Whether you like salty, sweet, or a little bit of everything, bagels are a great go-to for a cheap, filling meal.
But which cities have the best bagel and schmear?
To find out, Lawn Love ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities to determine 2023’s Best Cities for Bagel Lovers.
We looked for cities with an abundance of high-quality bagel shops and an enthusiastic bagel-loving community, with extra points for hosting a Bagels & Bites Festival.
Find out how your city compares below, and get an informed taste of this Jewish-American culinary staple just in time for National Bagel Day on Jan. 15.
In this article
- City rankings
- The upshot
- Bagels by the numbers
- Expert take
- Behind the ranking
- Final thoughts: Not just a roll with a hole
City rankings
See how each city fared in our ranking:
The upshot
Schmear winner
New York stands tall as the nation’s bagel empire for the second year in a row.
The Bagel Apple brings home the gold in bagel Popularity, with locals and tourists alike seeking out the city’s most iconic breakfast food. NYC also boils up to third place in Access, being the only city with hundreds of shops to grab a quick bagel between meetings or on the way to a show.
Nearby Jersey City, New Jersey (No. 5 overall), bests NYC in Access, with the second-highest number of bagel vendors per square mile. While NYC has fewer vendors when adjusted per square mile, it comes ahead in Quality thanks to bountiful highly-rated bagel vendors.
Local tips:
- New York: Russ & Daughters is a New York staple and has been serving up delicious bagels for more than a century. Fun fact: They were the first American restaurant to incorporate “and Daughters” in their name.
- Jersey City: Wonder Bagels has been feeding New Jerseyans for more than three decades and now operates seven locations spread across the Jersey City area. Top your freshly baked bagel with their delectable sun-dried tomato cream cheese or legendary grilled Taylor ham.
California: The Big (Cream) Cheese
California lox down its status as a superb state for bagel lovers. Bagels are extremely popular in San Francisco (No. 2), which has the most bagel vendors per square mile out of the cities in our ranking.
Other California cities have some of the best-rated bagels. Six Golden State cities — such as Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, and Modesto — baked into the top 10 of our Quality category. These cities might not have a lot of bagel vendors to choose from, but their bakeries rose to the top thanks to high average consumer ratings.
Local tips:
- San Francisco: Get a taste of Brooklyn at House of Bagels, where bagels proof overnight before being boiled and baked on stone, the classic New York way. Try their “cragel,” a buttery hybrid between a croissant and a bagel.
- Rancho Cucamonga: Order a trendy rainbow bagel at NYC transplant-approved NY Bagel Cafe & Deli. Here, you can get a breakfast sandwich or traditional deli grub on a bagel, or you can use your imagination and BYOB (build your own bagel).
- Modesto: Curb your bagel cravings at Bagels N More. They offer a varied menu full of breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches, or you can top your chosen bagel with spreads like labaneh (yogurt-like cheese), french vanilla, or all-berry cream cheese.
(Y)east Coast cravings
New York isn’t the only Atlantic-side city full of tasty bagels.
Although Philadelphia Cream Cheese was invented in New York state, Philly boasts a longtime reputation for having the best cream cheese. It’s no wonder Philadelphia (No. 6) and bagel-loving Boston (No. 3) rolled to the top of our ranking. Both of these cities have high access to bagel vendors and a big yearning for bagels — as indicated by a high volume of bagel-related Google searches.
Down the coast, it’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Bagel in Savannah, Georgia (No. 8). Bakers have refined their recipes here in Hostess City, home to the best-quality bagels out of every city in our ranking.
Local tips:
- Boston: Bagelsaurus began as a weekly pop-up in 2013 and has since become one of Boston’s favorite places to snag a bagel. Special flavors include black olive, pretzel, and cheddar garlic bagels. Top your bagel with honey rosemary cream cheese, beet hummus, or mustard butter for a truly unique breakfast experience.
- Philadelphia: For over a century, Philadelphians have feasted on kosher bagels at Kaplan’s New Model Bakery, one of the oldest Jewish bakeries in Philly. They sell French toast and pumpernickel water bagels alongside a variety of other baked goods, including their famous Jewish rye bread.
- Savannah: At Big Bon Bodega, bagels boil in honey water before baking over a wood fire. Their menu includes herbes de Provence bagels and kimchi spread, among other seasonal and traditional items.
Knead more bagels
Some Southern cities are lacking in bagels. Texas cities Brownsville and Mesquite landed at the bottom of our ranking, just ahead of Shreveport, Louisiana, in last place. These cities have low scores across the board, with little access to or interest in bagels.
