America's Best and Worst Foodie Cities

Orlando, FL, best known as the East Coast’s theme park mecca, rates as the number one city for foodies, according to WalletHub’s recent 2016 Best & Worst Foodie Cities report. The worst foodie destination: North Las Vegas, NV.

Instead of ranking locales by the number of pricey restaurants helmed by noted chefs, WalletHub, a personal finance website, compares the 150 most populated U.S. cities by assessing food affordability as well as diversity, accessibility, and quality.

For foodies, it’s not just about gourmet meals at expensive restaurants, although these are carefully researched and reserved in advance. As any traveler knows, memorable bites and fun moments can happen in many food settings. While visitors count on the special, reserve-in-advance meal to be exceptional, the lunch at a local pub that serves a delectable roast beef sandwich and 15 craft brews is an unexpected, budget-friendly find.

WalletHub crunches its numbers to account for a variety of food settings, including food trucks, farmers markets, ice cream and frozen yogurt shops, food festivals, specialty grocery stores, and cooking schools.

Looking to hone your skills in the kitchen on your next vacations? Then, consider San Francisco, which has the most cooking schools per 100,000 residents, 6.36, a number that is 28 times more than the .022 generated by Raleigh, NC, the city with the fewest cooking schools.

Do you like to stretch your meal budget without assaulting your taste buds by buying good food to go? Then think about Miami, the city with the most gourmet specialty-food stores per 100,000 residents, 117.46, or 14.5 times more than Gilbert, AZ, the city with the fewest at 8.08.

If you crave myriad options for dinner, then you won’t be disappointed by Orlando, FL, which has the most restaurants per 100,000 residents, 1,176.38, or 9.8 times more eateries than Santa Clarita, CA, which has the fewest, coming in at 120.09 per 100,000 residents.

For WalletHub's breakdown of the Top 15 Best and Worst Foodie Cities, click to the next page.

WalletHub’s Top 15 Best Foodie Cities

Orlando, FL, 79.68 total score out of 100

Portland, OR, 73.48

Miami, FL, 72.60

Tampa, FL, 70.37

San Francisco, CA, 69.95

Cincinnati, OH, 69.95

St. Louis, MO, 67

Salt Lake City, UT, 64.79

Richmond, VA, 64.60

Seattle, WA, 64.09

Rochester, NY, 63.66

Fort Lauderdale, FL, 63.19

Pittsburgh, PA, 63

Atlanta, GA, 62.66

Las Vegas, NV 62.25

WalletHub’s 15 Worst Foodie Cities

North Las Vegas, NV, 27.57 total score out of 100

Moreno Valley, CA, 28.63

Grand Prairie, TX, 29.54

Montgomery, AL, 29.70

Fontana, CA, 29.70

Aurora, IL, 29.74

San Bernardino, CA, 30.54

Jackson, MS, 31.76

Fayetteville, NC, 32.66

Garland, TX, 32.75

Port St. Lucie, FL, 33.14

Columbus, GA, 33.49

Yonkers, NY, 33.58

Shreveport, LA, 33.67

Henderson, NV, 33.78