Where America Eats Tacos: 52,007 Taco Spots, Ranked Per Capita
McAllen, Texas has more taco spots per person than any other US city: 87.6 per 100,000 residents. Among big cities, Las Vegas leads and New York trails, with 6.7. This report ranks 108 cities and every state using 52,007 taquerias, taco shops and trucks and 2025 Census population estimates.
Key findings
- McAllen, TX is the most taco-dense city in America: 87.6 taco spots per 100,000 residents, followed by Edinburg (84.9) and Brownsville (77.2), all in Texas.
- Among cities of 500,000+, Las Vegas leads with 55.5 per 100,000, ahead of Austin (51.5) and Houston (50.5).
- New York has the fewest taco spots per person of any big US city: 6.7 per 100,000. Las Vegas has 8 times as many per person.
- Texas is the most taco-dense state (31.5 per 100,000); Maine is the least (4.8).
- In West Virginia, 61% of taco spots are a Taco Bell. Nationally the figure is 17%.
- 74% of the 52,007 US taco spots we list are independents, not chain locations. San Francisco is the most independent big city (95%).
- The most common taqueria name in America is Taqueria Jalisco: 80 of them across 20 states.
The most taco-dense cities in America
Cities of 100,000+ residents with at least 50 taco spots, ranked by taco spots per 100,000 people. The Rio Grande Valley and South Texas dominate.
| # | City | Per 100k | Taco spots | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McAllen, TX | 87.6 | 132 | 77% |
| 2 | Edinburg, TX | 84.9 | 94 | 80% |
| 3 | Brownsville, TX | 77.2 | 149 | 80% |
| 4 | Pasadena, TX | 62.6 | 93 | 87% |
| 5 | Laredo, TX | 60.1 | 162 | 72% |
| 6 | Las Vegas, NV | 55.5 | 377 | 66% |
| 7 | Yuma, AZ | 54.2 | 57 | 88% |
| 8 | Austin, TX | 51.5 | 516 | 88% |
| 9 | Odessa, TX | 51.3 | 63 | 75% |
| 10 | Conroe, TX | 51 | 61 | 77% |
| 11 | Houston, TX | 50.5 | 1,210 | 89% |
| 12 | San Antonio, TX | 49.6 | 768 | 86% |
| 13 | Santa Ana, CA | 46.3 | 146 | 88% |
| 14 | Modesto, CA | 44.2 | 97 | 82% |
| 15 | Tyler, TX | 44 | 50 | 76% |
| 16 | Portland, OR | 43.6 | 277 | 88% |
| 17 | Corpus Christi, TX | 43.5 | 138 | 70% |
| 18 | Midland, TX | 41.3 | 61 | 80% |
| 19 | Visalia, CA | 40.9 | 60 | 83% |
| 20 | Bakersfield, CA | 40 | 169 | 73% |
Big cities: most and least taco-dense
Cities of 500,000+ residents. Texas takes four of the top five spots; the Northeast fills the bottom of the table.
| # | City | Per 100k | Taco spots | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas, NV | 55.5 | 377 | 679,817 |
| 2 | Austin, TX | 51.5 | 516 | 1,002,632 |
| 3 | Houston, TX | 50.5 | 1,210 | 2,397,315 |
| 4 | San Antonio, TX | 49.6 | 768 | 1,548,422 |
| 5 | Portland, OR | 43.6 | 277 | 635,109 |
| 6 | Fresno, CA | 38.9 | 216 | 555,549 |
| 7 | Dallas, TX | 38 | 505 | 1,329,491 |
| 8 | Denver, CO | 37.8 | 280 | 740,613 |
| 9 | Sacramento, CA | 35.8 | 192 | 536,449 |
| 10 | Tucson, AZ | 34.5 | 189 | 548,371 |
| 11 | Oklahoma City, OK | 30.8 | 222 | 719,849 |
| 12 | El Paso, TX | 30 | 205 | 683,012 |
| 13 | Fort Worth, TX | 29.2 | 300 | 1,028,117 |
| 14 | San Diego, CA | 25.8 | 363 | 1,406,106 |
| 15 | Phoenix, AZ | 25.3 | 422 | 1,665,481 |