Meanwhile, other Southern cities proof their love of bagels, with Nashville, Tennessee, and New Orleans baking up delicious bites. If you’re hunting for a high-quality bagel in the Lone Star State, look toward Amarillo (No. 25) or McKinney (No. 41). Each of these cities is home to a high share of top-rated bagel vendors.
Local tips:
- Nashville: Get an authentic taste at H&S Bagels, where the hand-rolled bagels are made with NYC-style water. Top your bagel with classic Taylor ham, or unique cream cheese like lemon zest and guava.
- Amarillo: Chow down on a Texas-sized bagel sammy at The Bagel Place. Serving up fresh bagels since 1994, you can get a speedy bite by going through their drive-thru. Distinctive items include sun-dried tomato, butterscotch, and snickerdoodle bagels.
- McKinney: Family-owned shop Benny’s Bagels serves up hearth-baked bagels like Asiago jalapeño, cranberry, and chocolate chip, along with a variety of homemade cream cheese.
Bagels by the numbers
Expert take
You might be able to pick out a bagel from a plate full of onion rolls, but do you know what makes them so mouthwatering? We kneaded the minds of some bagel experts to find out. Read on to absorb some of their baking insights.
- What makes bagels so popular?
- What makes a quality bagel?
- Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Caribou Coffee merged to form one company, Panera Brands. What does this merger mean for customers who traditionally get their schmear from one of these establishments? How will the merger affect bagel quality, if at all?
- What are some unique bagel flavors, spreads, or toppings that bagel enthusiasts should try?
- What are different bagel styles? What makes New York style and St. Louis style stand out?
- What bagel trends, if any, should bagel lovers keep an eye out for?
Ask The Experts
Chef Dan Moe
Baking & Pastry Chef Instructor, The Culinary Institute of Montana
Chef Mark Muszynski
Culinary Arts Pastry Instructor
Chef Dan Moe
Baking & Pastry Chef Instructor, The Culinary Institute of Montana
Flathead Valley Community College
Chef Dan Moe
Baking & Pastry Chef Instructor, The Culinary Institute of Montana
Flathead Valley Community College
What makes bagels so popular?
I think bagel popularity is based on several factors: convenience, versatility, and quality. Whether served over the counter or from the grocery store, Americans love food that’s ready to go in the morning, and again at lunch.
That range also allows to top or shmear them with any range of flavors. They can be a tasty vessel for gourmet toppings, a chewy pairing for soft creamy cheese, or even the base for microwavable pizzas.
With the Noah’s Bagels explosion in the 1990’s, the need for high-volume, quality bagels sky rocketed and the technology has advanced since then to the point that we can get really decent bagels even when they’re not produced fresh, on-site.
What makes a quality bagel?
The first thing anyone notices about a quality bagel is going to be the look. It has to have a decent bread-to-hole ratio, such that the toppings or fillings can reach the other side, if necessary.
It also must have good rise from proper fermentation and poaching, and proper heft upon picking it up, indicating a slightly dense crumb.
The toppings can’t be burned, but the bagel must have a sufficient browning, just shy of golden.
The crust of a bagel really shouldn’t be crusty at all, it should be soft and very easy to get your teeth through. Then, as we chew, and there should be chew from the high-gluten bread flour, we pick up a slight saltiness in the crust from the poach, sweetness in the dough from either malt or honey, and then our toppings, whether savory or sweet.
Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Caribou Coffee recently merged to form one company, Panera Brands. What does this merger mean for customers who traditionally get their schmear from one of these establishments? How will the merger affect bagel quality, if at all?
Those three companies have put out quality products in the fast-casual scene consistently for a while, so hopefully it means a little more variety on the menu, but that same consistency from each store.
What are some unique bagel flavors, spreads, or toppings that bagel enthusiasts should try?
I worked for a Japanese company years ago that made frozen bagels in Portland and shipped them to Japan to be baked fresh and sold in bagel shops, grocery stores, and even on airlines.
They used some traditionally Japanese ingredients and combined them with common American bagel ingredients to create some really unique combinations that I wish I could find in stores or bakeries. Macha chocolate chip, edamame pepper jack, and adzuki, or red bean paste.
At bagel shops, I’m always on the lookout for salt bagels and then a sweet shmear option, like chocolate. Love that salty/sweet juxtaposition.
What are different bagel styles? What makes New York-style and St. Louis-style stand out?
The St Louis style bagel is really more of a method of preparation, or slicing to be exact.
New York style bagels are made with malt syrup and New York City water (which locals will tell you makes all the difference), and their fermentation is drawn out in cold temperatures to deepen the flavor. They’re poached in salted water and then baked.
