Let’s get this out of the way: No, Fayetteville is not one of the best cities for tacos in the country.

But now that we have you hungry, where ARE the best cities and states to get your favorite Mexican food? Our friends over at Rent.com did the Lord’s work, finding all the best spots for tacos across the United States.

“If you dream of carne asada wrapped in a warm corn tortilla and plan your day around your next tacos al pastor fix, we feel you,” Rent.com said. “This is why we created this list. Taco aficionados like you (and us) deserve to know where you can find the most tempting array of taco options. From longstanding dining institutions to street-side shops that boast James Beard Awards, here are the best places to satisfy your taco cravings.”

The rankings were done based on a number of factors:

“Cities were ranked based on a weighted scoring system using three categories: Mexican restaurants per square mile, Mexican restaurants per capita and as a proportion of all restaurants within the city. All categories were given equal weight. State-level data was calculated using aggregated city-level scores within each state.”

That’s a lot of words to basically say, the best cities for tacos have some obvious stuff: lots of Mexican restaurants!

So let’s start out with the best taco spot in North Carolina, so you know where to head first. And then we’ll take a look at each of the best states for tacos and which city is best within those states (except for Hawaii, Vermont and West Virginia… apparently not enough data in those spots).

Also, to clarify, these are the rankings by state, with the top city in each of those states. Make sense? So North Carolina is No. 13 overall, with Asheville being the best spot in our state.

• 13. North Carolina - Asheville

  

  Asheville comes up tops in North Carolina for tacos.

  Our friends over in the mountains get the top spot in our state, ranking at No. 203 in the United States overall.

  • 0.64 – Tacos Per Density
  • 31.23 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.61% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 1. California - Huntington Park

  Huntington Park is the top city in both the state of California, AND the United States overall.

  • 11.33 – Tacos Per Density
  • 59.12 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 31.78% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 2. Texas - Mission

  • 1.68 – Tacos Per Density
  • 67.59 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 40.14% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 3. Florida - Miami

  • 5.22 – Tacos Per Density
  • 40.17 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 9.11% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 4. Illinois - Cicero

  • 3.83 – Tacos Per Density
  • 28.47 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 29.87% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 5. Washington - Yakima

  • 1.04 – Tacos Per Density
  • 29.9 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 15.73% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 6. Colorado - Commerce City

  • 0.71 – Tacos Per Density
  • 39.78 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 33.80% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 7. New Jersey - Passaic

  • 11.67 – Tacos Per Density
  • 50.21 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 29.91% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 8. Arizona - Tucson

  • 0.84 – Tacos Per Density
  • 34.67 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 15.04% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 9. Massachusetts - Somerville

  • 4.0 – Tacos Per Density
  • 19.67 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 9.76% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 10. Oregon - Medford

  • 0.92 – Tacos Per Density
  • 28.89 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 13.11% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 11. Georgia - Marietta

  

  • 1.96 – Tacos Per Density
  • 73.93 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.54% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 12. Indiana - Hammond

  • 0.61 – Tacos Per Density
  • 18.54 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 14.00% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 13. North Carolina - Asheville

  • 0.64 – Tacos Per Density
  • 31.23 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.61% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 14. Tennessee - Johnson City

  • 0.4 – Tacos Per Density
  • 25.41 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.72% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 15. Utah - Ogden

  • 0.85 – Tacos Per Density
  • 26.2 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 11.68% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 16. Michigan - Wyoming (City...not the state)

  • 0.56 – Tacos Per Density
  • 18.5 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 11.11% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 17. Arkansas - Springdale

  • 0.57 – Tacos Per Density
  • 29.58 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 18.60% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 18. New Mexico - Santa Fe

  • 1.48 – Tacos Per Density
  • 80.3 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 26.36% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 19. Kansas - Kansas City

  • 0.32 – Tacos Per Density
  • 26.15 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 19.90% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 20. Missouri - Springfield

  

  • 0.48 – Tacos Per Density
  • 23.23 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.89% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 21. Iowa - Des Moines

  • 0.49 – Tacos Per Density
  • 18.67 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 12.16% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 22. Nevada - Las Vegas

  • 2.01 – Tacos Per Density
  • 42.07 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 9.09% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 23. Minnesota - Minneapolis

  • 1.39 – Tacos Per Density
  • 17.46 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.67% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 24. Connecticut - Stamford

  • 0.74 – Tacos Per Density
  • 21.6 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 9.36% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 25. Ohio - Lakewood

  • 1.17 – Tacos Per Density
  • 14.09 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.97% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 26. Virginia - Alexandria

  • 2.47 – Tacos Per Density
  • 23.21 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.58% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 27. New York - Hempstead

  • 2.5 – Tacos Per Density
  • 18.14 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 9.90% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 28. Wisconsin - Racine

  • 0.8 – Tacos Per Density
  • 15.63 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 10.00% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 29. Alabama - Decatur

  • 0.2 – Tacos Per Density
  • 20.2 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.53% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 30. Louisiana - Kenner

  

  • 1.33 – Tacos Per Density
  • 30.15 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 15.75% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 31. Pennsylvania - Reading

  • 2.5 – Tacos Per Density
  • 28.29 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 9.88% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 32. Oklahoma - Tulsa

  • 0.41 – Tacos Per Density
  • 19.94 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.78% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 33. South Carolina - Greenville

  • 1.24 – Tacos Per Density
  • 50.97 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 6.84% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 34. Maryland - Gaithersburg

  • 3.2 – Tacos Per Density
  • 47.07 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 14.10% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 35. Idaho - Idaho Falls

  • 0.68 – Tacos Per Density
  • 23.85 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 10.95% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 36. Nebraska - Omaha

  • 0.55 – Tacos Per Density
  • 14.64 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.75% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 37. Montana - Great Falls

  • 0.45 – Tacos Per Density
  • 17.11 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.70% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 38. Kentucky - Bowling Green

  • 0.32 – Tacos Per Density
  • 17.01 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 5.43% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 39. Rhode Island - Providence

  • 1.61 – Tacos Per Density
  • 16.12 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 8.55% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 40. Delaware - Wilmington

  

  • 2.45 – Tacos Per Density
  • 38.48 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.16% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 41. North Dakota - Fargo

  • 0.35 – Tacos Per Density
  • 13.64 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 7.39% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 42. New Hampshire - Nashua

  • 0.42 – Tacos Per Density
  • 14.55 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 5.83% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 43. Wyoming - Cheyenne

  • 0.36 – Tacos Per Density
  • 14.01 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 6.87% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 44. Mississippi - Southaven

  • 0.17 – Tacos Per Density
  • 12.55 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 5.83% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 45. South Dakota - Sioux Falls

  • 0.19 – Tacos Per Density
  • 7.62 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 4.29% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 46. Maine - Portland

  • 0.48 – Tacos Per Density
  • 15.1 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 4.69% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

• 47. Alaska - Anchorage

  • 0.02 – Tacos Per Density
  • 11.46 – Tacos Per Capita
  • 6.92% – Proportion of Taco Restaurants

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