Rank #1 of 33
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
11.1
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$2.50
Avg taco price
$27.71
Median hourly wage (2024)
$3.00
Fast-casual taqueria
$1.99
Taco Bell crunchy taco
Minneapolis sits above the national average. An hour of local work buys 11.1 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (+1.8 vs national average).
Local note
The Twin Cities have a quietly strong taqueria scene, especially along East Lake Street and on the East Side of St. Paul. The combination of relatively affordable taco prices and one of the highest median wages in the index pushes Minneapolis to the top of the affordability ranking.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Lake Street / Lyndale corridor — Taco Taxi (~$2.50/taco), Turbo Taco Truck, broader truck range $3–5. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $1.99 (national avg).
Average taco price ($2.50) is $0.27 below 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.