4 WA Cities Among America’s Best For Foodies In New Ranking

SEATTLE — Four Washington cities with unforgettable eats got a nod on a new “2022’s Best Foodie Cities in America” list, ranking in the top 10, top 30 and top 100 for places with unique and tasty eats across the U.S.

The term “foodie” means different things to different people. Without going into all the things being a foodie can mean, one of the things it doesn’t mean is that you’ll go broke sampling great food, according to the personal finance company WalletHub, which made affordability one of the key measures in its comparison of 180 U.S. cities.

“These wallet-friendly cities cater to diners who prefer to cook at home, explore the local flavors or both,” the site said, explaining its methodology took into account the cost of groceries, the affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants, and food festivals per capita.

In Washington, Seattle cracked the top 10, placing 7th overall and just a couple of spots back from San Francisco and Austin. Perennial rival Portland ranked first in the nation.

Other Washington cities ranked were:

• Vancouver, Wash. (No. 26)
• Spokane, Wash. (No. 72)
• Tacoma (No. 93)

To rank cities, WalletHub considered the cost of groceries, wine and alcohol; restaurants per capita; the ratio of full-service and fast-food restaurants; the number of ice cream and frozen yogurt shops per capita; the number of craft breweries and wineries per capita; the number of coffee shops per capita; and the number of gourmet or specialty food stores per capita.

While the Emerald City's total score landed it near the head of the pack, it placed closer to the bottom on affordability, including having one of the nation's highest average prices for beer and wine, according to WalletHub. When it comes to craft breweries and wineries per capita, Seattle was in a five-way tie for first place.

Spokane, meanwhile, boasts some of the nation's most coffee shops per capita.

>> Check out the full report via WalletHub.