April 20, 2022

LawnStarter Ranks 2022 Best Cities for Gluten-Free Food

LawnStarter compared nearly 200 of the biggest U.S. cities to rank 2022’s Best Cities for Gluten-Free Food. Why? May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month.

LawnStarter looked for cities with highly rated gluten-free dining options, strong local demand, and a supportive community and also rewarded bonus points for easy access to allergy specialists.

Find out which 10 cities rose to the top of our ranking (and which 10 burned to the bottom) below, followed by key insights from our report.

Best Cities for Gluten-Free Food
Rank City
1 New York, NY
2 San Francisco, CA
3 Miami, FL
4 Boston, MA
5 Washington, DC
6 Portland, OR
7 Chicago, IL
8 Orlando, FL
9 Las Vegas, NV
10 Seattle, WA
Worst Cities for Gluten-Free Food
Rank City
190 Midland, TX
191 Paterson, NJ
192 San Bernardino, CA
193 Pomona, CA
194 Miramar, FL
195 Moreno Valley, CA
196 Palmdale, CA
197 Fontana, CA
198 Enterprise, NV
199 Sunrise Manor, NV
 

Highlights and Lowlights:

  • Big (Apple) Appetites: New York brings home the gluten-free gold, taking first place overall as well as in the Demand and Community metrics. With such a diverse crowd to cater to, it’s no wonder New York restaurants are leading the way in allergy-friendly dining.There are plenty of customers hungry for gluten-free options in the Big Apple. New York fared well in every metric apart from Health, meaning there might also be a need for more allergy specialists in NYC.
  • Wheat-Free Northwest: Pacific Northwest cities are ahead of the curve when it comes to allergy-friendly dining.Despite being in one of the highest wheat-producing states, Seattle (No. 10) soared to the top due to abundant Access and high Demand. Meanwhile, Portland landed at No. 6, thanks to fairly high scores overall and the most supportive Community (No. 1).
  • Hungry for More: Some cities in our ranking have room for improvement, particularly in areas with high Demand or a strong Community but low Access. With many gluten-intolerant support groups and the most allergy specialists per capita, a city like Little Rock (No. 23), for example, leaves much to be desired in Access and Quality.Size isn’t an excuse for a populous city like San Antonio (No. 112), which fared poorly in every metric apart from Demand and Community. Similarly, Los Angeles (No. 26) failed to meet the big Demand (No. 2) present in their big city.
  • The full ranking and analysis can be found here.

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