.S.

The home of Ronald won, with people preferring McDonald’s 43 percent to 35 percent (the remainder had no preference).Even more interesting, though, is how Pew broke up their sample by ideologies and demographics. Bring on the false dichotomies!Political ideology: Self-described liberals prefer Starbucks 46 to 33 percent, while conservatives prefer McDonald’s 50 to 28 percent. Moderates fell in the middle.Gender: Men prefer McDonald’s 16 percent more than Starbucks. Women like both equally.Income: People with annual incomes of $75,000 and above are likely to choose Starbucks, while those with incomes below $30,000 go with the Golden Arches.Education: People with college degrees prefer Starbucks 47 to 32 percent. Those with a high school degree or less prefer McDonald’s 50 to 26 percent.Region: Westerners prefer Starbucks by a wide margin. But folks in the East, the South and the Midwest all like McDonald’s more.Religion: Protestants and Catholics prefer McDonald’s. The religiously unaffiliated are predominantly Starbucks patrons.