This Valley city rated by far as Arizona’s best for vegetarians, vegans

PHOENIX – Tuesday is World Vegetarian Day, a good time to look at how friendly Arizona cities are to people who prefer a plant-based lifestyle.

One Phoenix-area city stands out from the state crowd when it comes to meat-free living.

Scottsdale was far and away Arizona’s top city on WalletHub’s 2019 list of the best places for vegans and vegetarians, which was released Monday.

The personal finance website placed Scottsdale at No. 11 on the list, more than 30 spots higher than any other Arizona municipality.

Happy almost #WorldVegatarianDay and #WorldVeganDay! Considering a #vegan or #vegetarian lifestyle? Your best shot at a plant-based diet is in one of these cities: https://t.co/e44bHhOf1g pic.twitter.com/gCPkt7JKFf

— WalletHub (@wallethub) September 30, 2019

To compile its list for the 100 most populated U.S. cities, WalletHub compared 17 metrics broken down into three main categories: affordability; diversity, accessibility and quality; and vegetarian lifestyle.

Scottsdale’s best showing was in the vegetarian lifestyle category, where it ranked seventh.

As for individual metrics, Scottsdale was No. 1 in two areas: highest percentage of restaurants with vegetarian options (20.1%) and highest percentage of restaurants with vegan options (11.2%).

Five other Valley cities were lumped near the middle of the rankings: No. 43 Mesa, No. 45 Phoenix, No. 50 Gilbert, No. 51 Chandler and No. 62 Glendale. Tucson, at No. 66, was the only other Arizona city large enough to be included.

Mesa outpaced its area neighbors on the strength of a No. 9 ranking in the affordability category.

Although Gilbert was smack dab in the middle of the national rankings, it was among the worst in the metric of vegetable nurseries per capita at No. 97.

Portland, Oregon, was deemed the country’s best city for vegetarian and vegan living, while El Paso upheld Texas’ reputation as a haven for meat eaters by finishing at the bottom of the list.

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