Where Are The Cheese Lovers?

D.C. Ranked Sixth As Top City For People Loving Cheese

Americans have a fondue-ness for cheese — but cheese love isn’t spread evenly across our vast country. To mark National Cheese Lover’s Day this January 20, LawnStarter ranked 2023’s Best Cities for Cheese Lovers.

We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on cheese access, quality, affordability, and community interest. Now, let’s cut to the “cheese” and see which cities took the cheddar in our ranking below, followed by some creamy highlights and lowlights.

Best Cities for Cheese Lovers:

Rank City

1 New York, NY

2 Madison, WI

3 Chicago, IL

4 San Francisco, CA

5 Los Angeles, CA

6 Washington, DC

7 Seattle, WA

8 Santa Rosa, CA

9 Milwaukee, WI

10 Atlanta, GA

Worst Cities for Cheese Lovers:

Rank City

1 Salinas, CA

2 Laredo, TX

3 Bridgeport, CT

4 Detroit, MI

5 Rockford, IL

6 Jackson, MS

7 Killeen, TX

8 Kansas City, KS

9 Springfield, MA

10 Fayetteville, NC

A New York Cheesecake(walk): The Big Apple might be better known for its cheesecake, but the city edged out Chicago — birthplace of Kraft American cheese — as this year’s Cheesiest City. How did New York’s queso scene take over the wheel from the Windy Cheesy City? Gotham improved in three out of four categories, most notably in Quality. It slipped to second place in Community, but New Yorkers’ love for the dairy product is strong. The city hosts the national cheesemonger tournament every year.

Paying Fromage to America’s Dairyland: Gouda news for Wisconsin, the state synonymous with cheese: Two of its cities landed in our top 10.

The state’s capital and our silver medalist, Madison, has the strongest cheese community and is second only to Modesto, California, in number of cheese factories and plants. Milwaukee, another cheesy destination, moves up one spot to No. 9 this year, owing to its impressive fourth-place showing in Quality.

Nacho Cheesiest Cities: Just like last year, an assortment of not-so-cheesy cities crumbled to the bottom of our ranking. Apart from two Texas cities, there’s virtually no regional pattern among our worst 10. 

Salinas, California — ironically in Monterey County, where Monterey Jack traces its origins — finished in last place again in 2023. Laredo, Texas (No. 199), Detroit (No. 197), and Springfield, Massachusetts (No. 192), are among the other laggards that earned some of the lowest scores across the charcuterie board.