Milwaukee Is America's 2nd Most Affordable 'Foodie' City: Report

WISCONSIN — Two cities in the Badger State recently earned spots on WalletHub's ranking of the best "Foodie Cities" in the United States.

The term "foodie" has a multi-layered meaning, the personal finance website wrote. While people may use it to describe people who love gourmet dining, WalletHub points out that "foodie culture isn't limited to restaurants."

Foodies like to discover new and unique flavors wherever they can, WalletHub said, whether it is in their kitchen, at a street food stall or just a less prominent eatery.

Two cities from Wisconsin made the list, Milwaukee and Madison. Milwaukee ranked particularly high on affordability, especially important as restaurant prices have been on the rise, not to mention grocery prices, as WalletHub pointed out.

“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 the Badger State, Milwaukee was ranked overall at No. 24, with a total score of 55. Milwaukee ranked at No. 2 for affordability, just behind Billings, Montana.

When it came to diversity, accessibility and quality, Wallethub ranked Milwaukee at No. 41.

Madison came in at No. 67 on the list with 47.74 points overall. The city came in at No. 83 for affordability and No. 62 for diversity, accessibility and quality.

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.

You can find the full ranking at WalletHub's website.