San Francisco Ranks Third in National Foodie City Survey, Miami Takes Top Spot

San Francisco has landed at No. 3 in WalletHub’s annual ranking of America’s best cities for foodies, a personal-finance site that compared more than 180 US cities on cost and quality of dining options.

The study examined the 150 most populated metro areas nationwide, plus at least two of the largest cities in every state, scoring each across 28 measures split between two categories: affordability and diversity, accessibility and quality of food offerings.

Affordability measures included grocery prices, restaurant meal costs, sales tax, and average beer and wine prices. The second category tallied restaurants, food trucks, farmers markets, craft breweries, coffee shops and specialty food stores per capita.

San Francisco’s ranking held up despite its reputation for a high cost of living. WalletHub found the city has a very high number of restaurants per capita, including one of the strongest selections nationally of affordable restaurants rated 4.5 stars or higher. The city also has 25 Michelin-starred restaurants, three of which hold the top three-star rating.

San Francisco ranked sixth nationally for restaurant diversity and fourth for access to healthy food. It also leads the country in herb and spice stores, international grocery stores and craft breweries per capita, and scores well for food festivals and cooking schools per capita.

Miami takes first, Portland close behind

Miami claimed the No. 1 spot overall, leading the nation in affordable restaurants rated 4.5 stars or higher and posting an extremely high number of restaurants per capita. It ranked 12th for restaurant diversity and ninth for the ratio of full-service restaurants to fast-food outlets.

Miami has fewer Michelin stars than San Francisco — 12 total, including one two-star restaurant — but ranks third nationally for farmers markets, third for butcher shops, second for kitchen supply stores and 10th for gourmet specialty food stores per capita.

Portland, Oregon, took second place, scoring high for craft breweries, wineries, herb and spice shops, food and wine tours, and food festivals per capita. It also has a very high number of restaurant choices, including highly rated eateries. Portland currently has no Michelin-starred restaurants, but the city charges no tax on food, whether purchased at a restaurant or grocery store.

More California cities in the top 20

Three additional California metros made WalletHub’s top 20. Sacramento came in at No. 9, San Diego at No. 12, and Los Angeles at No. 17.