Miami has been named the best foodie city in America

WalletHub is on a roll, churning out study after study on big cities across the country in the hopes of helping citizens make wise financial decisions (and driving traffic to their website, we can only assume). Last week, their analysts dubbed Miami one of the country’s best cities for plant-based eaters and also crowned us among the best cities to retire in. 

We could get on board with those claims, but has today’s ranking gone a touch too far? After crunching numbers on things like the cost of groceries, the affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants and the number of food festivals per capita, WalletHub has dubbed Miami the top city for foodies in all of the United States.

Miami’s food scene has come a long way in the last decade and we’re thrilled to be covering it at such an exciting moment. But even with our abundance of local gems, James Beard-awarded chefs and Michelin-recognized spots, it’s still hard to wrap our heads around this one. I mean, Tampa’s slotted in at No. 5 and New York and Chicago didn’t even crack the top 10! So what exactly is going on here? 

The biggest factor pushing us to the top of the list is the fact that Miami has the most restaurants per capita, according to the study. From this angle, we start to get it. (Just look how many hotly anticipated restaurants are opening up in Miami this season alone.) Here’s what else WalletHub had to say about its top city for foodies:

Miami is the best city for foodies, leading the country when it comes to the availability of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars out of 5. It also has an extremely high number of restaurants per capita.

In addition to having a lot of dining establishments, Miami also has high-quality choices. The city has the 12th-most diversity when it comes to the types of restaurants available, and the 13th-best ratio of full-service restaurants to fast-food chains. On top of that, foodies who want to partake in fine dining can choose from 14 Michelin-starred restaurants. One of them, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, even has two Michelin stars.

Finally, Miami is a great place for foodies who enjoy cooking at home. It has the third-most farmers’ markets, ninth-most gourmet specialty food stores, second-most butcher shops and most kitchen supply stores per capita.

OK, we’re blushing! But it’s true: Our year-round Miami farmer's markets are fabulous and our jam-packed guide to the city’s best restaurants is a testament to the quality and diversity of our flourishing culinary scene. I’m not sure we’d be able to claim this title with a straight face to say, a New Yorker. But we’re confident Miami could stand up to any other big city when it comes to our food.

LOOKING FOR PROOF? The 39 best restaurants in Miami to book right now

In order to determine the country’s best foodie scenes, WalletHub compared 182 cities—including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state—across two key dimensions, “Affordability” and “Diversity, Accessibility & Quality,” which comprised 28 relevant metrics. You can read more about the methodology and how other cities stacked up by perusing the full WalletHub study here. Below, browse the top 20 cities.

DON'T MISS: The annual South Beach Seafood Festival returns this October