Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Vegetables were used to create the Hollywood Sign at Little Pine restaurant in Los Angeles, which, a new study says, is the best and cheapest city for vegetarians and vegans. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) A new report tells travelers and locals which cities are the best for vegetarians and vegans.
Los Angeles ranks No. 1, followed by Orlando and Portland, Oregon, according to the report by the personal-finance website WalletHub . The report aimed to determine the best and cheapest places for a plant-based diet by evaluating 17 criteria in America’s 100 largest cities.
The criteria included the cost of groceries for vegetarians, the share of restaurants serving meatless options and the number of salad shops per capita. A Gallup poll last year found that 4% of Americans are vegetarians and 1% are vegans. That’s nearly 17 million people.
WalletHub says the No. 1 Los Angeles ranking shouldn’t be a surprise, because the city’s residents eat vegetarian and vegan food 187% more often than average Americans. 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 plenty of places to buy fresh produce for making your own vegetarian or vegan food,” the WalletHub report says. “It has the ninth-most farmers’ markets, 11th-most organic farms, 12th-most community gardens and 19th-most vegetable nurseri.