Montreal, on the other hand, prefers a sweeter, fluffier product, so the dough contains sugar in addition to the malt. It is then poached in a honey or malt-sweetened bath and baked in a wood-fired oven, giving each bagel a distinct, light char.
What bagel trends, if any, should bagel lovers keep an eye out for?
The biggest bagel trend that I see right now is opening your own bagel shop! I’ve seen a big push since the pandemic in classes, support material, and even some brands offering guidance in how to open your own bagel shop. That’s a good thing!
Hopefully the independent, mom and pop bagels shops of America can come up with new, exciting flavor combinations or usages for the almighty bagel!
Chef Mark Muszynski
Culinary Arts Pastry Instructor
Joliet Junior College
Chef Mark Muszynski
Culinary Arts Pastry Instructor
Joliet Junior College
What makes bagels so popular?
I feel they are very versatile and can be eaten any time of the day. The new flavors, toppings and smears makes the possibilities endless. It seems like they are making a comeback. Simply toasted, plain with a smear of cream cheese or avocado, as a sandwich, or made into chips are all great choices.
What makes a quality bagel?
Great ingredients accented with great flavor combinations.
A great chew and flavor made by a person with good old fashion know-how of what a true bagel should look like and taste like.
Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Caribou Coffee recently merged to form one company, Panera Brands. What does this merger mean for customers who traditionally get their schmear from one of these establishments? How will the merger affect bagel quality, if at all?
Hopefully they will combine efforts and take what made all these companies successful and deliver this to the customers. They run the risk of losing the customers of those who enjoyed Einstein and Caribou. I feel Panera does quality work and I feel that they will not sacrifice quality but hopefully their bagels will be enhanced and become even better.
What are some unique bagel flavors, spreads, or toppings that bagel enthusiasts should try?
As far as new flavors, I am more of a traditionalist. I do love the everything bagel and feel there is room for variations of this flavor. Ethnic flavors are another option, as well as curry and Thai flavors, tomato or bacon jam, and maybe vegan options.
What are different bagel styles? What makes New York-style and St. Louis-style stand out?
I am familiar with New York and Montreal but had to look up St Louis style. Seems like St Louis is just sliced differently. Like pizza, everyone has a favorite. New York is most well known for a certain look(shine) and a good chew.
What bagel trends, if any, should bagel lovers keep an eye out for?
Bagel Trends continue to see innovations with flavors and smears. Vegan options should be seen as an up-and-coming option. I help run a vegan Mexican restaurant along with teaching, and I can see the popularity continue to grow and gain momentum.
I have been experimenting with laminated doughs, so I would be curious to see how a laminated bagel dough might turn out.
Behind the ranking
For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we gathered publicly available data on the factors listed in the table below.
We then grouped those factors into three categories: Access, Quality, and Popularity.
Next, we calculated weighted scores for each city in each category.
Finally, we averaged the scores for each city across all categories.
The city that earned the highest average score was ranked “Best” (No. 1), while the city with the lowest was ranked “Worst” (No. 200). (Note: The “Worst” among individual factors may not be 200 due to ties among cities.)
Sources
Google Ads, Hidden, TripAdvisor, and Yelp
Final thoughts: Not just a roll with a hole
You’re probably familiar with bagel flavors like sesame, cinnamon-raisin, and everything, but what about more unique tastes like sparkly cotton candy-filled unicorn bagels or fiery Flamin’ Hot Cheetos bagels?
Thankfully, you don’t need a ticket to New York — or even a tasty bagel shop in your neighborhood — to try these trendy bites. Don’t worry about buying bland bagels from the grocery store ever again. Instead, throw on an apron, and test your skills in the kitchen by making your own.
- Apple pecan streusel bagels are vegan-friendly and cinnamon-sweet.
- Add some color to your diet with fun rainbow bagels.
- Blueberry bagels are great for a fruity breakfast. Feeling extra blue? Schmear on some blueberry cream cheese.
- Sneak some beets into your breakfast with precious pink bagels.
- Grab a latte and make some bagels for your favorite pumpkin spice aficionado.
- Spice up your sandwiches with jalapeño cheddar bagels.
- Can’t decide what to eat for breakfast? Combine two favorites and you’ve got decadent French toast bagels.
- Knock out your cravings for bread and cheese with some Asiago bagels.
- Chomp down on delicious carbs without upsetting your stomach with gluten-free bagels.
You also can satisfy your cravings with pizza bagels, bagel chips, and simit, a bagel-like breakfast staple from Turkey. Thanks to everything bagel seasoning, you can even bring the flavor of your favorite bagel to nearly any food.
Bagel appétit!
Main Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Sav Maive
Sav Maive is a writer and director based in San Antonio. Sav is a graduate from the University of Virginia and is a loving cat and plant mom.
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