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The Best Cities to Find a Great Sandwich

The Best Cities to Find a Great Sandwich

Millions of Americans grew up eating sandwiches. From bologna and Kraft singles to peanut butter and honey to garden-fresh tomatoes with pepper and mayo, these simple and satisfying meals of our youth have instilled in many of us an unwavering enthusiasm for piles of food between bread. (For the die-hard sandwich-lover, here are 24 iconic sandwiches you can make at home.)

Sandwiches can be hot or cold, or a pleasing combination of the two. Likewise, they can be sweet, savory, or both. They are endlessly customizable, which just adds to their universal appeal.

While you can get a variety of sandwiches just about anywhere in the U.S., some cities have far more sandwich options than others. To determine the 35 best American cities for sandwich-lovers, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a report on the subject published by LawnLove, a lawn care company that conducts research into city and state amenities on a regular basis. The site ranked the 200 largest U.S. cities across 12 differently weighted metrics in three categories: access (the number of establishments serving sandwiches per square mile), quality (a combination of consumer ratings and rankings on food and travel sites), and interest (average monthly Google searches for “sandwich shop near me” or “best sandwich near me” between October 2021 and October 2022).

The 35 best cities for sandwich-lovers are spread evenly throughout the country, with the top five cities being San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and New York. The state with the most sandwich-friendly cities is Florida, which has five of the 35, while there are two each in Tennessee, Kentucky, California, and Washington.

Second-place New Orleans is home to not one but two iconic sandwiches – the po’boy and the muffaletta. New York, which ranked first both in quality and interest, is home to numerous sandwich essentials, including hot pastrami on rye, lox and cream cheese on a bagel, and the chopped cheese – a popular bodega specialty that consists of ground beef and onions mixed with melted cheese and served on a hero with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and ketchup. (Here is the most iconic sandwich in every state.)

Source: pom-angers / Flickr

35. Chicago, Illinois
> Access rank: 20/200
> Quality rank: 64/200
> Interest rank: 12/200
> Overall score: 13.61

Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images

34. Denver, Colorado
> Access rank: 34/200
> Quality rank: 51/200
> Interest rank: 6/200
> Overall score: 13.96

Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

33. Louisville, Kentucky
> Access rank: 17/200
> Quality rank: 38/200
> Interest rank: 51/200
> Overall score: 14.64

Source: jmsilva / iStock via Getty Images

32. Hialeah, Florida
> Access rank: 100/200
> Quality rank: 24/200
> Interest rank: 199/200
> Overall score: 14.96

Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images

31. Atlanta, Georgia
> Access rank: 22/200
> Quality rank: 53/200
> Interest rank: 7/200
> Overall score: 15.02

Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images

30. Nashville, Tennessee
> Access rank: 111/200
> Quality rank: 26/200
> Interest rank: 16/200
> Overall score: 15.71

Source: Ian Ballinger / Wikimedia Commons

29. Kansas City, Kansas
> Access rank: 171/200
> Quality rank: 21/200
> Interest rank: 182/200
> Overall score: 16.18

Source: aiisha5 / iStock via Getty Images

28. Seattle, Washington
> Access rank: 13/200
> Quality rank: 40/200
> Interest rank: 24/200
> Overall score: 16.19

Source: OlegAlbinsky / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

27. Alexandria, Virginia
> Access rank: 3/200
> Quality rank: 143/200
> Interest rank: 104/200
> Overall score: 16.23

Source: Jacob Boomsma / iStock via Getty Images

26. Lincoln, Nebraska
> Access rank: 151/200
> Quality rank: 20/200
> Interest rank: 104/200
> Overall score: 16.64

Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images

25. Murfreesboro, Tennessee
> Access rank: 120/200
> Quality rank: 16/200
> Interest rank: 95/200
> Overall score: 17.68

Source: jgoge123 / Flickr

24. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
> Access rank: 49/200
> Quality rank: 23/200
> Interest rank: 74/200
> Overall score: 17.86

