Rank #32 of 33
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
7.3
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$3.50
Avg taco price
$25.72
Median hourly wage (2024)
$4.50
Fast-casual taqueria
$2.49
Taco Bell crunchy taco
Los Angeles sits below the national average. An hour of local work buys 7.3 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (−2.0 vs national average).
Local note
Los Angeles has some of the best tacos in the country and some of the highest prices. The index uses the fast-casual and chain average — not the premium end of a market that runs from $1.50 Boyle Heights street tacos to $8 Silver Lake restaurant tacos.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Tacos Tu Madre ($4.00–$4.50 street tacos), broad LA Taco / Time Out / Infatuation 2025 guides ($3.50–$5 fast-casual). Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $2.49 (CA FAST Act premium).
Average taco price ($3.50) is $0.73 above the national average of $2.77.
How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price.
Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price.
Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations.
Full methodology.