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Everyone who enjoys fine dining knows that cities like New York, San Francisco, and Seattle are playgrounds for foodies — particularly those who have the dough to support high-quality eating habits. In a ranking of best foodie cities, then, what edge would Midwestern hubs like Cincinnati or Grand Rapids have? According to financial consultancy site WalletHub, the answer is: affordability. (These are America’s cheapest cities where everyone wants to live right now.)
24/7 Tempo reviewed the results of a recent WalletHub study evaluating the 182 most populated cities in the country (adding two of the most populated cities in each state, where necessary) by 29 relevant metrics in two key categories: a combination of diversity, accessibility, and quality, and the aforementioned affordability.
Among the metrics used were the cost of groceries and of restaurant meals; the number of restaurants, food trucks, and grocery stores per capita; the presence of Michelin-starred restaurants; and — a sign of the times — the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated. (These are the states where the most people are refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.)
In compiling the data, WalletHub drew on 11 sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Council for Community and Economic Research, Numbeo, and Yelp.
Click here to see America’s 35 best cities for foodies
While New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and other cities well-known for their restaurant culture (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, etc.) all scored in the top 10 for diversity, accessibility, and quality, they did less well in affordability — in fact, the Big Apple took 181st place out of 182 cities — ultimately ceding the No. 1 spot to a city known both for its food and its comparatively friendly pricing: Portland, Oregon.
35. San Jose, California
> Total score: 53.60
> Affordability: #165 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #21 highest out of 182 cities
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34. Vancouver, Washington
> Total score: 53.73
> Affordability: #139 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #26 highest out of 182 cities
33. Indianapolis, Indiana
> Total score: 53.83
> Affordability: #4 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #50 highest out of 182 cities
32. Richmond, Virginia
> Total score: 54.67
> Affordability: #46 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #36 highest out of 182 cities
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31. Minneapolis, Minnesota
> Total score: 54.84
> Affordability: #66 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #33 highest out of 182 cities
30. Albuquerque, New Mexico
> Total score: 55.18
> Affordability: #8 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #43 highest out of 182 cities
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29. Louisville, Kentucky
> Total score: 55.56
> Affordability: #18 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #37 highest out of 182 cities
28. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
> Total score: 55.58
> Affordability: #22 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #38 highest out of 182 cities
27. Salt Lake City, Utah
> Total score: 55.97
> Affordability: #87 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #24 highest out of 182 cities
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26. Buffalo, New York
> Total score: 56.22
> Affordability: #43 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #30 highest out of 182 cities
25. Rochester, New York
> Total score: 56.63
> Affordability: #62 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #25 highest out of 182 cities
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24. Charleston, South Carolina
> Total score: 56.64
> Affordability: #96 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #23 highest out of 182 cities
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23. New York City, New York
> Total score: 56.87
> Affordability: #181 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #6 highest out of 182 cities
22. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> Total score: 56.97
> Affordability: #91 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #22 highest out of 182 cities
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21. Cincinnati, Ohio
> Total score: 57.04
> Affordability: #23 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #31 highest out of 182 cities
20. Houston, Texas
> Total score: 57.32
> Affordability: #15 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #32 highest out of 182 cities
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19. Atlanta, Georgia
> Total score: 57.68
> Affordability: #140 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #17 highest out of 182 cities
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18. Chicago, Illinois
> Total score: 57.68
> Affordability: #143 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #16 highest out of 182 cities
17. Grand Rapids, Michigan
> Total score: 57.69
> Affordability: #1 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #39 highest out of 182 cities
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16. St. Louis, Missouri
> Total score: 57.88
> Affordability: #127 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #18 highest out of 182 cities
15. Washington, D.C.
> Total score: 57.96
> Affordability: #155 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #15 highest out of 182 cities
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14. Oakland, California
> Total score: 58.46
> Affordability: #172 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #7 highest out of 182 cities
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13. Portland, Maine
> Total score: 58.81
> Affordability: #57 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #20 highest out of 182 cities
12. San Diego, California
> Total score: 60.01
> Affordability: #134 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #31 highest out of 182 cities
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11. Los Angeles, California
> Total score: 60.17
> Affordability: #149 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #10 highest out of 182 cities
10. Tampa, Florida
> Total score: 62.17
> Affordability: #73 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #12 highest out of 182 cities
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9. Seattle, Washington
> Total score: 62.91
> Affordability: #178 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #4 highest out of 182 cities
8. Las Vegas, Nevada
> Total score: 62.93
> Affordability: #100 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #9 highest out of 182 cities
7. Denver, Colorado
> Total score: 62.98
> Affordability: #45 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #14 highest out of 182 cities
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6. Sacramento, California
> Total score: 63.59
> Affordability: #85 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #8 highest out of 182 cities
5. Austin, Texas
> Total score: 64.91
> Affordability: #14 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #11 highest out of 182 cities
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4. San Francisco, California
> Total score: 67.89
> Affordability: #173 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #1 highest out of 182 cities
3. Miami, Florida
> Total score: 68.85
> Affordability: #153 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #2 highest out of 182 cities
2. Orlando, Florida
> Total score: 70.67
> Affordability: #26 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #5 highest out of 182 cities
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1. Portland, Oregon
> Total score: 70.77
> Affordability: #56 highest out of 182 cities
> Diversity, accessibility, and quality: #3 highest out of 182 cities
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