Miss. city has nation’s best value for takeout
Restaurant takeout meals are popular just about everywhere with food delivery services such as DoorDash, GrubHub and UberEats making it more convenient to order online and either have the meals delivered or prepared for pickup.
But it’s also becoming more acceptable, according to a survey by US Foods, and can make dinner at home more relaxed and enjoyable.
“The average American orders takeout or delivery 4.5 times a month, according to (the) recent survey,” a story by NetCredit reports. The percentage of those who say they eat takeout for enjoyment (76%) is a little over that of those who do it for convenience (75%).”
That amounts to roughly once a week for many U.S. households, which can add up quickly with service fees and delivery charges.
The good news is, Mississippi is one of the five cheapest states to order takeout. The other four states include Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Utah.
NetCredit used fast-food prices across the nation and found the national average, then compared the average to prices in each state.
Why fast-food restaurants? First of all, the brands have locations in every state, making it easier to compare apples to apples. In addition, fast-food restaurants have a longstanding history of preparing takeout meals at the drive-thru or the counter.
Which U.S. city has the best takeout value?
Takeout prices in cities also were averaged and one city in Mississippi takes the prize for having the cheapest takeout of any city in the United States.
“Hattiesburg gets the best value takeout food of any U.S. city, at 12.14% below the calculated national average,” NetCredit said.
That’s about 30% less than the most costly cities, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, which are both around 18% higher than the national average.
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Fairbanks, Alaska, Los Angeles and Edmond, Oklahoma, come in at third, fourth and fifth most expensive cities for takeout.
Two cities in West Virginia follow Hattiesburg for having the next best values — Wheeling and Parkersburg, followed by Dallas in Houston for the five leastexpensive places to order takeout.
“The cheapest states tend to be low-cost-of-living areas with strong agricultural or energy sectors, which may contribute to bringing prices down,” NetCredit said. “Restaurants in these states must also factor in competitive pricing since they are represented in high
numbers.”
How they got the numbers
According to NetCredit, the company used GrubHub to find the cost of popular menu items from McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway, Burger King, KFC, Popeyes and Taco Bell in the biggest cities in each state.
They then calculated the average national price for takeout from these restaurants and the price premium above or below the national average that a local in each state needs to pay for takeout food overall and for each franchise.
What is your takeout dining experience? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com . Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge .