CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland's culinary scene has boomed in recent years, with burgeoning pockets of development from downtown to Pinecrest in Orange Village to Van Aken District in Shaker Heights and beyond.
WalletHub, the personal-finance website that breaks down assorted livability topics from sports to cost of living and more, uses a multitude of variables for its rankings. For its analysis of best foodie cities in America, it looked at "foodie-friendliness" factors like grocery cost, affordability, accessibility of high-quality restaurants, taxes, beer and wine prices, food trucks, farmers markets, food festivals per capita and more.
Cleveland ranks 30th overall. The city ranked 45th in affordability and 34th in diversity, accessibility and quality.
Here are the other Ohio cities' overall rankings:
24. Cincinnati
27. Columbus
128. Akron
135. Toledo
Among the findings:
• Portland, Oregon, finished first overall.
• New York City, which finished second overall, came in first in the diversity, accessibility and quality ranking but 175th in affordability.
• San Antonio, which finished 23rd overall, came in first in affordability.
• Pearl City, Hawaii, finished dead last overall, at 182nd.
• Chicago ranked ninth overall and was the only Midwestern city in the top 20. No Midwestern city was in the bottom 20, either.
Here is the full list, with methodology explained.