Rank #33 of 33
New York City, NY
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
7.1
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$4.09
Avg taco price
$29.07
Median hourly wage (2024)
$5.00
Fast-casual taqueria
$3.19
Taco Bell crunchy taco
New York City sits below the national average. An hour of local work buys 7.1 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (−2.2 vs national average).
Local note
New York's taqueria scene is led by destination spots like Los Tacos No. 1, Birria-Landia, and Taquería Ramirez, and prices have risen sharply in recent years. The city now sits near the top of the chart for fast-casual taco prices, behind only San Francisco.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Los Tacos No. 1 ($5.65–$6.00 adobada/pollo/asada at Chelsea Market), Taquería Ramirez ($4–$6 Greenpoint), Birria-Landia ($5–$6 carne tacos), Carnitas Ramirez. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $3.19 (verified via Uber Eats; 1503 Lexington Ave Manhattan store lists $3.65, implying ~$3.19 in-store after standard markup).
Average taco price ($4.09) is $1.32 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.