In the U.S. around 18 million American adults consider themselves vegan or vegetarian. While a plant based diet can be challenging at restaurants and more rural grocery stores the explosion of plant based options at both is quickly becoming available everywhere.

Even fast food chains are on board more and more with items like Sofritas at Chipotle and The Impossible Whopper at Burger which has become a permanent menu item after an initial test run in 2019 saw it later added to the menu Nationwide from the success.

Most recently McDonald’s in Canada has launched it’s McVeggie nationally and may be eying the U.S. for a test run of the sandwich.

With meat prices skyrocketing year after year when compared to fruits, veggies, and many plant based alternatives some Americans are beginning to add plant based meals and alternatives to their diets.

WalletHub put out the 100 best cities to be vegan or vegetarians saying:

“To determine the best and cheapest places for a plant-based diet, WalletHub compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across 17 key indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness. 

We examined each city based on such metrics as the cost of groceries for vegetarians, the share of restaurants serving meatless options and salad shops per capita.”

It’s no surprise that Portland, Oregon would be in the number one spot given all the firsts in veganism and plant based foods the city has had. The first all vegan food court, strip club, grocery store and more in the U.S. all happened there, and yes even the strippers were vegan.

“Portland is the best city for vegans and vegetarians in 2025, and its residents eat this type of food 148% more often than the U.S. average. In addition, the city also has the second-highest number of affordable restaurants with vegan and vegetarian options that have at least 4.5 stars on Yelp,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo. 

“Portland also has the ninth-most farmers markets, third-most organic farms, fourth-most community gardens and fourth-most vegetable nurseries and gardening shops per capita. 

While vegetarians and vegans are still a relatively small share of the population, businesses are recognizing their impact on their market. Just look at businesses like McDonald’s and Burger King incorporating Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers into their menus, for example. 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.” 

Lupo also added:

“While vegetarians and vegans are still a relatively small share of the population, businesses are recognizing their impact on their market. Just look at businesses like McDonald’s and Burger King incorporating Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers into their menus, for example. 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.”

The other 9 cities are also no surprise with number two being Los Angeles followed by; Austin, San Fransisco, Oakland, Phoenix, Miami, Seattle, Orlando, and Madison Wisconsin being the only surprise at number ten.

San Fransisco was named America’s Most Vegan Friendly City in 2019 as well.