Best Takeout in Your State

Thanks to COVID-19, takeout is more important than ever. Though your favorite restaurant may still be open, many owners are meeting the increased demand for takeout while keeping customers safe and following social distancing requirements.

That’s why Move.org wants to help you find the best takeout restaurants in every state. We searched high and low to bring you the nation’s 50 most popular takeout restaurants. From seafood and burgers to enchiladas and desserts, this list will help you satisfy your cravings and support local businesses throughout your community.

Through our research, we determined the best takeout restaurant in every state and the food type preference by region:

• East: Dessert, dessert, dessert
• South: Most diverse cuisine
• West: American food and desserts
• Midwest: Best ratings and highest prices

The East is a haven for Ivy League colleges, early American history—and apparently—dessert takeout. While other parts of the country focus on main course meals, the East is the only region where dessert takeout (like cupcakes and ice cream) is the most popular option.

Although the South is especially known for hospitality and home cooking, it also happens to be home of the nation's most diverse takeout. While some regions specialize in one or two kinds of food, the South has a little bit of everything.

When you think of the Wild West, you might imagine a cowboy taking off his boots and sitting down for a late-night meal of meat and potatoes. Some things haven’t changed. American food is still the most popular takeout choice, but it turns out modern-day Westerners dig their desserts and Latin food too.

What the Midwest lacks in mountains it makes up for with high-quality takeout—and steep prices. The Midwest has both the highest ratings in the country for takeout and the most expensive prices—meaning customers think the food quality is worth the price.

To find each state’s best takeout restaurants, we went to Tripadvisor.com and searched for a few criteria:

• Population. We picked the most populated city in each state.

• Takeout. We looked only at restaurants that had takeout availability.

• Rating. We chose the highest-rated takeout restaurant in the most populated city.

We also conducted a poll of 600 respondents in the US on 9/16/2020 to learn more about takeout habits during COVID-19. According to our survey:

• 33% have ordered takeout three to five times per month.
• 25% have ordered takeout two to four times per week.
• 75% have increased their support for locally-owned restaurants during COVID-19.
• 66% have gone out of their way to support locally-owned businesses. 

Good takeout can be hard to find. At Move.org, we’ve made it easy to track down the best takeout restaurant in each state—and even help you see what’s most popular in different regions of the country.