ST. LOUIS - For a vibrant culinary scene like St. Louis, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that dining out is a top priority for locals. Now, new research backs this up.

Budgeting site Cheapism recently published a list of the "10 American cities where people spend the most on dining out," which is based on a comprehensive October 2024 report from the Escoffer School of Culinary Arts.

Believe it or not, St. Louis made the Top 10 for a key metric: The highest percentage of total food expenses spent on dining out. St. Louis finished 10th in that regard.

Research revealed total annual food expenditures in St. Louis averaged around $9,500 per person. With that in mind, 27.49% of those expenditures (or around $2,600 on average) went toward eating out.

For context, the national average for "food expenses spent on dining out" was just short of 26%. And Houston, Texas, took the top spot in the rankings with 31.72% of total food expenses spent on dining out.

But it doesn't stop there.

The Escoffer School of Culinary Arts also found that St. Louis ranked as the third-highest city for percentage of pre-tax income spent on dining out, trailing only Honolulu and Los Angeles. In St. Louis, eaters spend around 2.93% of pre-tax income on restaurant meals.

St. Louis also ranked in restaurant spending per capita income with a value of $1,189.52, compared to a national average of $953.27.