What Are the Best Cities for Vegetarians to Live and Visit?

As any vegan or vegetarian knows, finding good places to eat can be difficult. This has a massive impact when you're thinking about travelling or even relocating because not all areas cater to non meat eaters. We were really interested to find out what cities are the best for vegetarians to visit and live in. Can you guess which cities are most suitable for vegetarians?

 

What Are the Best Cities for Vegetarians to Live and Visit?

Data shows the best cities for vegetarians to live and visit, considering factors such as the price of fruits, vegetables and plant-based protein products, as well as the number and quality of restaurants catering for vegetarian choices.
 

• London is the highest ranking city in the index, scoring strongly for the affordability of fruits and vegetables and its number of vegetarian-friendly restaurants. Berlin and Munich rank second and third. Glasgow ranks fifth, with Bristol in ninth
• Edinburgh has the most vegetarian-friendly restaurants per population, followed by Munich and

●     Taipei tops the list for the average rating of its top 10 vegetarian restaurants, beating Detroit and Tokyo.

• London ranks #1 for vegetarian festivals and events, ahead of New York and Chicago.

●     UK cities rank highly for the percentage of vegan-friendly restaurants: Edinburgh ranks second out of 75 cities, with Bristol third, Glasgow fourth and Manchester eighth.

Berlin, Germany, May, 2021 - On-demand housing platform Nestpick.com has released a study on which global cities are most vegetarian-friendly. In response to the global rise in vegetarianism, the team at Nestpick conducted the study to shed light on the evolving lifestyle needs of people looking to relocate.

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As a company helping new arrivals settle in, they were aware of the difficulties vegetarians often have to face to maintain their nutritional lifestyles in new cities. Nestpick therefore wanted to identify which cities cater best for this group by analysing the cost of being a vegetarian in each location, as well as comparing the availability of vegetarian-specific restaurants and events.

 How the study was conducted:
 
The study began by considering over 200 global cities, across all continents, that are popular for relocation and have a good reputation with vegetarians. Cities were removed where comparable data could not be obtained, resulting in an index of 75 of the most vegetarian-friendly cities. Nestpick then considered which factors are most important for vegetarians to live a happy and healthy life.

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The first factor they assessed was the affordability of maintaining a balanced vegetarian diet in each city. To do this, they looked into the price of fruits, vegetables and plant-based protein products, factoring in purchase parity and relative affordability for local residents. They then considered the cost of eating out, calculating the number of affordable vegetarian-friendly restaurants in every city as a share of all restaurants.

Next, the study turned to the robustness of the vegetarian ecosystem in each city. For this, they looked at the availability and quality of vegetarian-friendly restaurants, including the total number per population and average rank of the top 10 vegetarian-friendly restaurants in every city. Restaurants were hit particularly hard during the pandemic, but the study was still able to assess the number and quality of each city’s offering as key indicators. They also calculated the percentage of all restaurants which are vegetarian-friendly and vegan-friendly. Finally, they studied the number of vegetarian events and festivals in each location as markers of how active and established the vegetarian community is.
 
The total score takes into consideration all of these data points to determine which cities best facilitate a vegetarian lifestyle.
 

The Top 10 Best Cities for Vegetarians to Live and Visit

 
The table below reveals a sample of results for the top 10 cities with the highest scores out of the 75 cities in the index. All scores are out of 100, with 100 being the highest possible score, and 10 being the lowest.
 
Note: A total score of 100 does not mean a city is perfect for a particular factor and therefore has no room for improvement, but rather means that that city is the best in this factor in comparison to the other 74 cities included.
 

The Top 10 Cities for Vegetarians
City	Score
1. London	100.00
2. Berlin	98.79
3. Munich	97.16
4. Vienna	97.00
5. Glasgow	96.84
6. Zurich	96.80
7. Palma de Mallorca	96.75
8. Los Angeles	96.60
9. Bristol	96.40
10. San Francisco	96.21

 
N.B. This is a sample of the full results, which you can find here: https://www.nestpick.com/vegetarian-cities-index/
 

 
The tables below reveal a sample of results for the cities with the best combined score for their top 10 vegetarian restaurants (average rank) and those with the highest number of vegetarian-friendly restaurants:
 

Average Rank of Top 10 Vegetarian Restaurants			Number of Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants
City	Score		City	Score
1. Taipei	100.0		1. London	100.0
2. Detroit	96.44		2. Rome	98.81
3. Tokyo	94.84		3. Ubud	98.80
4. Auckland	93.60		4. Amsterdam	97.27
5. Gothenburg	93.42		5. Berlin	96.72
6. Cape Town	92.71		6. Milan	96.56
7. Oklahoma City	90.57		7. Edinburgh	96.38
8. Vienna	90.40		8. Paris	96.06
9. Johannesburg	90.40		9. Barcelona	95.96
10. Chennai	89.86		10. Dubai	95.37

 
 

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The Most Affordable Cities for Vegetarians to Live and Visit

 

The following tables represent the most affordable cities in terms of local fruit and vegetable prices, and local plant-based protein products, both expressed as a percentage deviation from the study median. All percentages factor in purchase parity and relative affordability for local residents:
 

City   1.     Ghent 2.     Tel Aviv 3.     Edinburgh 4.     Barcelona 5.     Palma de Mallorca 6.     Glasgow 7.     Manchester 8.     Houston 9.     Madrid 10.  Dallas

