Best Food Cities

By Adam McCann, Financial Writer

Americans today apply the term “foodie” to anyone who loves gourmet dining. But foodie culture isn’t limited to restaurants. More importantly, far fewer than the many who claim to be foodies truly deserve the label. “Authentic” foodies, according to experts, not only crave new and different flavors but also savor the exploratory experience of eating, learning and discovering food.

Naturally, the foodie lifestyle can be quite expensive, considering that restaurant prices rose 5.4% just between July 2020 and July 2021. Even cooking your own gourmet meals can be pricy, as grocery store prices rose 3.5% between 2019 and 2020. Overall food spending decreased by $100 billion in 2020, though, in part due to financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, culinary hotspots across the U.S. offer plenty of affordable options for cash-strapped foodies. These wallet-friendly cities cater to diners who prefer to cook at home, explore the local flavors or both. To determine the best and cheapest foodie scenes, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 29 key indicators of foodie-friendliness. Our data set ranges from cost of groceries to affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants to food festivals per capita.

Best Food Cities in America

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Affordability	Diversity, Accessibility & Quality
1	Portland, OR	70.77	56	3
2	Orlando, FL	70.67	26	5
3	Miami, FL	68.85	153	2
4	San Francisco, CA	67.89	173	1
5	Austin, TX	64.91	14	11
6	Sacramento, CA	63.59	85	8
7	Denver, CO	62.98	45	14
8	Las Vegas, NV	62.93	100	9
9	Seattle, WA	62.91	178	4
10	Tampa, FL	62.17	73	12
11	Los Angeles, CA	60.17	149	10
12	San Diego, CA	60.01	134	13
13	Portland, ME	58.81	57	20
14	Oakland, CA	58.46	172	7
15	Washington, DC	57.96	155	15
16	St. Louis, MO	57.88	127	18
17	Grand Rapids, MI	57.69	1	39
18	Chicago, IL	57.68	143	16
19	Atlanta, GA	57.68	140	17
20	Houston, TX	57.32	15	32
21	Cincinnati, OH	57.04	23	31
22	Pittsburgh, PA	56.97	91	22
23	New York, NY	56.87	181	6
24	Charleston, SC	56.64	96	23
25	Rochester, NY	56.63	62	25
26	Buffalo, NY	56.22	43	30
27	Salt Lake City, UT	55.97	87	24
28	Milwaukee, WI	55.58	22	38
29	Louisville, KY	55.56	18	37
30	Albuquerque, NM	55.18	8	43
31	Minneapolis, MN	54.84	66	33
32	Richmond, VA	54.67	46	36
33	Indianapolis, IN	53.83	4	50
34	Vancouver, WA	53.73	139	26
35	San Jose, CA	53.60	165	21
36	Philadelphia, PA	53.56	120	28
37	Fort Lauderdale, FL	53.33	126	29
38	San Antonio, TX	52.76	20	49
39	Santa Ana, CA	52.45	88	41
40	New Orleans, LA	52.38	157	27
41	Omaha, NE	52.05	16	57
42	Raleigh, NC	51.85	49	48
43	Fresno, CA	51.82	27	55
44	Honolulu, HI	51.80	179	19
45	Tucson, AZ	51.58	40	51
46	Tempe, AZ	51.55	10	80
47	Wilmington, DE	51.50	98	45
48	Madison, WI	51.48	54	52
49	Scottsdale, AZ	51.31	82	46
50	Boston, MA	51.05	145	35
51	Des Moines, IA	50.89	7	86
52	Providence, RI	50.85	122	42
53	Jersey City, NJ	50.74	67	53
54	Cleveland, OH	50.45	52	56
55	Anaheim, CA	50.41	108	47
56	Aurora, CO	50.37	33	67
57	Manchester, NH	50.36	17	95
58	Charlotte, NC	50.32	121	44
59	St. Petersburg, FL	50.08	70	60
60	Columbus, OH	49.59	50	70
61	Dallas, TX	49.54	69	59
62	Lexington-Fayette, KY	49.45	2	97
63	Phoenix, AZ	49.38	39	73
64	New Haven, CT	49.30	72	68
65	Colorado Springs, CO	49.20	28	79
66	Garden Grove, CA	49.17	110	54
67	Spokane, WA	49.16	80	58
68	Jacksonville, FL	49.02	34	77
69	Baltimore, MD	48.75	79	61
70	Virginia Beach, VA	48.46	63	74
71	Newark, NJ	48.28	111	62
72	Oklahoma City, OK	48.16	55	78
