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America’s 20 Best Cities for Foodies

Where are these foodies? California, probably.
Where are these foodies? California, probably. | VioletaStoimenova/iStock via Getty Images

While you can enjoy a good meal just about anywhere, certain cities embrace foodie culture more than others. Thanks to a new study by WalletHub, we now know which ones they are.

Portland, Oregon, outranked roughly 180 other cities with an overall score of 70.77 out of 100 possible points. That score was based on 29 features, many of which were, expectedly, related to restaurants themselves: the number of restaurants per capita, the ratio of full-service restaurants to fast food ones, the number of specific types of establishments (ice cream and frozen yogurt shops, craft breweries, wine bars, Michelin-starred restaurants, cafés, food trucks), and so on.

But as all committed foodies know, being a foodie isn’t just about going out to eat—it’s also about making your own mouthwatering dishes. So, WalletHub also looked at the number of international grocery stores, butcher shops, spice shops, kitchen supply stores, and even cooking schools in each city. And since all that gourmet cooking and restaurant-hopping can get pricey, affordability metrics were included, too, from the cost of a restaurant meal to sales tax.

Florida performed admirably, with three cities in the top 10: Orlando, Miami, and Tampa (which all happened to tie for first place with Las Vegas on the list of cities with the most ice cream and frozen yogurt shops per capita). And if you’re looking to plan an Epicurean adventure to one state only, California is another appealing option. The Golden State has an impressive five cities in the top 20, including San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Oakland.

See the winners below, and check out WalletHub’s full rankings here.

1. Portland, Oregon // 70.77
2. Orlando, Florida // 70.67
3. Miami, Florida // 68.85
4. San Francisco, California // 67.89
5. Austin, Texas // 64.91
6. Sacramento, California // 63.59
7. Denver, Colorado // 62.98
8. Las Vegas, Nevada // 62.93
9. Seattle, Washington // 62.91
10. Tampa, Florida // 62.17
11. Los Angeles, California // 60.17
12. San Diego, California // 60.01
13. Portland, Maine // 58.81
14. Oakland, California // 58.46
15. Washington, D.C. // 57.96
16. St. Louis, Missouri // 57.88
17. Grand Rapids, Missouri // 57.69
18. Chicago, Illinois // 57.68
18. Atlanta, Georgia // 57.68
19. Houston, Texas // 57.32

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