Houstonians have a lot of pride for their city's diverse food scene and its wealth of culinary all-stars, but a new report has declared Houston's food scene apparently doesn't stack up among the top 10 best U.S. cities for foodies.

Houston claimed the No. 13 spot in WalletHub's just-released study comparing the "Best Foodie Cities in America."

To determine the rankings, analysts compared 182 U.S. cities across two key dimensions — "affordability" and "diversity, accessibility, and quality" — using 28 relevant metrics, such as the cost of groceries; the number of restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores, cooking schools, and others; restaurant diversity and ratings; and more.

The top five best foodie cities in America, according to WalletHub, are: Miami (No. 1); Portland, Oregon (No. 2); San Francisco (No. 3); Seattle (No. 4); and Austin (No. 5). The study comes to some surprising conclusions, as top culinary destinations such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are outside the top 10 in favor of places like Tampa, Florida and Denver.

Houston's food scene ranked 18th in the national diversity, accessibility, and quality category, which examined the prevalence of certain dining establishments, the diversity of restaurant cuisine, and restaurant growth.

The local food scene ranked 24th in the national category for affordability, which prioritized the accessibility and affordability of high-quality restaurants, the costs for groceries and restaurant meals, sales and food taxes, and the average price for beer and wine.

People who consider themselves foodies don't have to limit themselves to a local restaurant scene, the report's author says. Foodies can discover new flavors and cuisines "wherever they can find them," including exploring in their own kitchens, checking out a food festival, or visiting "less prominent establishments" like food trucks.

"For these culinary enthusiasts, the experience of eating is elevated to a hobby or even a lifestyle," the report said. "While being a foodie can be quite expensive, culinary hotspots across the U.S. offer plenty of affordable and delicious options. These wallet-friendly cities cater to diners who prefer to cook at home, explore the local flavors, or both."

The Houston metro has been a hotbed for restaurant debuts and reopenings this year, including a lavishly renovated Chinese buffet, the return of two staple Mexican eateries, a new Brazilian steakhouse in Katy, a tequila-focused upscale Mexican restaurant opening in Cypress, and a new chic Italian eatery in The Woodlands, among others. And there's more new concepts coming to Houston later this year or in 2027. In addition, Houston restaurants took home two 2026 James Beard Awards and the state's only Food & Wine Best New Chef award.

Top foodie cities across Texas
Austin was the only Texas city to star among the top 10 best foodie cities nationwide. Austin's food scene ranked 11th in the national diversity, accessibility, and quality category, and it ranked 15th in the national category for affordability.

San Antonio, however, had the 2nd most affordable local foodie scene in the nation, but WalletHub claimed its culinary diversity, accessibility, and quality (No. 30) lacked in comparison. The combined rankings, plus additional factors analyzed by WalletHub, resulted in San Antonio being declared the 18th best foodie city in the U.S.

Dallas' food scene suffered a tumble to the 36th spot overall this year after ranking as the 25th best foodie city in 2025, but Fort Worth made a leap from No. 89 last year to No. 74 in 2026. Fort Worth was also ranked the ninth cheapest foodie city in the U.S.

The local food scenes in the suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth leave much to be desired, according to the report. Out of all 182 U.S. cities, Plano (No. 94) was the only suburb that ranked among the top 100, which left out Arlington (No. 118), Garland (No. 120), Irving (No. 128), and Grand Prairie (No. 160).

The top 10 best foodie cities in America for 2026 are:

• No. 1 – Miami, Florida
• No. 2 – Portland, Oregon
• No. 3 – San Francisco, California
• No. 4 – Seattle, Washington
• No. 5 – Austin, Texas
• No. 6 – Orlando, Florida
• No. 7 – Tampa, Florida
• No. 8 – Las Vegas, Nevada
• No. 9 – Sacramento, California
• No. 10 – Denver, Colorado