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.

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Alabama

- Most popular delivery order: Nachos

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Alaska

- Most popular delivery order: Gumbo

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3 / 51

Arizona

- Most popular delivery order: Tacos

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4 / 51

Arkansas

- Most popular delivery order: Spring rolls

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California

- Most popular delivery order: Bubble tea

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Colorado

- Most popular delivery order: Crab Rangoon

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7 / 51

Connecticut

- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza

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8 / 51

Washington D.C.

- Most popular delivery order: Biscuits

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9 / 51

Delaware

- Most popular delivery order: Pho

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10 / 51

Florida

- Most popular delivery order: Garlic rolls

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11 / 51

Georgia

- Most popular delivery order: Wings

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Hawaii

- Most popular delivery order: Bubble tea

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13 / 51

Idaho

- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza

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14 / 51

Illinois

- Most popular delivery order: Thin crust pizza

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15 / 51

Indiana

- Most popular delivery order: Poke bowls

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16 / 51

Iowa

- Most popular delivery order: Burgers

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17 / 51

Kansas

- Most popular delivery order: Gyros

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18 / 51

Kentucky

- Most popular delivery order: Gyros

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19 / 51

Louisiana

- Most popular delivery order: Sushi

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20 / 51

Maine

- Most popular delivery order: Pad Thai

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21 / 51

Maryland

- Most popular delivery order: Gyros

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22 / 51

Massachusetts

- Most popular delivery order: General Tso’s chicken

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Michigan

- Most popular delivery order: Bubble tea

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24 / 51

Minnesota

- Most popular delivery order: Donuts

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25 / 51

Mississippi

- Most popular delivery order: Catfish

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Missouri

- Most popular delivery order: Belgian fries

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27 / 51

Montana

- Most popular delivery order: Egg rolls

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Nebraska

- Most popular delivery order: Sushi

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29 / 51

Nevada

- Most popular delivery order: Spam musubi

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30 / 51

New Hampshire

- Most popular delivery order: Crab Rangoon

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31 / 51

New Jersey

- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza

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New Mexico

- Most popular delivery order: Green chile cheeseburgers

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33 / 51

New York

- Most popular delivery order: Cheese pizza

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34 / 51

North Carolina

- Most popular delivery order: Tacos

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35 / 51

North Dakota

- Most popular delivery order: Gyros

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36 / 51

Ohio

- Most popular delivery order: Deep dish pizza

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37 / 51

Oklahoma

- Most popular delivery order: Croissants

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Oregon

- Most popular delivery order: Loaded burgers

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39 / 51

Pennsylvania

- Most popular delivery order: Italian hoagies

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Rhode Island

- Most popular delivery order: General Tso's chicken

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South Carolina

- Most popular delivery order: Sushi

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South Dakota

- Most popular delivery order: Dumplings

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Tennessee

- Most popular delivery order: Chicken tenders

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44 / 51

Texas

- Most popular delivery order: Crawfish

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Utah

- Most popular delivery order: Hot wings

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46 / 51

Vermont

- Most popular delivery order: Burritos

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47 / 51

Virginia

- Most popular delivery order: Tacos

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48 / 51

Washington

- Most popular delivery order: Pad Thai

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49 / 51

West Virginia

- Most popular delivery order: Bao buns

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Wisconsin

- Most popular delivery order: Pad Thai

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Wyoming

- Most popular delivery order: Naan

Most popular delivery order in every state during COVID-19

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Washington D.C.

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

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