Some cities are better than others when it comes to food. More specifically, some cities are better for “foodies”. Foodies are those who explore new flavors and learn about different types of foods. WalletHub put together a comprehensive list of the best cities in America for foodies. They ranked the top 182 cities, to include the 150 most populous. Let’s explore some of these cities more in detail.

The Top 25 Cities

Topping the list is Portland, Oregon. Portland is well known as a “hipster haven” whose residents reach for the authentic. That includes food. Voodoo Donuts, Moonstruck Chocolates, Salt & Straw Ice Cream—theses are some of the food establishments Portland is known for.

The top 35 cities are as follows:

1. Portland, OR
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Miami, FL
4. New York, NY
5. Los Angeles, CA
6. Orlando, FL
7. Las Vegas, NV
8. Seattle, WA
9. San Diego, CA
10. Austin, TX
11. Atlanta, GA
12. Tampa, FL
13. Chicago, IL
14. Denver, CO
15. Washington, DC
16. Sacramento, CA
17. Philadelphia, PA
18. Houston, TX
19. Oakland, CA
20. Charleston, SC
21. San Antonio, TX
22. Cincinnati, OH
23. Richmond, VA
24. Milwaukee, WI
25. Fort Lauderdale, FL
26. Honolulu, HI
27. Pittsburgh, PA
28. Santa Ana, CA
29. Albuquerque, NM
30. St. Louis, MO
31. Dallas, TX
32. Rochester, NY
33. Louisville, KY
34. Minneapolis, MN
35. Tucson, AZ

California and Texas: The States for Foodies

Of the 182 best cities for foodies, Califonia has 29 of them and Texas has 16. Granted, those two states are the two largest in the country, population wise. California is known for In-N-Out and avocado toast while Texas is known for Texas BBQ, Tex-Mex, chicken fried steak, and Texas chili. These famous food options are extremely simplified and one can find all types of lesser-known delights in these states and others.

While some Texans won’t be surprised at how well Austin and Houston ranked, they might be confused by Dallas ranking #31 on the list well after San Antonio and even lower than Albuquerque, NM. Ouch.

How These Cities Were Chosen

Adam McCann writes, “In order to determine the best and cheapest local foodie scenes, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across two key dimensions, “Affordability” and “Diversity, Accessibility & Quality.”

Having these dimensions is important for a few reasons. With affordability, it was important for WalletHub that the food be accessible to the general population. For example, not everyone can afford a $100 meal, even if the taste is out of this world. Affordability doesn’t negate the lack of quality; instead, having affordable, quality food strikes a balance. The diversity of food within a city touches on the exploratory aspect of a city being known as a foodie haven.

Other Considerations

Cost of groceries, average alcohol prices, restaurants per capita, and coffee shops per capita are among additional factors that were taken into consideration.

Texas has 4 of the top 5 cities—Laredo, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Houston—for the lowest priced groceries. The other city is Knoxville, TN. For the highest-priced groceries, the cities from the list consist of New York, NY, Seattle, WA, Juneau, AK, Honolulu, HI, and Pearl City, HI.

Alcohol is cheapest in Indianapolis, IN, Detroit, MI, Toledo, OH, Milwaukee, WI, Boise City, ID, and Nampa, ID. It’s most expensive in Portland, OR, Vancouver, WA, Anchorage, AK, New York, NY, Juneau, AK, and Seattle, WA.

What’s striking here is that while Portland is number one on the list, alcohol is the most expensive in the city. Portland also has the highest number of breweries per capita which is something WalletHub also took into consideration.

Featured photo by Chan Walrus on Pexels

Map photo and best groceries photos are screenshots by RPS Relocation

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