Seattle ranks as one of the best cities in the US for vegans and vegetarians

According to a new study, roughly 10 million Americans are either vegan or vegetarian.

Using three determining factors, WalletHub ranked the greatest cities in the United States for vegetarians and vegans, and Seattle wound up in the top five.

The first of the three factors is the affordability of the lifestyle in the given city. Regions are judged according to the cost of vegetarian groceries in the municipality, availability of affordable eateries and groceries, and the average cost of meals in the vegan or vegetarian section.

Another factor is the diversity, accessibility, and quality of those offerings. This category examines the percentage of restaurants in the region that serve vegetarian or vegan options, farmers’ markets per capita, organic farms, juice and smoothie bars.

Lastly, the lifestyle is scored. Using veg and fruit consumption numbers, lifestyle meetups per capita, and with data from GrubHub’s list of Cities Most Likely to Order Vegetarian or Vegan, a score for the lifestyle is given.

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Though Seattle did not top any of these three categories individually, the total score accumulated by the Emerald City was more than 95 other cities in the country. Out of 100, Seattle gathered 54.52 points for their total score.

WalletHub – Best Vegetarian and Vegan Cities in the US

Overall, Seattle scored fifth finish in diversity, accessibility, and quality, while coming in eighth place in lifestyle. The ranking fell all the way to 92nd place in affordability ranking.

Notable finishes in the categories themselves are Laredo, Texas (in first place for affordability), San Francisco, California (diversity), and Oakland, California (lifestyle).

Among the worst overall ranked cities, we see San Bernadino, California; North Las Vegas, Nevada; Greensboro, North Carolina; Baton Rough, Lousiana; and Anchorage, Alaska. Intriguingly, most of the worst 10 cities on this list are well-known for battered food and barbeque eateries.

For the full run-down, check out the WalletHub feature research article.