It’s no secret that we love hot dogs and hamburgers in America. We eat an estimated billion dogs and 50 billion burgers annually. They’re enjoyed all year long, of course, but summer seems to be prime time for these all-American specialties.
On the Fourth of July alone, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, 150 million wieners get consumed — enough to stretch between L.A. and Washington D.C. more than five times. Nobody seems to track hamburger numbers for the holiday, but if we eat two-and-a-half times as many burgers as dogs overall, that could put the burger tally around 375 million on the Fourth.
It turns out, though, that not every part of the country enjoys hot dogs and hamburgers equally. That’s what 24/7 Tempo found out when we recently compiled data for U.S. hot dog and hamburger consumption by state.
When it comes to hot dogs, West Virginia out-eats the rest of the country by a wide margin, consuming 481 per capita every year.
Second-place Illinois — home of Chicago, the city sometimes described as the hot dog capital of America — manages a mere 317.
Folks apparently just don’t care all that much for franks in Wyoming, however. They account for an annual average of only 149 each, putting them in last place on the dog-eating list. They are certainly not among the sandwiches (and filling) people can’t stop eating.
Two states vie for first-place hamburger consumption — Oklahoma and Nevada, each managing 267 burgers per capita each year. Strangely enough, West Virginia, which eats the most dogs, also eats the fewest burgers, just 171.
Similar anomalies show up for other states. Pennsylvania, for instance, ranks third for hot dogs but seventh from the bottom for burgers. Delaware is 12th highest in dog-eating but fourth lowest for burgers. On the other hand, California, which ties with Texas for third most burgers consumed is 21st lowest on the hot dog chart. Did you know that the hot dog is among the 20 foods that were named after places?