%   -35.30 -34.94 -31.44 -27.35 -26.95 -23.01 -22.60 -20.76 -20.53 -19.87

City   1.     Denver 2.     Detroit 3.     Houston 4.     Tel Aviv 5.     Melbourne 6.     Sydney 7.     Los Angeles 8.     Ghent 9.     Boston 10.  Minneapolis

%   -37.22 -36.03 -35.78 -34.08 -29.60 -28.91 -28.41 -26.06 -24.63 -24.16

 

The Best Cities for Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants

The tables below reveal a sample of results for the cities with the highest percentage of vegetarian-friendly and vegan-friendly restaurants. Both datasets are taken as a percentage of the total restaurants in each city:
 

Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants (% of All Restaurants)			Vegan-Friendly Restaurants (% of All Restaurants)
City	%		City	%
1. Edinburgh	50.32		1. Ubud	38.40
2. Munich	49.90		2. Edinburgh	33.46
3. Ubud	48.46		3. Bristol	26.79
4. Zurich	48.44		4. Glasgow	25.47
5. Amsterdam	43.52		5. Tel Aviv	24.34
6. Bristol	43.18		6. Wellington	24.21
7. Vienna	42.30		7. Dublin	22.03
8. Glasgow	40.72		8. Manchester	21.58
9. Hamburg	40.16		9. Amsterdam	21.52
10. Ghent	39.73		10. London	19.56

 
 
The tables below reveal a sample of results for the cities with the highest number of affordable restaurants as a share of all vegetarian restaurants, and the number of vegetarian- and vegan-themed events and festivals, adjusted for population in each city:
 

City	Score		City	Score
1. Chiang Mai	100.0		1. London	100.0
2. Ubud	99.37		2. New York	97.83
3. Bangkok	97.69		3. Chicago	95.97
4. Istanbul	97.30		4. Los Angeles	95.56
5. Prague	96.71		5. Atlanta	95.26
6. Buenos Aires	96.51		6. Paris	94.44
7. Warsaw	96.43		7. Seattle	94.30
8. São Paulo	96.20		8. Berlin	94.23
9. Bogota	96.11		9. Barcelona	93.68
10. Cape Town	96.06		10. Toronto	93.56

 
The raw data for each category can be provided upon request.
 

 Further findings by City:

 

• London has the highest vegetarian-friendly restaurants score (100), meaning it has the most vegetarian-friendly restaurants, followed by Rome (98.81) and Ubud (98.80).
• Taipei ranks best for the average rating of its top 10 vegetarian restaurants (100), meaning that it has the most highly-rated restaurants, followed by Detroit (96.44) and Tokyo (94.84).
• Ghent has the most affordable fruit and vegetable prices adjusted for local purchasing power (-35.30%), ahead of Tel Aviv (-34.94%) and Edinburgh (-31.44%).
• Denver has the most affordable plant-based protein products adjusted for local purchasing power (-37.22%), followed by Detroit (-36.03%) and Houston (-35.78%).
• Chiang Mai has the highest affordable vegetarian restaurants score (100), ahead of Ubud (99.37) and Bangkok (97.69).
• Edinburgh has the highest percentage of vegetarian-friendly restaurants (50.32%), followed by Munich (49.90%) and Ubud (48.46%).
• London has the highest score for vegetarian events and festivals (100), ahead of New York (97.83) and Chicago (95.97).

 
 

Quotes

 
“With more and more people looking to reduce their meat consumption, cities must cater to these needs with diverse vegetarian offerings if they want to attract young talent, particularly Millennials, Gen Z, and the even younger generations to come,” comments Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO at Nestpick. “We hope that this index can inspire vegetarians looking to move abroad to pick the right city for their needs, or even offer travel destination ideas for those searching for the best plant-based gastronomic spots.
While there are undoubtedly countless cities that are incredible for vegetarians around the world which do not feature in this index due to a lack of available data, we believe that this shortlist offers an excellent springboard for vegetarians looking to move abroad.”
 
“For many vegetarians, it can be a challenge to maintain a balanced diet, something that has grown in importance during the pandemic,” comments Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO at Nestpick. “Access to essential food groups, including affordable basics such as fruits and vegetables as well as plant-based proteins, is therefore vitally important. We conducted this study to shine a light on the cities where vegetarians are able to sustain a meat-free lifestyle and access the important resources they need, without having to go well beyond their budgets.”
 
“People are increasingly looking at ways to make their lifestyles more sustainable for a multitude of reasons, not least climate change and animal welfare,” comments Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO at Nestpick. “It is widely agreed that one of the most effective ways someone can achieve this is to cut down on the amount of meat they consume. The rise of vegetarianism, and flexitarianism, is an irreversible trend that will continue to embed itself in the cultural fabric of cities in the form of restaurants, cafes and events specialising in these offerings. Our study shows which cities are leading the pack and are therefore the most attractive propositions for vegetarians looking to relocate.”
 
“In years gone by, being a vegetarian meant limiting your options and sacrificing on quality when eating out. The rise of vegetarianism has changed that,” comments Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO at Nestpick. “As our study highlights, there has been a significant emergence of high quality
vegetarian-friendly restaurants in cities around the world. Gone are the days of only having one or two options on a menu to choose from; vegetarians now have far greater choice when eating in restaurants and cafes.”