| # | City | Per 100k | Taco spots | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | 6.7 | 578 | 8,584,629 |
| 2 | Philadelphia, PA | 7.4 | 116 | 1,574,281 |
| 3 | Jacksonville, FL | 9.1 | 93 | 1,017,689 |
| 4 | Detroit, MI | 9.2 | 60 | 649,095 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | 9.4 | 63 | 672,973 |
| 6 | Baltimore, MD | 11.6 | 66 | 569,997 |
| 7 | Washington, DC | 13.8 | 96 | 693,645 |
| 8 | Charlotte, NC | 14.1 | 136 | 964,784 |
| 9 | Columbus, OH | 16.7 | 157 | 938,396 |
| 10 | Memphis, TN | 17.6 | 107 | 609,647 |
Taco spots per person, by state
| State | Per 100k | Taco spots | Taco Bell share | Largest regional chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 31.5 | 9,987 | 8% | Laredo Taco Company |
| Oregon | 25.6 | 1,092 | 12% | Taco Time |
| California | 24.2 | 9,510 | 10% | Del Taco |
| Oklahoma | 22.3 | 918 | 16% | Taco Bueno |
| Colorado | 21.4 | 1,287 | 15% | Del Taco |
| Nevada | 20.4 | 671 | 15% | Roberto's Taco Shop |
| New Mexico | 20.2 | 430 | 16% | Del Taco |
| Arizona | 20.1 | 1,529 | 14% | Del Taco |
| Washington | 18.4 | 1,469 | 11% | Taco Time |
| Wyoming | 18.2 | 107 | 13% | Taco John's |
| Kansas | 18.1 | 540 | 20% | Taco John's |
| Arkansas | 17.8 | 553 | 26% | Taco Bueno |
| Utah | 17 | 601 | 13% | Taco Time |
| Idaho | 16.9 | 343 | 11% | Taco Time |
| Nebraska | 16.5 | 333 | 15% | Taco John's |
| Illinois | 15.7 | 1,993 | 17% | Taco John's |
| Montana | 14.9 | 171 | 18% | Taco John's |
| Tennessee | 14.1 | 1,035 | 28% | Laredo Taco Company |
| District of Columbia | 13.8 | 96 | 8% | — |
| Iowa | 13.2 | 429 | 16% | Taco John's |
| Hawaii | 13.1 | 188 | 19% | Taco Del Mar |
| South Dakota | 12.7 | 119 | 17% | Taco John's |
| Indiana | 12.6 | 876 | 34% | Taco John's |
| Georgia | 12.2 | 1,380 | 22% | Del Taco |
| North Carolina | 12.2 | 1,365 | 22% | — |
| Missouri | 11.9 | 744 | 36% | Taco John's |
| Alabama | 11.8 | 615 | 31% | — |
| Kentucky | 11.6 | 533 | 32% | Taco John's |
| North Dakota | 11.1 | 89 | 18% | Taco John's |
| Wisconsin | 11.1 | 661 | 24% | Taco John's |
| Alaska | 11 | 81 | 20% | — |
| Delaware | 10.8 | 114 | 16% | — |
| Florida | 10.7 | 2,509 | 21% | Laredo Taco Company |
| Louisiana | 10.2 | 471 | 32% | — |
| South Carolina | 10.2 | 568 | 25% | — |
| Michigan | 9.7 | 983 | 39% | Del Taco |
| Minnesota | 9.7 | 563 | 20% | Taco John's |
| Ohio | 9.5 | 1,134 | 39% | Condado Tacos |
| New York | 9 | 1,803 | 17% | Mighty Taco |
| Rhode Island | 9 | 100 | 21% | — |
| Virginia | 8.9 | 788 | 31% | District Taco |
| Mississippi | 8.7 | 258 | 36% | — |
| West Virginia | 7.8 | 137 | 61% | — |
| Connecticut | 7.6 | 281 | 20% | — |
| New Jersey | 7.4 | 707 | 20% | Surf Taco |
| Maryland | 7.1 | 447 | 27% | — |
| Vermont | 6.8 | 44 | 9% | — |
| Massachusetts | 6.2 | 443 | 19% | — |
| Pennsylvania | 5.9 | 767 | 31% | Condado Tacos |
| New Hampshire | 5.4 | 77 | 26% | — |
| Maine | 4.8 | 68 | 32% | — |
Where Taco Bell is most of the taco scene
Nationally, 17% of taco spots are Taco Bells. In parts of Appalachia, the Midwest and the Deep South the chain is a far bigger share of what is available, while in the Southwest independents crowd it out.