Source: chris-yunker / Flickr

23. Anchorage, Alaska
> Access rank: 192/200
> Quality rank: 13/200
> Interest rank: 130/200
> Overall score: 17.89

Source: photographingtravis / Flickr

22. Tacoma, Washington
> Access rank: 63/200
> Quality rank: 18/200
> Interest rank: 101/200
> Overall score: 18.04

Source: Ivelin Denev / iStock via Getty Images

21. Lexington, Kentucky
> Access rank: 153/200
> Quality rank: 14/200
> Interest rank: 111/200
> Overall score: 18.08

Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

20. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
> Access rank: 6/200
> Quality rank: 47/200
> Interest rank: 80/200
> Overall score: 18.17

Source: SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images

19. Tampa, Florida
> Access rank: 21/200
> Quality rank: 28/200
> Interest rank: 14/200
> Overall score: 18.26

Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

18. Tulsa, Oklahoma
> Access rank: 126/200
> Quality rank: 9/200
> Interest rank: 91/200
> Overall score: 19.28

Source: pom-angers / Flickr

17. Albuquerque, New Mexico
> Access rank: 81/200
> Quality rank: 17/200
> Interest rank: 17/200
> Overall score: 19.31

Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

16. Indianapolis, Indiana
> Access rank: 132/200
> Quality rank: 10/200
> Interest rank: 45/200
> Overall score: 19.32

Source: SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images

15. Providence, Rhode Island
> Access rank: 11/200
> Quality rank: 19/200
> Interest rank: 83/200
> Overall score: 22.12

Source: jbentley09 / iStock via Getty Images

14. Portland, Oregon
> Access rank: 32/200
> Quality rank: 8/200
> Interest rank: 24/200
> Overall score: 22.39

Source: choness / iStock via Getty Images

13. Los Angeles, California
> Access rank: 80/200
> Quality rank: 11/200
> Interest rank: 5/200
> Overall score: 22.97

Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images

12. Baltimore, Maryland
> Access rank: 31/200
> Quality rank: 6/200
> Interest rank: 57/200
> Overall score: 23.18

Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images

11. Charleston, South Carolina
> Access rank: 42/200
> Quality rank: 4/200
> Interest rank: 49/200
> Overall score: 23.28

Source: pom-angers / Flickr

10. Miami, Florida
> Access rank: 5/200
> Quality rank: 25/200
> Interest rank: 44/200
> Overall score: 23.55

Source: pom-angers / Flickr

9. Las Vegas, Nevada
> Access rank: 15/200
> Quality rank: 15/200
> Interest rank: 15/200
> Overall score: 24.09

Source: SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images

8. Orlando, Florida
> Access rank: 10/200
> Quality rank: 12/200
> Interest rank: 31/200
> Overall score: 24.81

Source: pierre9x6 / Flickr

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Access rank: 26/200
> Quality rank: 3/200
> Interest rank: 26/200
> Overall score: 26.32

Source: DenisTangneyJr / E+ via Getty Images

6. Boston, Massachusetts
> Access rank: 4/200
> Quality rank: 22/200
> Interest rank: 21/200
> Overall score: 27.14

Source: pom-angers / Flickr

5. San Francisco, California
> Access rank: 1/200
> Quality rank: 32/200
> Interest rank: 22/200
> Overall score: 27.69

Source: joncutrer / Flickr

4. St. Louis, Missouri
> Access rank: 7/200
> Quality rank: 5/200
> Interest rank: 42/200
> Overall score: 28.51

Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

3. Washington, D.C.
> Access rank: 2/200
> Quality rank: 7/200
> Interest rank: 20/200
> Overall score: 31.96

Source: mgaylard / Flickr

2. New Orleans, Louisiana
> Access rank: 18/200
> Quality rank: 2/200
> Interest rank: 29/200
> Overall score: 34.02

Source: erichaake / Flickr

1. New York, New York
> Access rank: 9/200
> Quality rank: 1/200
> Interest rank: 1/200
> Overall score: 48.32

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