Charleston, SC Named One of the Best Cities for Brunch in the US

Brunch in Charleston has become a way of life.  It is a weekend ritual that seems like it is as old as the colonization of this community.  Its culinary rewards are a sensation to our appetites and an event we look forward to as early as the beginning of each week.  Whether you are a foodie or not, brunch has become an unofficial holiday and one we love.

Whether it is a couple, family, friends, a fried green tomato benedict, shrimp and grits or mimosas, we flock on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy this Charleston tradition.

We have even compiled a resource guide with menus and links to some of the best brunches in the area to help you plan your next outing or serve as a check list if you want to try them all:  Charleston Brunch Guide

The fine folks at FindTheHome used Yelp and a 2014 American Community Survey data to determine the best brunch cities in the United States. SFGate compiled an analysis tool to sum up the best cities.  We are proud to say, Charleston is #3 on the list.  Congratulations to the chefs, owners, patrons and tourists that have put our brunch on the map.

Details of Analysis

The data scientists at FindTheHome, a real estate intelligence site powered by Graphiq determined the best cities for brunch based on data from Yelp and the 2014 American Community Survey

SFGate.com then created a comprehensive rating that accounts for quality, popularity and quantity. The “Breakfast Score” equally weighs the following data:

• Density of 4+ Yelp Star breakfast establishments
• Reviews per restaurant, normalized
• Number of breakfast and brunch restaurants per 10,000 people

Only cities with a population over 100,000 people and at least 50 breakfast or brunch restaurants were considered in this analysis. Restaurants needed at least one Yelp rating to be included. The following list of top cities for brunch is ranked from lowest to highest “Breakfast Score.”

Note: Because some cities are simply more active on Yelp than others, the analysis used the number of reviews at chain restaurants (IHOP, Denny’s Starbucks and Applebee’s) to normalize the “reviews per restaurant” figure across locations.

10.  Washington D.C.

Breakfast Score: 73.8
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 0.8
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 174.0
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 2.8
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Washington: 175

Population: 633,736

9.  New Orleans, LA

Breakfast Score: 76.3
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 1.7
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 128.0
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 3.3
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in New Orleans: 121

Population: 368,471

8.  San Diego, CA

Breakfast Score: 77.9
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 1.1
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 184.9
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 2.1
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in San Diego: 287

Population: 1,341,510

7.  Denver, CO

Breakfast Score: 84.0
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 1.1
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 282.1
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 2.4
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Denver: 155

Population: 633,777

6.  San Francisco, CA

Breakfast Score: 85.1
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 1.8
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 168.9
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 3.6
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in San Francisco: 298

Population: 829,072

5.  Paradise, NV

Breakfast Score: 86.0
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 0.9
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 272.4
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 3.3
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Paradise: 74

Population: 223,182

4.  Minneapolis, MN

Breakfast Score: 90.0
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 1.5
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 299.1
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 2.9
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Minneapolis: 114

Population: 394,424

3.  Charleston, SC

Breakfast Score: 94.6
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 1.9
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 226.1
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 4.5
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Charleston: 56

Population: 125,458

2.  Berkeley, CA

Breakfast Score: 95.3
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 2.0
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 209.1
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 4.5
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Berkeley: 52

Population: 115,688

1. Portland, OR

Breakfast Score: 95.9
Density of 4+ Yelp Star Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 2.2
Reviews per Restaurant, Normalized: 248.0
Number of Breakfast Restaurants per 10K People: 3.7
Number of Breakfast Restaurants in Portland: 220

Population: 602,568

Enjoy brunch y’all.