One would think that stereotypical “delivery dishes” like lo mein and pizza would be an overwhelming favorite with Americans summoning dinner to their door, but with the pervasiveness of smartphones and the rise of food delivery apps, favorite delivery menus are becoming more diverse. Americans placed nearly one billion online orders in 2015, according to Quartz and marketing research company NPD Group, up 125 percent from 2010. That means top online food-ordering companies like GrubHub and DoorDash are collecting tons of data that can give insight into what kinds of food people get sent to their homes.
So we asked Grubhub, the middleman for more than 270,000 daily online orders in more than 1,000 U.S. cities, and delivery app DoorDash, which offers on-demand delivery services for restaurants, to share data on the most ordered and most popular food items in various locations. It turns out America's "go-to" delivery order varies wildly.
Pizza and Chinese food were once synonymous with delivery, but people can now order alcohol, sushi, and spaghetti delivered to their door.
We looked at 2015 data showing the five "most popular" delivery food items in each state, defined as the dishes with more orders than the baseline order volume for that item across the United States. For example: The number of orders for buffalo chicken pitas in Alabama is 201 percent higher than the baseline order volume for buffalo pitas in the U.S. as a whole. DoorDash also shared their most ordered items in 19 American cities.
Of course, the data excludes the nationwide pizza chains that might first come to mind when you think about delivery. (They have their own in-house systems and are usually not on GrubHub or other third-party apps.) And for purposes of our analysis, states where data was too low or did not exist were not included. We combined the remaining data from GrubHub and DoorDash to find the most popular delivery food items, from coast to coast:
Once upon a time, pizza and Chinese food were synonymous with delivery and takeout, but that seems to be changing. Thanks to apps, delivery only-restaurants, and delivery services, people have access to more restaurants and options. Independent restaurants that can't afford to hire their own delivery drivers — or where delivery is not a main selling point — have an easier time putting their menus online. Nowadays people can order alcohol, sushi, and spaghetti delivered to their door.
But in general, Americans still love Asian food when it comes to home delivery. While Chinese food is the most popular delivery item in six states, when combined with sushi, Asian food is the top choice in 13 states.
Sushi rolls are also a hot dish. In GrubHub's and DoorDash's lists of the top five most popular delivery items, options like the California roll and tempura shrimp roll show up among the most well-liked items — of all delivery food — in several states. The specific rolls vary from classic to lesser-known regional favorites, like the Idaho roll, which is particularly popular in Massachusetts. (Ingredients in so-called Idaho rolls seem to vary regionally, but often incorporate potatoes.)
Even though the most popular delivery items run the gamut on a national level, some trends emerge locally. In Wisconsin, for instance, the top three delivery items on GrubHub are all dishes highlighting cheese, with cheese curds taking the top spot. Most pizza-eating states are on the east coast, while most Chinese-ordering states are farther west.
But the strongest regional trend would have to be chicken in the south. Chicken is the most popular delivery item among GrubHub and DoorDash users, with most of the chicken-loving states are clustered in the southeast.
Despite chicken, Asian cuisine, and pizza being top delivery faves, America has an eclectic palate when it comes to quick and fast delivery food. As online ordering and food delivery apps continue to grow, the diverse list of delivery foods might, too. In the next few years, we may be ordering less Chinese takeout and more Mediterranean food or full-course steak dinners, all arriving directly to your doorstep.
Vince Dixon is Eater's data visualization reporter. Oleksander Stecyk is a graphic designer and illustrator living in Oakland, CA.
Facebook/social media photo: nalinratphi/Shutterstock
Editor: Erin DeJesus