Best BBQ Cities: 2 MD Towns Served On National Ranking

MARYLAND — Charred hot dogs, saucy ribs and juicy burgers permeate the air during summer - especially in one of the 2024 Best BBQ Cities in America. While Kansas City was ranked No. 1 in the nation for barbecue, two Maryland cities also made the rankings.

LawnStarter, a lawn care blog, dished out 500 of the nation's best barbecue towns based on five categories: access to barbecue vendors and smokehouses, consumer ratings, competition awards, the number of barbecue festivals and elite barbecue memberships.

While Kansas City, Missouri, may have taken the prime spot on LawnStarter's latest ranking, Baltimore slid in at No. 47 and cemented its position as one of the country's top 50 areas for barbecue.

Baltimore ranked as follows:

• Access: 37
• Consumer Satisfaction: 11
• Competition Awards: 107
• Elite BBQ Memberships: 152
• Hosting: 79

In Maryland, these towns ranked among the best in the Mid-Atlantic State:

• Baltimore: No. 47, overall score of 17.63
• Frederick: No. 342, overall score of 6.96

West Coast town Los Angeles, California, rounded out the top 5 and was listed as one of the three cities with the best barbecue vendors and high consumer satisfaction. The remaining two cities were San Antonio, Texas, and Houston, Texas.

Here's the top 10 Best BBQ Cities in America and their overall scores:

1. Kansas City, Missouri: 55.13
2. Memphis, Tennessee: 47.74
3. Houston, Texas: 43.95
4. Kansas City, Kansas: 37.98
5. Los Angeles, California: 36.2
6. St. Louis, Missouri: 36.06
7. Austin, Texas: 35.92
8. San Antonio, Texas: 34.66
9. Chicago, Illinois: 34.1
10. New York, New York: 31.69

See the full list and the methodology here.

Related:

• Best Barbecue Joint In MD Named By Southern Living Magazine
• 35 MD Restaurants Earn 2022 Wine Spectator Awards