The term 'foodie' has been making the rounds on social media for years, commonly describing someone who has a particular interest in food, especially gourmet experiences.
According to WalletHub, the experience of eating is elevated to a hobby or even a lifestyle for these culinary enthusiasts.
Analysts at WalletHub compared more than 180 US cities across 28 key indicators of foodie-friendliness. They analyzed factors like the cost of groceries, affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants, as well as the number of food festivals per capita.
Miami came out on top overall and notably ranked the highest in the diversity, accessibility and quality rank.
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"Miami is the best city for foodies, leading the country when it comes to the availability of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars out of 5. It also has an extremely high number of restaurants per capita," researchers stated.
| Overall Rank | City | Total Score | Affordability Rank | Diversity, Accessibility & Quality Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami, FL | 74.37 | 145 | 1 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | 71.66 | 173 | 2 |
| 3 | Orlando, FL | 71.43 | 54 | 3 |
| 4 | Portland, OR | 69.48 | 101 | 4 |
| 5 | Tampa, FL | 69.31 | 76 | 6 |
| 6 | Sacramento, CA | 66.79 | 68 | 8 |
| 7 | Las Vegas, NV | 66.51 | 82 | 9 |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | 64.69 | 176 | 5 |
| 9 | Denver, CO | 64.08 | 121 | 13 |
| 10 | San Diego, CA | 63.74 | 147 | 10 |
WalletHub also noted that Miami is known for its high-quality choices – being the 12th-most diverse in terms of restaurants available and the 13th-best ratio of full-service restaurants to fast-food chains.
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Fine dining is widely available, with 14 Michelin-starred restaurants to choose from. One of them, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, even has two Michelin stars, analysts added.
Researchers emphasized that Miami is also great place for foodies who enjoy cooking at home, as it has the third-most farmers’ markets, ninth-most gourmet specialty food stores, second-most butcher shops and most kitchen supply stores per capita.
Further north, Orlando secured the third spot – specifically standing out when it comes to the number of food trucks, ice cream shops, coffee and tea shops and gourmet food stores per capita.
“The top cities cater not just to people who enjoy dining out, but also to foodies who enjoy putting their own skills to the test by exploring new flavors in their own kitchens," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo explained. "In addition, these cities make delicious dining affordable for residents and visitors alike.”
