The research, carried out by food order website GrubHub, reveals that the northwestern city in Washington State – home to 3.4 million people – is home to the most vegetarian eateries.
Second on the list was San Jose and third San Diego, both in California, making it a clean sweep for west-coast cities in the healthy eating stakes.
GrubHub reviewed more than 15,000 online ordering restaurants available through its website to the compile the data, which revealed that more than 9 per cent of the outlets identify vegetarian as one of their primary cuisines.
Americans are eating less meat as its price rises because of increasing cost of grain, according to research from the University of Missouri. Red meat has taken the biggest hit, with roughly 25 per cent less being consumed in the US now compared to 1980.
“We know that when costs go up, things like the house payment and the car payment are not flexible, so the only place where you’re flexible in your budget is with the food dollars,” said University of Missouri nutrition expert Tammy Roberts. “The most expensive food you buy at the grocery store generally is meat, so people stretch the meat and buy less.”
In positions four, five and six on the GrubHub list were three cities in Texas – Houston, Dallas and Texas – a surprising fact considering the Lone Star State’s links to cattle farming and image as the land of the meat-eating cowboy.
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago made up the rest of the Top 10.