The Top 5 Types of Takeout in Each State During Quarantine
Going out to eat has looked a bit different over the past few months, with dining rooms restricted in the majority of states and restaurants only offering takeout. While many people around the country have taken on the challenge of learning to cook at home, picking up takeout is still the easier option for most.
Searches for takeout in the U.S. have seen a 300 to 500 percent increase since mid-March, which made us wonder what type of food has been most popular.
As it turns out, Chinese and Mexican have dominated the field – one or the other ranks as the most popular type of takeout in all but one state. Hawaii, the lone outlier in this statistic, has preferred Thai food. Keep reading to learn why Chinese and Mexican came out on top and see the rest of the top five.
How We Determined Each State's Favorite Type of Takeout
To analyze the patterns in cuisine popularity, we tapped into Google Trends data dating back to mid-March. In total, we reviewed a wide variety of takeout choices, including Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Thai, Greek, Japanese, Mediterranean, and American.
As expected, every type of takeout style has seen spikes in popularity since mid-March, but Americans have ordered these five types much more than any other:
- Chinese
- Mexican
- Italian
- Thai
- Indian
With search volume in hand for each type of takeout, we ranked each option from highest to lowest to determine the most popular type of takeout in each state.
What about Pizza?
Now, you might be wondering how Italian food didn't finish on top for any states. Pizza is the king of takeout, right?
And you would be correct. Ignoring interest in other types of Italian food, pizza has actually been the most popular type of takeout in every single state over the last two months or so. That said, we feel like there's a difference between someone who specifically wants pizza and a person who happens to choose pizza from the menu of an Italian restaurant. This is especially true given the number of restaurants and delivery chains that specialize only in pizza.
We still wanted to give pizza its slice of the spotlight, so we determined which states have been ordering the most pizza during quarantine. Here's a quick look at the top five:
- Delaware
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- Florida
Hungry for More?
Are restaurants in your area preparing to reopen their dining rooms? Check out our reopening guide for tips on precautions and cleaning guidelines, and find any cleaning and safety supplies you might need to comply with local guidelines.
