
Ever wondered which US cities come out ahead in terms of vegan and vegetarian dining?
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While travelers can usually find vegan or vegetarian options wherever they wander, you might be surprised to learn which cities come out ahead. Some have boosted veg options thanks to local preferences—but others might come out ahead thanks to the number of unique restaurants that have experimental chefs, rely on farm-to-table food sourcing, or even veg-friendly groceries.
Thanks to Wallethub’s latest study, which incorporates 17 metrics that grade a city’s vegan and vegetarian friendliness, you can now take a closer look at the most veg-friendly cities.
Think you can list which cities came out ahead? Here’s your chance to set your guesses.
A closer look at the metrics
As a researcher, I’m always interested in learning about how a study was conducted. In this case, WalletHub used 17 indicators to rank US cities based on vegetarian and vegan friendliness.
Those metrics include: cost of groceries for veg eaters, availability of veg-friendly restaurants, average meal cost, farmers’ markets per capita, juice and smoothie bars per capita, vegetable nurseries per capita, and a range of other supporting data. WalletHub used data from the US Census Bureau, TripAdvisor, GrubHub, Meetup, the CDC, and more.
In other words, it’s a solid study that’s pulling on a range of traveler needs—from the ability to shop for the right groceries to fine dining options with menus that suit your needs.
Now onto the fun stuff.
The most veg-friendly cities in the United States
Ready to see how your predictions panned out? These are the top 20 most veg-friendly cities around the United States according to a recent WalletHub study.
- Portland, Oregon
- Los Angeles, California
- Austin, Texas
- San Francisco, California
- Oakland, California
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Miami, Florida
- Seattle, Washington
- Orlando, Florida
- Madison, Wisconsin
- San Diego, California
- Tampa, Florida
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
- New York, New York
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Chicago, Illinois
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania