San Antonio named third best city in the US for tacos in 2022, study says

SAN ANTONIO – We may be on the heels of Austin, but San Antonio is still one of the best places in the US for tacos, according to a new study.

Whether you’re an SA native or are just visiting, the Alamo City is a prime spot for all things tacos at all times of the day — breakfast, lunch and dinner.

According to a study by Clever Real Estate, San Antonio placed third in the nati on overall for tacos, while San Jose, Calif. took second and Austin claimed the top spot.

You can see more of the rankings below:

According to Clever, SA also earned the top spot for birria tacos and quesadillas.

The rankings were based on data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Roaming Hunger, Yelp and Numbeo, according to Clever.

Clever’s “weighted rankings” also took into account this criteria, shared below:

5x: Taco restaurants per 100,000 residents
5x: Average Yelp star rating of taco places
5x: Taco passion (Google Trends scores for five taco-related terms: tacos, tacos near me, taco recipe, taco truck, Taco Tuesday)
4x: Percentage of restaurants that are taco places
4x: Number of taco trucks per 100,000 residents
3x: Price of taco supplies (Prices for 1 pound each of cheese, chicken, lettuce, tomato, and onion)
3x: Affordability of taco supplies (Taco supplies cost as a percentage of average income)

Based on this study, it seems Texas and California are going head-to-head for the top taco tier.

Although Austin and San Antonio are the top taco cities, California has one more city than Texas in the top 15 rankings.

These California cities include Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Sacremento. Dallas and Houston also placed in the Top 15.

“Taco lovers who have visited both states know that each has something different to offer in terms of Mexican cuisine. It’s all a matter of whether TexMex or CalMex is more your style,” Clever said in its study.

You can check out the full study here.