Best US Cities For Plant-Based Food Options

Photo credit: marilyn barbone / Adobe Stock

Sticking to a diet, especially when you are away from home traveling, is often difficult, particularly if you are a vegetarian or vegan. The options just aren’t the same.

Now you can be more informed.

With October 1 being World Vegetarian Day and November 1 being World Vegan Day, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2024’s Best Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians, as well as expert commentary, to identify the places that make a switch to a plant-based diet easiest.

WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 17 key indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness to determine the best and cheapest places for a plant-based diet. The data set ranges from the share of restaurants serving meatless options to the cost of groceries for vegetarians to the number of salad shops per capita.

That seems to be a pretty thorough criterion.

Topping the list of cities having the best vegetarian and vegan options is Los Angeles, followed by Orlando, Portland Oregon, San Diego, Seattle, Austin, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Tampa, New York City, Washington DC, Oakland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Madison, Houston, Sacramento and San Antonio.

Scottsdale, Arizona, has more than 12 times the number of vegan options as the worst city, Laredo, TX.

“Los Angeles also has the second-highest number of affordable restaurants with vegan and vegetarian options that have at least 4.5 stars on Yelp. L.A. also has the ninth-most farmers markets, 11th-most organic farms, 12th-most community gardens and 19th-most vegetable nurseries and gardening shops per capita,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst.

This artlcle originally appeared in TravelPulse. See below for content from WalletHub.

Most Vegetarian- & Vegan-Friendly Cities

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Affordability Rank	Diversity, Accessibility & Quality Rank	Vegetarian Lifestyle Rank
1	Los Angeles, CA	61.26	13	17	4
2	Orlando, FL	60.60	25	3	11
3	Portland, OR	59.63	44	5	6
4	San Diego, CA	58.08	18	4	26
5	Seattle, WA	56.68	93	6	3
6	Austin, TX	55.96	6	12	41
7	San Francisco, CA	55.65	100	1	1
8	Miami, FL	55.59	79	2	53
9	Phoenix, AZ	54.11	14	14	82
10	Tampa, FL	53.92	43	9	10
11	New York, NY	53.74	28	8	28
12	Washington, DC	53.29	90	7	5
13	Oakland, CA	53.17	94	34	7
14	Las Vegas, NV	51.47	15	15	40
15	Chicago, IL	51.42	22	24	14
16	Atlanta, GA	49.56	50	16	19
17	Madison, WI	49.36	67	18	8
18	Houston, TX	49.23	5	54	32
19	Sacramento, CA	49.08	30	25	50
20	San Antonio, TX	48.45	9	44	84
21	Cincinnati, OH	48.18	39	20	71
22	Tucson, AZ	48.12	40	19	96
23	Denver, CO	47.56	76	11	58
24	St. Paul, MN	47.32	26	55	48
25	Lexington-Fayette, KY	47.06	27	52	52
26	Scottsdale, AZ	47.04	55	13	38
27	Bakersfield, CA	47.02	23	33	97
28	Long Beach, CA	46.66	49	53	43
29	St. Louis, MO	45.94	56	23	61
30	Dallas, TX	45.58	37	32	25
31	Birmingham, AL	45.53	45	21	77
32	Louisville, KY	45.43	34	40	65
33	Stockton, CA	45.35	19	47	94
34	Irving, TX	45.15	16	83	55
35	Mesa, AZ	45.09	10	58	75
36	Lubbock, TX	44.89	17	69	93
37	Corpus Christi, TX	43.95	2	93	79
38	Philadelphia, PA	43.86	46	39	70
39	Fresno, CA	43.83	33	35	99
40	Indianapolis, IN	43.50	29	49	30
41	New Orleans, LA	43.49	41	28	37
42	Wichita, KS	43.48	4	75	80
43	Albuquerque, NM	43.40	36	38	34
44	Raleigh, NC	43.27	69	42	51
45	Riverside, CA	43.17	66	31	73
46	Honolulu, HI	42.97	97	10	12
47	Anaheim, CA	42.90	88	63	2
48	Milwaukee, WI	42.77	51	37	24
49	Plano, TX	42.47	24	76	57
49	St. Petersburg, FL	42.47	82	29	56
51	Chandler, AZ	42.23	62	41	69
52	Lincoln, NE	41.92	7	87	59
53	Hialeah, FL	41.81	53	91	46
54	Charlotte, NC	41.54	83	26	18
55	Pittsburgh, PA	41.43	89	22	29
56	Reno, NV	41.42	54	46	76
57	El Paso, TX	41.41	8	84	87
58	Oklahoma City, OK	41.36	31	59	36
59	Jersey City, NJ	41.28	48	86	44
60	Virginia Beach, VA	41.16	73	36	74
61	Laredo, TX	41.13	1	98	98
62	Newark, NJ	41.05	85	94	31
63	Gilbert, AZ	41.00	58	57	66
64	Jacksonville, FL	40.87	64	56	15
65	Irvine, CA	40.81	78	68	49
66	Garland, TX	40.51	21	99	54
67	Tulsa, OK	40.48	20	72	86
68	Glendale, AZ	40.29	58	66	64
69	Colorado Springs, CO	40.08	77	51	60
70	Columbus, OH	40.07	38	73	20
71	Boston, MA	39.97	91	50	13
72	Fort Wayne, IN	39.94	47	74	62
73	Minneapolis, MN	39.89	86	27	33
74	Fort Worth, TX	38.99	32	78	81
75	Fremont, CA	38.91	98	96	9
76	Winston-Salem, NC	38.77	63	64	92
77	San Jose, CA	38.62	87	45	16
78	Nashville, TN	38.44	61	48	39
79	Toledo, OH	38.25	3	80	90
80	Aurora, CO	38.06	71	92	45
81	Omaha, NE	37.86	57	67	83
82	Boise, ID	37.71	96	30	68
83	Henderson, NV	37.51	60	81	89
84	Baton Rouge, LA	37.39	35	62	100
85	Arlington, TX	37.33	42	90	63
86	Buffalo, NY	37.17	65	61	42
87	Durham, NC	37.14	81	60	17
88	Cleveland, OH	37.10	72	71	22
89	Kansas City, MO	37.06	52	77	27
89	Norfolk, VA	37.06	70	79	72
91	Detroit, MI	36.44	11	88	88
92	North Las Vegas, NV	35.36	12	100	85
93	Santa Ana, CA	34.50	92	85	47
94	Greensboro, NC	33.94	84	43	95
95	Chesapeake, VA	33.83	75	89	23
96	Baltimore, MD	33.53	95	65	35
97	Memphis, TN	32.65	68	82	91
98	San Bernardino, CA	32.57	74	95	67
99	Chula Vista, CA	30.03	80	97	78
100	Anchorage, AK	30.01	99	70	21

