Map Reveals Top 20 Cities for Plant-Based Eating

Portland has been crowned the friendliest city in the United States for people following a plant-based diet, according to a recent report. Buycycle, an online marketplace for pre-owned bicycles, used data from HappyCow, a website that lists vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and compared it with the number of people living in each U.S. city to help fully-fledged vegans, seasoned vegetarians and those taking on the Veganuary challenge alike. Buycycle found that Portland, Oregon had the most offerings for plant-based eating, with more than one vegetarian or vegan restaurant for every thousand Portland resident: 639 listings in a city of 623,000. Las Vegas, Nevada came second with 507 vegetarian and vegan restaurants per its 665,000 residents—although it may not have fared so well if the report had taken tourists into account. Meanwhile, San Francisco, California was third with 593 restaurants for 788,000 people; Seattle, Washington was fourth with 571 restaurants for a city of 760,000 people; and Atlanta, Georgia came in fifth with 366 plant-based eateries for 514,000 residents. "Population size played a significant role in the rankings," a spokesperson for Buycycle told Newsweek. "Cities with larger populations but fewer plant-based restaurant options were ranked lower due to a lower density of listings." Washington D.C. was sixth with 420 vegetarian and vegan restaurants per its population of 682,000 people, followed by Denver, Colorado in seventh, Tampa, Florida in eighth, Miami, Florida in ninth and Minneapolis, Minnesota in tenth place with 222 plant-based restaurants per its population of 423,000 residents. In 11th to 15th places were Austin, Texas, with 506 plant-based restaurants per 984,000 residents; Boston, Massachusetts with 326 per 647,000; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with 348 per 709,000; Oakland, California with 199 per 435,000; and San Diego with 619 restaurants per 1.4 million residents. San Diego may have had a lot of plant-based restaurants, but not compared to its huge population size. The spokesperson explained: "Cities with a high population but less robust plant-based dining scenes didn't perform as well compared to smaller cities with a higher concentration of vegan-friendly options." They added that many restaurants had mixed menus, with both plant-based and animal-food dishes, but these did not count towards the cities' scores. Tuscon, Arizona was 16th, followed by Sacramento, California in 17th, Baltimore, Maryland in 18th, Raleigh, North Carolina in 19th and Kansas City, Kansas in 20th. A spokesperson for Veganuary previously told Newsweek: "Last year, around 25 million people took part in Veganuary globally and 2025 is set to be even bigger." Do you have a tip on a food story that Newsweek should be covering? Is there a nutrition concern that's worrying you? Let us know via science@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.