Most popular delivery order in every state during COVID-19
Most popular delivery order in every state during COVID-19
Food delivery has offered a much-needed lifeline to people abiding by social distancing guidelines in the last several months. It's also offered a means of restaurants staying in business amid the uncertainty of closures and what that meant for a company's ability to reopen.
As nonessential businesses were shuttered in March and people stayed home, 97% of restaurants were hit by requirements to end dine-in meal sales. The NPD Group found restaurant traffic dropped a full 22% in March 2020 over the same month in 2019—but online restaurant orders shot up by 63% and delivery by 67%. Full-service restaurants suffered 35% drops in traffic in the same month over March 2019; those that provided take-out and delivery options grew off-premise traffic 31%. But while take out and delivery won't be enough to save many restaurants, for others, delivery options—even when fraught with high fees through third-party apps—have made all the difference.
Yelp data scientist Samuel Hansen compiled the most popular delivery orders unique to every state during COVID-19. He mined the text of Yelp orders sent starting on March 16 (the day shelter-in-place orders were first enacted in the U.S.), then cleaned the text using a language-processing technique to determine the popularity of different food orders relative to their popularity in other states. Hansen's findings were published in a Yelp press release on May 21.
Some states shared favorites: Cheese pizza and gyros each ranked #1 in four states; tacos, bubble tea, sushi, and pad thai in three states, and General Tso's chicken in two states. Keep reading to see what the #1 delivery order is in your home state.
Alabama
- Most popular delivery order: Nachos
Alaska
- Most popular delivery order: Gumbo
Arizona
- Most popular delivery order: Tacos
Arkansas
- Most popular delivery order: Spring rolls
California
- Most popular delivery order: Bubble tea
Colorado
- Most popular delivery order: Crab Rangoon
Connecticut
- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza
Washington D.C.
- Most popular delivery order: Biscuits
Delaware
- Most popular delivery order: Pho
Florida
- Most popular delivery order: Garlic rolls
Georgia
- Most popular delivery order: Wings
Hawaii
- Most popular delivery order: Bubble tea
Idaho
- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza
Illinois
- Most popular delivery order: Thin crust pizza
Indiana
- Most popular delivery order: Poke bowls
Iowa
- Most popular delivery order: Burgers
Kansas
- Most popular delivery order: Gyros
Kentucky
- Most popular delivery order: Gyros
Louisiana
- Most popular delivery order: Sushi
Maine
- Most popular delivery order: Pad Thai
Maryland
- Most popular delivery order: Gyros
Massachusetts
- Most popular delivery order: General Tso’s chicken
Michigan
- Most popular delivery order: Bubble tea
Minnesota
- Most popular delivery order: Donuts
Mississippi
- Most popular delivery order: Catfish
Missouri
- Most popular delivery order: Belgian fries
Montana
- Most popular delivery order: Egg rolls
Nebraska
- Most popular delivery order: Sushi
Nevada
- Most popular delivery order: Spam musubi
New Hampshire
- Most popular delivery order: Crab Rangoon
New Jersey
- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza
New Mexico
- Most popular delivery order: Green chile cheeseburgers
New York
- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza
North Carolina
- Most popular delivery order: Tacos
North Dakota
- Most popular delivery order: Gyros
Ohio
- Most popular delivery order: Deep dish pizza
Oklahoma
- Most popular delivery order: Croissants
Oregon
- Most popular delivery order: Loaded burgers
Pennsylvania
- Most popular delivery order: Italian hoagies
Rhode Island
- Most popular delivery order: General Tso's chicken
South Carolina
- Most popular delivery order: Sushi
South Dakota
- Most popular delivery order: Dumplings
Tennessee
- Most popular delivery order: Chicken tenders
Texas
- Most popular delivery order: Crawfish
Utah
- Most popular delivery order: Hot wings
Vermont
- Most popular delivery order: Burritos
Virginia
- Most popular delivery order: Tacos
Washington
- Most popular delivery order: Pad Thai
West Virginia
- Most popular delivery order: Bao buns
Wisconsin
- Most popular delivery order: Pad Thai
Wyoming
- Most popular delivery order: Naan