These Are The 25 Most Expensive Cities In America To Eat Sushi And Seattle Is #2

iStockphoto / Milkos

I had no idea that the Sushinomics Index existed until today but I’m glad to know that someone’s out there tracking the prices so I can know when to avoid ordering sushi while traveling. Bloomberg has mapped out the 25 most expensive cities in America to order sushi based on their Sushinomics Index. You won’t be shocked to see NYC at #1 but Seattle at #2 is kind of surprising given the close proximity to fertile salmon fishing waters and access to fresh tuna throughout the Pacific. The rest of the top 5 isn’t entirely surprising but after that the top 25 most expensive cities in America for eating sushi gets interesting:

https://twitter.com/ByRosenberg/status/1021488351235514369

A lot of people have pointed out that all of the top 6 cities are located on the coast and aren’t landlocked. I guess this just goes to show that it’s a lot cheaper to transport goods than it is to pay for labor and rent in the most desirable/expensive coastal cities.

This year, the basic combination cost an average $8.87 in the Big Apple and $8.39 in Seattle, compared with a nationwide average of $7.14. Los Angeles dropped out of the top three for the first time since the introduction of Sushinomics in 2011, with prices rising less than one percent from a year earlier.
Seattle, Amazon’s home, had the highest sushi inflation at 6.7 percent. San Francisco and Phoenix, where technology services are also helping drive economic growth, were next on fish-and-rice-roll inflation. That may be a warning to sushi loving city planners hopeful that Jeff Bezos chooses their city as the site of Amazon’s second headquarters. (via Bloomberg)

Something they don’t seem to be considering is the quality of the fish. A fresh bluefin tuna flown in from Japan and eaten the next day in NYC is going to taste better (and be more expensive) than a salmon roll in Columbus, Ohio. You can get great/fresh sushi anywhere, but it just seems like this sushi index needs more context. Yes, cities drive up the prices because of rent but the competition also demands higher quality and fresher ingredients.