- 61% West Virginia: 84 of 137 taco spots
- 39% Michigan: 383 of 983 taco spots
- 39% Ohio: 442 of 1,134 taco spots
- 36% Missouri: 268 of 744 taco spots
- 36% Mississippi: 93 of 258 taco spots
- 34% Indiana: 298 of 876 taco spots
- 32% Kentucky: 171 of 533 taco spots
- 32% Louisiana: 151 of 471 taco spots
- 32% Maine: 22 of 68 taco spots
- 31% Alabama: 191 of 615 taco spots
The most independent big-city taco scenes
| # | City | Independent | Taco spots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 95% | 196 |
| 2 | New York, NY | 93% | 578 |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | 92% | 775 |
| 4 | Chicago, IL | 91% | 656 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | 90% | 363 |
| 6 | Houston, TX | 89% | 1,210 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | 88% | 516 |
| 8 | Portland, OR | 88% | 277 |
| 9 | San Jose, CA | 87% | 245 |
| 10 | Fresno, CA | 87% | 216 |
Birria and taco-truck capitals
Most birrierias
- Los Angeles, CA: 25
- Chicago, IL: 21
- San Diego, CA: 11
- Portland, OR: 10
- Phoenix, AZ: 9
- Houston, TX: 8
- Fort Worth, TX: 8
- Chula Vista, CA: 8
- San Antonio, TX: 6
- Bakersfield, CA: 6
Most taco trucks and stands
- Houston, TX: 71
- Los Angeles, CA: 58
- San Antonio, TX: 36
- Austin, TX: 23
- New York, NY: 23
- Denver, CO: 22
- Oakland, CA: 17
- San Jose, CA: 16
- Stockton, CA: 15
- Phoenix, AZ: 15
Birrierias and trucks are the most under-mapped kinds of taco spot, since many never get a fixed listing, so treat these as floors.
The most common taqueria names in America
| # | Name | Venues | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taqueria Jalisco | 80 | 20 |
| 2 | El Taco Loco | 62 | 23 |
| 3 | Taqueria Guadalajara | 61 | 16 |
| 4 | Taco Loco | 58 | 26 |
| 5 | Mr. Taco | 50 | 20 |
| 6 | Tacos Mexico | 47 | 14 |
| 7 | Tacos El Gordo | 44 | 19 |
| 8 | Paco's Tacos | 41 | 19 |
| 9 | Taco Express | 41 | 16 |
| 10 | Taqueria La Mexicana | 39 | 16 |
| 11 | Tacos Jalisco | 38 | 15 |
| 12 | Tacos El Primo | 35 | 17 |
| 13 | Taqueria Arandas | 34 | 10 |
| 14 | Tacos Y Mas | 33 | 12 |
| 15 | Taqueria Vallarta | 33 | 10 |
Use this data
Journalists, bloggers and researchers are welcome to cite, chart and republish these figures. Please credit Tacos Near You and link to tacosnearyou.com/taco-report/.
Suggested credit: “Source: Tacos Near You taco directory analysis (tacosnearyou.com), 2026.” Questions or a custom cut for your city: contact us.
How we counted
- Taco spots: the 52,007 taquerias, taco shops, taco trucks, stands and birrierias in the Tacos Near You directory, built from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps Places. Places are included only when they name tacos, taquerias or birria, or are categorised as taco restaurants; closed and low-confidence records are excluded, and burrito-first chains are left out.
- Population: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025) city and state estimates.
- Cities: a venue counts toward the city named in its address. Address cities can include unincorporated areas next door, so small towns can look denser than they are; that is why only cities of 100,000+ residents with 50+ spots are ranked.
- Floors, not a census: a taco spot missing from both map sources is not counted. Street vendors and pop-ups are the most under-counted, which weighs most on cities with big sidewalk-vendor scenes, such as Los Angeles and New York.
- Chains: a venue is a chain location when it matches a known brand; Taco Bell share is Taco Bell locations as a percentage of all listed taco spots.
Taco report: common questions
What is the most taco-dense city in the US?
McAllen, TX, with 87.6 taco spots per 100,000 residents (132 spots, population 150,640). Among cities over 500,000 people it is Las Vegas, at 55.5.
Which state has the most tacos per person?
Texas, with 31.5 taco spots per 100,000 residents, ahead of Oregon (25.6) and California (24.2).
How many taco places are there in the US?
At least 52,007: that is how many taquerias, taco shops, trucks and stands this directory lists. It is a floor, since places missing from public map data are not counted.
Can I use these numbers?
Yes. Cite Tacos Near You and link to this page. The full city and state tables are free to download below.
Last updated September 17, 2026. Venue details refresh with each data import.