73	Reno, NV	47.97	83	66
74	Salem, OR	47.97	36	87
75	Mesa, AZ	47.82	37	91
76	Nashville, TN	47.81	169	40
77	Santa Rosa, CA	47.77	176	34
78	Knoxville, TN	47.72	90	71
79	Gilbert, AZ	47.33	5	135
80	Bridgeport, CT	47.17	105	82
81	Bakersfield, CA	47.08	47	99
82	St. Paul, MN	47.00	106	75
83	Casper, WY	46.91	25	128
84	Plano, TX	46.87	35	101
85	Tulsa, OK	46.87	61	90
86	Long Beach, CA	46.80	124	64
87	Billings, MT	46.77	21	112
88	El Paso, TX	46.54	53	100
89	Tacoma, WA	46.29	129	65
90	Hialeah, FL	45.96	150	69
91	Columbia, SC	45.70	89	89
92	Toledo, OH	45.64	12	140
93	Fort Worth, TX	45.58	31	111
94	Chandler, AZ	45.56	6	137
95	Boise, ID	45.33	93	94
96	Baton Rouge, LA	45.29	141	81
97	Stockton, CA	45.26	154	72
98	Glendale, CA	45.15	113	96
99	Missoula, MT	45.11	29	121
100	Lincoln, NE	45.01	64	114
101	Laredo, TX	44.92	11	158
102	Amarillo, TX	44.91	13	149
103	Burlington, VT	44.91	166	63
104	Fargo, ND	44.78	75	116
105	Sioux Falls, SD	44.76	68	110
106	Nashua, NH	44.68	48	134
107	Detroit, MI	44.66	24	127
108	Overland Park, KS	44.62	129	92
109	Irving, TX	44.45	38	142
110	Fort Wayne, IN	44.43	3	162
111	Durham, NC	44.27	59	109
112	Kansas City, MO	44.01	114	102
113	Glendale, AZ	44.01	32	138
114	Port St. Lucie, FL	43.90	81	122
115	Norfolk, VA	43.89	58	133
116	Springfield, MO	43.83	117	108
117	Greensboro, NC	43.79	65	120
118	Huntington Beach, CA	43.72	144	88
119	Warwick, RI	43.50	164	76
120	Riverside, CA	43.47	109	104
121	Irvine, CA	43.33	148	93
122	Chula Vista, CA	43.19	97	125
123	Columbia, MD	43.18	101	130
124	Corpus Christi, TX	42.92	9	166
125	Cedar Rapids, IA	42.80	136	106
126	Little Rock, AR	42.62	95	136
127	Arlington, TX	42.54	41	157
128	Newport News, VA	42.53	60	155
129	Pembroke Pines, FL	42.52	142	107
130	Worcester, MA	42.38	123	113
131	Modesto, CA	42.37	147	105
132	Oceanside, CA	42.29	116	117
133	Dover, DE	42.15	131	119
134	Birmingham, AL	42.08	103	132
135	Peoria, AZ	41.97	76	153
136	Lewiston, ME	41.90	86	145
137	Oxnard, CA	41.86	158	103
138	Henderson, NV	41.84	74	144
139	Rapid City, SD	41.74	138	118
140	Cape Coral, FL	41.62	168	98
141	Anchorage, AK	41.60	128	115
142	Santa Clarita, CA	41.54	107	141
143	Tallahassee, FL	41.31	132	124
144	Memphis, TN	41.18	102	143
145	Yonkers, NY	41.04	174	84
146	Chattanooga, TN	40.95	137	131
147	Akron, OH	40.93	84	152
148	Charleston, WV	40.88	19	177
149	Fremont, CA	40.78	175	85
150	Lubbock, TX	40.74	44	167
151	Fayetteville, NC	40.55	42	170
152	Aurora, IL	40.54	156	126
153	Cheyenne, WY	40.53	51	174
154	South Burlington, VT	40.41	177	83
155	Las Cruces, NM	40.35	30	176
156	Wichita, KS	40.15	104	150
157	Winston-Salem, NC	40.02	118	147
158	Brownsville, TX	39.94	115	159
159	Garland, TX	39.86	99	160
160	Bismarck, ND	39.81	112	161
161	Fort Smith, AR	39.78	162	123
162	Huntington, WV	39.77	71	171
163	San Bernardino, CA	39.24	135	148
164	Huntsville, AL	39.05	125	154
165	Mobile, AL	38.44	119	164
166	Chesapeake, VA	38.41	77	173
167	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	37.72	92	169
168	North Las Vegas, NV	37.66	161	139
169	Columbus, GA	37.15	94	178
170	West Valley City, UT	37.00	159	151
171	Gulfport, MS	35.98	152	172
172	Fontana, CA	35.97	163	163
173	Grand Prairie, TX	35.93	151	165
174	Nampa, ID	35.68	167	156
175	Ontario, CA	35.57	171	146
176	Augusta, GA	35.45	78	181
177	Juneau, AK	34.97	180	129
178	Shreveport, LA	34.08	146	180
179	Jackson, MS	33.28	160	179
180	Montgomery, AL	33.05	133	182
181	Moreno Valley, CA	32.16	170	168
182	Pearl City, HI	25.13	182	175

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

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