America’s Best City for Vegans and Vegetarians

With Oct. 1 being World Vegetarian Day, Nov. 1 being World Vegan Day, and meat prices getting hit much harder by inflation than fruit and vegetable prices, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Best Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians, as well as expert commentary, to identify the places that make a switch to a plant-based diet easiest.

To determine the best and cheapest places for a plant-based diet, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 17 key indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness. The data set ranges from the share of restaurants serving meatless options to the cost of groceries for vegetarians to the number of salad shops per capita.

Best vs. Worst

• Scottsdale, Arizona, has the highest share of restaurants serving vegetarian options, which is 12.3 times higher than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the lowest. 
   
• Scottsdale, Arizona, has the highest share of restaurants serving vegan options, which is 59.9 times higher than in North Las Vegas, Nevada, the city with the lowest. 
   
• San Francisco has the most community-supported agriculture programs (per square root of population), which is 19.8 times more than in Dallas, Texas, the city with the fewest. 
   
• Miami has the most salad shops (per square root of population), which is 13.1 times more than in San Bernardino, California, the city with the fewest. 

View the full report and your city’s rank.

“While vegetarians and vegans are still a relatively small share of the population, businesses are recognizing their impact on their market. Just look at businesses like McDonald’s and Burger King incorporating Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers into their menus, for example. With meat prices rising significantly faster than vegetable prices, too, we may see a lot more people taking a foray into a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle in the near future.”
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“Los Angeles is the best city for vegans and vegetarians in 2024, and its residents eat this type of food 187% more often than the U.S. average. In addition, the city 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 the ninth-most farmers markets, 11th-most organic farms, 12th-most community gardens and 19th-most vegetable nurseries and gardening shops per capita.”

– Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Expert Commentary 

What tips do you have for a person who wishes to have a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle while on a budget?

“Cooking at home is generally cheaper than eating out and gives you control over the ingredients in your meals. For instance, a homemade salad with leafy greens and tofu might cost only a couple of dollars but could easily be priced at over ten or twenty dollars in a restaurant. If you are comfortable with batch cooking, prepare large quantities of food over the weekend and freeze them for future meals to save both time and money. Seasonal and local produce is usually less expensive because high supply and reduced transportation or storage costs help bring prices down. For example, berries are typically abundant and cheaper in summer, while squash is more affordable in the fall.”
Qianhui (Jera) Zhang, PhD, RDN – Assistant Professor, Hunter College

“Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles can be some of the most budget-friendly dietary patterns. Incorporating plant-based proteins such as tofu, lentils, chickpeas, and beans is cost-effective, as these are some of the least expensive protein sources available. They are also high in fiber. Whole grains, which can be bought in bulk, come in a wide variety – brown, black, and red rice, bulgur wheat, farro, millet, and quinoa – all of which are tasty, nutritious, and affordable. Fruits and vegetables purchased in season tend to be less expensive, and frozen versions of your favorites are equally nutrient-dense. In fact, frozen fruits and vegetables often result in less waste as well.”
Kirstin Vollrath MS, RD, LD – Professor of Practice; Assistant Director, Dietetic Internship, University of Houston

What tips do you have for a person who wants to become a vegetarian? How can the transition be made smoother?

“Diet is a habit, and eating a high-meat, high-fat diet and highly processed food is also a habit. Breaking a habit takes time. It is like smoking. Some people quit smoking cold turkey, while others need to transition. Someone new to a plant-based diet will crave the taste of meat a lot at the beginning and less later on until not at all. It is important not to have the food you do not want to eat in the house. Therefore, I recommend first learning how to prepare plant-based dishes. I recommend finding 5-10 vegetable dishes and learning how to prepare them. After you are comfortable with those 5-10, add another 5-10. Second, do not have what you do not want to eat at home; instead, have ready-to-eat plant-based snacks. Some filling plant-based options are hummus, nuts, peanut butter, and beans, which will help transition to lighter plant-based options. Third, make it fun. I have a friend who is vegetarian but always gets upset when there is no vegetarian option on the menu. Getting upset is not healthy. Be flexible and have fun. You can combine a few side dishes for a balanced vegetarian meal in any restaurant. Fourth, if you relapse and have fried chicken, do not beat yourself up, but go back to your plant-based diet.”
Terezie Tolar-Peterson – Department Chair, Faculty Research & Professor – California State University, San Bernardino

“I believe the transition should be gradual. Start by adding more vegetables to your meals – salads are an easy option – and make your snacks fruit or vegetable-based. Then, slowly reduce your intake of meat and fish. Keeping eggs and dairy, especially yogurt, can make the transition easier, but you will need to pay attention to replacing animal proteins with plant-based ones like tofu.”
Kathleen Axen, Ph.D. CDN – Professor; Graduate Deputy Chairperson, MS in Nutrition, Brooklyn College, C.U.N.Y.

What are the most common mistakes people make when following a vegan or vegetarian diet, and how can they avoid them? 

“One of the most common mistakes is not planning sufficiently to replace animal food sources with nutrient-dense alternatives. It is not enough to simply remove animal sources. Those pursuing a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle need to have a plan in hand to ensure satisfaction and satiation.”
Dara W. Ford, Ph.D., RDN, LDN – Program Director, Master of Science in Nutrition Education; Professorial Lecturer, American University

“Most importantly, people should do some initial research about vegetarian and vegan diets. The most common mistake is excluding animal-based products like meat, cheese, eggs, and milk, and eating a diet high in processed food like pastries, pasta, cookies, and crackers. Vegetarian and vegan diets do not just exclude animal protein; they primarily include vegetables. For example, Diet Coke does not contain animal protein but is not part of a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet. Simply excluding animal-based protein can have an adverse effect on health. A vegetarian diet must primarily consist of vegetables and other products like fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds.”
Terezie Tolar-Peterson – Department Chair, Faculty Research & Professor – California State University, San Bernardino