Mobile has earned a spot on a new national list ranking the best small cities in America for meat lovers, according to a study released by the rental listing service Rent.com.
The study set out to answer a simple question for consumers heading into grilling season: which cities offer the greatest concentration of meat retailers and restaurants specializing in steak, burgers and barbecue. Researchers pulled data from commercially available business listings to count meat-focused establishments in cities across the country, then measured that total against each city’s population to produce a per-capita ranking.
Mobile placed 10th nationally among small cities, with researchers calculating one meat-focused business for every 5,436 residents in the city. The ranking covers retailers as well as restaurants specializing in steak, burgers and barbecue, though it does not include every fast-food chain or general restaurant that happens to serve meat.
“With summer right around the corner, ‘tis the season for burgers, steak and barbecue joints,” said Kristen Baker-Gezcy, who helped compile the findings for Rent.com. “Foodies and meat lovers in Mobile may be surprised to know that their town ranks number 10 in the Top 10 Small Cities for Meat Lovers with an average of one meat establishment per 5,436 residents.”
Because the report is Rent.com’s first attempt at ranking cities by meat consumption, there is no historical data available showing how Mobile’s standing may have shifted over time or where the city might have ranked in previous years.
Topping the small cities list was Chattanooga, Tennessee, with just 3,894 residents per meat establishment, followed by Birmingham in third place with 4,132 residents per establishment. Lewisville, Texas, also cracked the top 10, landing just ahead of Mobile in the rankings.
On the list of large cities, Las Vegas took the top overall spot, driven by 48 barbecue restaurants, 112 burger and steak establishments, and 132 combined locations of Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s. The Nevada city’s average monthly rent of $1,063 for a one-bedroom apartment was also noted in the report, though Rent.com did not specify how housing costs factored into the meat-friendliness rankings.
Rent.com is primarily known as a platform for apartment and home rental listings, and the meat lovers study appears to be a seasonal feature built around that core business, tying restaurant and retail data to local rental markets in cities across the country.
The ranking arrives as Mobile continues to see growth in its restaurant and retail sectors, with barbecue joints, steakhouses and burger spots regularly opening across the city’s neighborhoods. Local business leaders have pointed to the city’s expanding food scene as part of a broader push to promote Mobile as a destination for both residents and visitors.
Rent.com has not indicated whether it plans to repeat the meat lovers ranking in future years or how methodology might change if it does.