Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
Which U.S. cities are cooking up the best BBQ scenes?
To find out, LawnStarter looked at 13 metrics across nearly 500 of the biggest U.S. cities to rank 2025’s best BBQ cities in America.
Update your barbecue bucket list with help from our ranking. To learn how we ranked the cities, see our methodology at the end.
15. Springfield, MO
- Overall Score: 31.53
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 76
- Access Rank: 66
- Competition Awards Rank: 11
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 2
14. Olathe, KS
- Overall Score: 31.61
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 27
- Access Rank: 240
- Competition Awards Rank: 6
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 6
13. Dallas, TX
- Overall Score: 35.42
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 19
- Access Rank: 6
- Competition Awards Rank: 64
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 62
12. Kansas City, KS
- Overall Score: 35.44
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 23
- Access Rank: 95
- Competition Awards Rank: 4
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 3
11. San Antonio, TX
- Overall Score: 36.25
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 88
- Access Rank: 3
- Competition Awards Rank: 76
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 20
10. New York, NY
- Overall Score: 38.19
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 16
- Access Rank: 8
- Competition Awards Rank: 18
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 29
9. Nashville, TN
- Overall Score: 40.03
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 3
- Access Rank: 9
- Competition Awards Rank: 53
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 25
8. Memphis, TN
- Overall Score: 40.39
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 17
- Access Rank: 14
- Competition Awards Rank: 8
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 4
7. Las Vegas, NV
- Overall Score: 40.78
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 10
- Access Rank: 4
- Competition Awards Rank: 100
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 23
6. Chicago, IL
- Overall Score: 42.20
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 12
- Access Rank: 4
- Competition Awards Rank: 26
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 9
5. Austin, TX
- Overall Score: 46.54
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 1
- Access Rank: 7
- Competition Awards Rank: 23
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 53
4. St. Louis, MO
- Overall Score: 46.75
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 5
- Access Rank: 12
- Competition Awards Rank: 9
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 5
3. Houston, TX
- Overall Score: 48.64
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 25
- Access Rank: 2
- Competition Awards Rank: 2
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 17
2. Los Angeles, CA
- Overall Score: 49.43
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 2
- Access Rank: 1
- Competition Awards Rank: 100
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 23
1. Kansas City, MO
- Overall Score: 52.02
- Consumer Satisfaction Rank: 8
- Access Rank: 36
- Competition Awards Rank: 1
- Elite BBQ Memberships Rank: 1
Behind the Ranking
First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the best BBQ cities in America.
We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into four categories: Consumer Satisfaction, Access, Competition Awards, and Elite BBQ Memberships.
For each of the 500 biggest U.S. cities, we then gathered data on each factor.
Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each city to determine its rank in each factor, each category, and overall. A city’s overall score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories. The highest overall score ranked “best” (No. 1).
Here are the factors most relevant to ranking the Best BBQ Cities in America:
- Barbecue Establishments
- Average Consumer Rating for Barbecue Establishments
- Average Number of Reviews per Barbecue Establishment
- Number of Top-Rated BBQ Establishments
- NBBQA Award-Winning Cooking Teams (in Sauce, Rub, and/or Food Categories) in Past 5 Years
- Cooking Teams in Top 25% of Past 3 Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Contests
- Cooking Teams in Top 25% of Past 3 Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational Contests
- Winners in Top 25% of Past 3 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Contests
- Cooking Teams in Top 25% of Past 2 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
- Winners in “Memphis in May” World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest
- Number of KCBS “180 Club” Members
- Number of KCBS “700 Club” Members
- Number of National Barbecue & Grilling Association Members
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