Mexican restaurants have become a cornerstone throughout the United States. According to a recent study, 1 in every 10 food establishments in the U.S. is a Mexican restaurant.
With 37.2 million people of Mexican descent in the country, these figures are not surprising. The Pew Research Center’s analysis — using data from Yelp and SafeGraph — found that the counties with the highest number of restaurants in the United States are in California and Texas.
In 10 counties across the country, Mexican establishments account for more than a third of all restaurants.
But in Arizona, that number is far lower.
Arizona is a southern border state — very much like California and Texas — where just over 2 million Mexicans reside, according to 2022 Census data. But unlike its surrounding states, only 18 percent of businesses in Arizona serve Mexican food.
Still, our state does not disappoint. In a show of which counties account for the most Mexican restaurants, Maricopa County came in fourth place.