This Vibrant Gem Out West Is America's Best City For Vegans And Vegetarians In 2025

Vegetarianism and veganism are no longer on the fringes of American food culture. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reported that around 16 to 20 million Americans follow this culinary lifestyle, while plant-forward diets like "climatarianism" — where the focus is on eating the least carbon-intensive foods — have gained traction in recent years. This has caused a surge in the number of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the U.S., which has been a boon to travelers seeking great plant-based eats. The days of vegetarians going out for dinner and having to settle for a plate of fries or a side salad in lieu of a proper meal are gone — especially if your visiting Portland, Oregon, America's best city for vegans and vegetarians.

According to research by WalletHub, Portland, a trendy city that's also the coffee capital of America and has the distinction of being America's quietest city, came out on top because of the diversity and quality of its herbivore-friendly restaurants and how amenable it is to vegan and vegetarian lifestyles. It's little surprise, then, that Portlanders order vegetable-forward cuisine 148% more often than the national average and that plant-based travelers go there explicitly for the food. 

For its research, WalletHub compared the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. across 17 categories, including the cost of groceries, average price of a veggie meal, accessibility and quality of vegetable-forward restaurants, access to farmers markets and vegetable nurseries, and availability of vegan/vegetarian festivals. Other popular travel destinations on the West Coast dominated the top five spots with Los Angeles in second place, San Francisco fourth, and Oakland fifth, while Austin, TX, came in third. Languishing at the bottom of the table was Anchorage, Alaska, where vegetarian food is both hard to come by and expensive.

Portland may not be the most budget-friendly city on the list — in fact, it ranked 51st for affordability — but it still caters to vegetarian/vegan travelers. It has a plethora of highly rated restaurants serving vegan and vegetarian food, including popular brunch spots Harlow and Off the Griddle, both of which average 4.5 stars or higher on Google reviews. Herbivores also benefit from the city's plant-focused fine dining scene. Whether it's an elegant botanical tasting menu at Astera or earthy flavors and craft cocktails at Feral, in Portland you'll find many special occasion menus sourced from local farmers and foragers. An evening spent in one of these haunts is a worthwhile addition to your itinerary. 

Veggie-loving visitors shouldn't miss the farmers markets featuring local produce and plant-based foods cooked fresh on site. One of the largest is the Portland State University Farmers Market which runs every Saturday year round with up to 100 stalls selling high-quality produce. Other marketplaces, like the King Farmers Market and Lents International Farmers Market, feature seasonal produce every Sunday from early summer to mid-autumn. Portland provides a platform for farm-to-table eating at home too, giving resident vegans and vegetarians easy access to organic farms, allotments, and vegetable nurseries throughout the city.

Portland's vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness might still fall short of the large urban centers of India, the "world's most vegetarian country," but if you're a plant-focused eater traveling in the U.S., there's no better city to fill your boots in. As far back as 2017, Portland Monthly averred that vegans had conquered the city. And as 2026 approaches, the dining scene still feels well under their command.