A New Report Shows Just How Popular Mexican Food Is In The United States

If you live in the U.S., chances are you don’t have to travel very far to find some Mexican food. Whether it’s authentic, Tex-Mex, or some other Americanized variation, it’s clearly among the most popular forms of ethnic cuisine in the nation.

But just how common has it become? A recent survey from the Pew Research Center aimed to find out, and here’s an overview of the results.

A tale of two states

Considering the fact that more than half of all Mexican-Americans live in either Texas or California, it’s not surprising that these are also the two states with the densest concentration of Mexican restaurants. About 22% are located in California and Texas is home to roughly 17%.

The next three states on the list (Florida, New York, and Illinois) each have about 4% of the nation’s Mexican restaurants, which means more than half can be found in these five states alone.

But that doesn’t mean Mexican restaurants are in short supply across the rest of the country.

Statistics tell the story

Not only does the U.S. share a long border with its neighbor to the south, but more than 37 million Americans have a Mexican heritage. And almost anywhere you travel from coast to coast, you can find easy access to this flavor-packed cuisine.

• There’s at least one Mexican restaurant in 85% of all U.S. counties.
• The remaining 15% counties are home to just 1% of the nation’s population.
• In 10 counties, more than one-third of all restaurants are Mexican.
• Eight of those counties are located in one state: Texas.

While California and Texas top the list based on sheer numbers, another state has a higher percentage. In New Mexico, Mexican restaurants account for 22% of all eateries.

Chris Agee January 16th, 2024

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