Orlando, Tampa, Miami Good For Vegans, Vegetarians: Study

MIAMI, FL — As vegetable-loving Floridians celebrate World Vegetarian Day Tuesday, a new study ranked Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Hialeah among the top 100 most vegetarian- and vegan-friendly cities in the nation.

The study by personal finance website WalletHub ranked Orlando third, Tampa 10th, Jacksonville 24th, Miami 32nd, St. Pete 74th and Hialeah 76th among the top 100 cities in the nation. World Vegan Day is on Nov. 1.

Wallethub pointed to research that found skipping meat can save the average person at least $750 per year. Fast food giant Burger King even recently began selling meatless whoppers across the U.S. as yet another indication of the popularity of vegetarian diets.

"To determine the best and cheapest places for following a plant-based diet, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 17 key indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness," the website said.

In addition to Orlando and Tampa, other top 10 cities for vegans and vegetarians include Portland topping the list at number one followed by Los Angeles, which ranked second and Seattle in fourth place. Austin, Texas ranked fifth followed by Atlanta; New York; San Francisco and San Diego in ninth place.

The data set ranged from the share of restaurants serving meatless options to the cost of groceries for vegetarians and salad shops per person.

"People choose to adopt plant-based diets for various reasons, some ethical, others health-related," Wallethub editors penned. "According to a 2019 Harris Poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, about 10 million U.S. adults are vegan or vegetarian."

Click here to see the complete findings.