Portland Ranked as Best Foodie City in Country

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

GoLocalPDX Lifestyle Team

The City of Portland is ranked as the best foodie city in the country, according to a recent study completed by WalletHub.

“Americans today apply the term “foodie” to anyone who loves gourmet dining. But foodie culture isn’t limited to restaurants. More importantly, far fewer than the many who claim to be foodies truly deserve the label. “Authentic” foodies, according to experts, not only crave new and different flavors but also savor the exploratory experience of eating, learning and discovering food,” said WalletHub.

Portland’s Rankings

17th Best - Affordability
5th Best - Diversity, Accessibility and Quality
177th - Highest Average Beer & Wine Price
1st - Most Craft Breweries & Wineries per Capita
1st - Most Coffee Shops per Capita

The Rankings

Portland ranks first ahead of San Francisco, California, Miami, Florida, New York, and Los Angeles, who rounds out the top five.

Pearl City Hawaii is ranked as the worst city for food in the country.

See the full rankings in the map below

Source: WalletHub

The Method

In order to determine the best and cheapest local foodie scenes, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across two key dimensions, “Affordability” and “Diversity, Accessibility & Quality.”

They evaluated those dimensions using 29 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions and costs for foodies.

Finally, they determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the cities in our sample. In determining our sample, we considered only the “city proper” in each case and excluded surrounding cities in the metro area.

Affordability – Total Points: 30

Cost of Groceries: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
Accessibility & Affordability of High-Quality Restaurants: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
Restaurant Meal Cost: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
Sales Tax: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
Food Tax: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
Restaurant Tax: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
Average Beer & Wine Price: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)

Diversity, Accessibility & Quality – Total Points: 70

Restaurants per Capita*: Triple Weight (~9.44 Points)
Ratio of Full-Service Restaurants to Fast-Food Establishments: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Growth in Number of Full Service Restaurants (2016 vs 2011): Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Restaurant Diversity: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Presence of Michelin-Starred Restaurants: Quarter Weight (~0.79 Points)
Average Ranking of Restaurants on Yelp’s “Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.” List: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Food Trucks per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Access to Healthy Food Options: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Farmers Markets & CSA Programs per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Food Freshness: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Craft Breweries & Wine Bars per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Coffee & Tea Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Gourmet Specialty-Food Stores per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Grocery Stores per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Butcher Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Herbs & Spices Stores per Capita*: Half Weight (~1.57 Points)
Kitchen Supplies Stores per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Food Festivals per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Cooking Schools per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)
Food & Drink Meetups per Capita*: Half Weight (~1.57 Points)
Food & Wine Tours per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.15 Points)