Phoenix cracks top 20 in national ranking of vegetarian-friendly cities

Phoenix ranks 20th among the nation’s 100 largest cities for vegans and vegetarians, according to a new study.

Personal finance website WalletHub, which released the ranking Tuesday, scored cities on 17 measures across three categories: affordability; diversity, accessibility, quality and vegetarian lifestyle.

Phoenix placed 15th for diversity, accessibility and quality and 43rd for affordability. It ranked 83rd for vegetarian lifestyle, a category that includes vegan meetups, festivals and how often residents order meatless meals.

How did other Arizona cities fare in the vegetarian rankings?

After Phoenix, Chandler ranked 25th, Tucson 31st, Scottsdale 43rd, Mesa 49th, Glendale 67th and Gilbert 73rd.

Scottsdale tied with Anchorage, Alaska, for the highest share of restaurants offering vegetarian options. Chandler and Mesa were among Arizona’s most affordable vegetarian hotspots.

Portland, Oregon, topped the national ranking with Los Angeles and Austin, Texas rounding out the top three.

WalletHub estimates about 5% of U.S. adults, or roughly 13.3 million people, are vegetarian, including vegans.

“With meat prices rising significantly faster than vegetable prices, too, we may see a lot more people taking a foray into a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle in the near future,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst.

The study used data collected as of Aug. 25 from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Yelp and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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