I know a handful of people in the Charlotte area who are vegan or vegetarian. And have some other friends that enjoy eating that way even if it’s not a full lifestyle choice. Personally, it’s not for me, but I respect people who choose that route for whatever that reason may be. And while restaurants across the country are overall becoming more friendly to dietary restrictions, it can still be hard to keep up a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. This is why our friends at WalletHub conducted research to determine the best and worst places to be vegetarian in the US. And of all the cities they looked at it was a North Carolina city that ranked the worst for vegetarian friendliness.
According to WalletHub, around 15.5 million U.S. adults are vegan or vegetarian. That is a significant portion of the country. Even still, it can be hard to find unique and interesting plant-based options on the menu or at a grocery store. And the last thing vegetarians want is to only have the option of ordering a salad. Overall 5 North Carolina cities were included on this list, and all five ranked in the bottom half of this list. To create these rankings WalletHub “compared the 100 most populated cities across three key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Diversity, Accessibility & Quality and 3) Vegetarian Lifestyle.”
More specifically they looked st the cost of groceries for vegetarians, the share of restaurants serving meatless options, and salad shops per capita. Unfortunately, North Carolina isn’t doing well when it comes to vegetarian friendliness. I do have to shout of South Carolina who this week had the number one ranked restaurant for vegetarians in the country from TripAdvisor. You can read the full WalletHub list and methodology here. Or keep reading to see where the 5 largest North Carolina cities ranked for vegetarian friendliness.
52. Charlotte
Total Score: 42.98
Affordability: 73
Diversity, Accessibility, & Quality: 31
Vegetarian Lifestyle: 22
While still in the bottom half of all the cities included, Charlotte is the best place in North Carolina for vegans/vegetarians. With so many food options, and people I’m a little shocked it didn’t rank higher.
56. Raleigh
Total Score: 42.36
Affordability: 67
Diversity, Accessibility, & Quality: 52
Vegetarian Lifestyle: 55
Raleigh is the second-best option for vegans/vegetarians in North Carolina. For such a large city I’m surprised it didn’t rank higher.
82. Durham
Total Score: 38.00
Affordability: 80
Diversity, Accessibility, & Quality: 68
Vegetarian Lifestyle: 14
Durham had a high vegetarian lifestyle score which means there are a lot of people consuming those options. Durham had the highest score in that field in the state!
84. Winston-Salem, NC
Total Score: 37.74
Affordability: 72
Diversity, Accessibility, & Quality: 70
Vegetarian Lifestyle: 92
Winston-Salem ranked 84th on this list. With a low lifestyle score that means there aren’t a lot of people taking advantage of vegan options in the area.
100. Greensboro
Total Score: 33.31
Affordability: 56
Diversity, Accessibility, & Quality: 62
Vegetarian Lifestyle: 94
And the worst of the worst when it comes to vegan/vegetarian friendliness? Greensboro. A low vegetarian lifestyle score brought Greensboro’s score down to the lowest.
