What Are The Best Cities and States for Tacos in the Country?
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…
What’s the best city for tacos in North Carolina? And what about the rest of the country. We got you.
Shutterstock ImageLet'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
