It’s no secret that consumers were exploring new foods even before the pandemic that spurred a renaissance in at-home cooking. Now, a new analysis confirms that there are a whole lot of foodies in the marketplace.
According to a report on "2022’s Best Foodie Cities in America" from financial website WalletHub, today’s foodies are balancing their love of food and drink with realistic budgets in the wake of high inflation – often getting creative in the process. “Americans today apply the term ‘foodie’ to anyone who loves gourmet dining. But foodie culture isn’t limited to restaurants. Foodies enjoy discovering new and unique flavors wherever they can find them, including in their own kitchens and less prominent establishments like street food stalls. For these people, the experience of eating is elevated to a hobby or even a lifestyle,” asserted WalletHub’s financial writer Adam McCann
The company’s researchers compared more than 180 of the largest cities in the U.S. across 29 key metrics that assessed affordability, accessibility, food-related events and local establishments. The top 10 foodie cities include the following, in descending order: Portland, Ore.; Orlando, Fla.; Miami; San Francisco; Austin, Texas; Sacramento, Calif.; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; Las Vegas; and San Diego.
From a retail perspective, the data shows that Orlando, Fla., is home to the most specialty food stores per square root of population. Rounding out the top five cities for specialty grocers are St. Louis, Honolulu, Cincinnati and Tampa, Fla.
The report also took a look at food costs and revealed that the lowest cost of groceries are in Brownsville, Texas, followed by Corpus Christi, Texas, Fort Wayne, Ind., Raleigh, N.C. and Knoxville Tenn. The highest cost of groceries are in San Jose, Calif., New York, N.Y., Juneau, Ala., Honolulu and Pearl City, Hawaii.