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.

Cost of Groceries for Vegetarians

Lowest

• 1. Laredo, TX
• 2. Greensboro, NC
• 3. Oklahoma City, OK
• 4. San Antonio, TX
• 5. Tulsa, OK

Highest

• 96. Seattle, WA
• 97. Honolulu, HI
• 98. Fremont, CA
• 99. Anchorage, AK
• 100. San Francisco, CA

% of Restaurants Serving Vegetarian Options

Highest

• T-1. Scottsdale, AZ
• T-1. Anchorage, AK
• T-1. St. Petersburg, FL
• T-1. Washington, DC
• T-1. New Orleans, LA

Lowest

• 96. San Bernardino, CA
• 97. Garland, TX
• 98. Newark, NJ
• 99. North Las Vegas, NV
• 100. Laredo, TX

Best City vs. Worst City: 12x Difference

Scottsdale, AZ vs. Laredo, TX

In-Depth Look at the Top Cities

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles is the best city for vegans and vegetarians in 2024, which shouldn’t be a surprise when you consider that L.A. residents eat this type of food 187% more often than the U.S. average. In addition, the city has the second-highest number of affordable restaurants with vegan and vegetarian options that have at least 4.5 stars on Yelp.

L.A. also has plenty of places to buy fresh produce for making your own vegetarian or vegan food at home. It has the ninth-most farmers markets, 11th-most organic farms, 12th-most community gardens and 19th-most vegetable nurseries and gardening shops per capita.

On top of that, Los Angeles has the 11th-most vegetarian cooking classes and 15th-most vegan meetups per capita. It also hosts vegetarian and vegan festivals, such as VegFest Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival. Residents who prefer the veggie lifestyle have plenty of ways to meet like-minded people.

Orlando, FL

Orlando, FL, is the second-best city for vegetarians and vegans, it has second-most juice and smoothie bars, second-most vegetable nurseries per capita and third-most salad shops per capita. It also has the eighth-highest share of restaurants with vegetarian options and the sixth-highest share with vegan options.

In addition, the prices of certain vegetarian foods are surprisingly low in Orlando. For example, Orlando is the fourth-cheapest city for bananas, the fifth-cheapest for cooking oil, and the second-cheapest for cereals. Plus, it’s one of the cheapest cities for eggs – which many vegetarians use as a source of protein rather than meat.

Finally, Orlando has the 6th-best access to fresh vegetarian food, and it hosts festivals such as Central Florida VegFest.

Portland, OR

Portland, OR, is the third-best city for vegans and vegetarians. One contributing factor is that it has the fourth-largest number of affordable restaurants with vegetarian or vegan options that have at least 4.5 stars on Yelp. In addition, the city has a very high number of organic farms, community gardens, farmers markets and vegetable nurseries per capita.

Many Portland residents embrace the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, with residents ordering this type of cuisine 148% more often than the U.S. average. Portland also has the ninth-highest percentage of people who consume vegetables daily.