• by Aaron Baar , March 11, 2012

Apple has little problem getting its products to appeal throughout the country, but there are pockets that are more likely to pick up an iPad on the day of its release than others.

According to Experian Simmons, places such as the San Francisco Bay area, Salt Lake City and Austin, Tex. have a higher percentage of people who own at least one Apple product (iPod, iPhone or Mac). Other markets rounding out the top 15 Designated Marketing Areas (with a population of more than 500,000) include Seattle-Tacoma, Boston, Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and New York City (which tied with Madison, Wis. for 15).

“It’s very similar to every other map that I’ve looked at when I’ve looked at the spread of new technology,” says Bill Tancer, head of global research for Experian Marketing Services. “Things like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter followed a very similar map.”

The presence of places such as the Bay area, Austin, Seattle, Boston and Los Angeles on the list is not particularly surprising, given the high prevalence of tech development in those areas. However, a market such as Salt Lake City (which landed at number 2 on the list with 36.5% of its population owning at least one Apple product) is notable.

“A lot of technology spread, especially when we talk about tactile things, [is accountable to] a core set of influencers who see those products,” Tancer says. “People who see those influencers [using certain products] tend to adopt the technology themselves.”

Although the data doesn’t cover iPad penetration, Tancer expects data tracking the product coming out later this year to follow the same pattern of adoption. “With Apple devices, we see this phenomenon where people adopt one device and it becomes the first in a cycle of the adoption of other Apple products,” Tancer says.

The top 15 markets in which people own a Mac, iPhone or iPod are:

1. San Francisco (37.4%)

2. Salt Lake City (36.5%)

3. Austin, Tex. (36.1%)

4. Washington, DC (35.8%)

5. Seattle-Tacoma (35.4%)

6. Boston (34%)

7. Denver (33.7%)

8. San Diego (33.7%)

9. Portland, Ore. (33%)

10. Reno, Nev. (32.7%)

11. Monterey-Salinas, Calif. (32.3%)

12. Colorado Springs, Colo. (31.8%)

13. Los Angeles (31.5%)

14. Madison, Wis. (31.4%)

15. New York City (31.4%)