Hot dogs are a staple of the American diet at this point, with the U.S. population consuming over 20 billion of them each year. Yes, with a B. While that sounds intimidating, remember that the U.S. has over 340 million people, so each person consumes an average of around 70 hot dogs per year. That version sounds a lot more palatable. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council records that 9% of all hot dogs are eaten at baseball games alone, so while it might sound like a stereotype, there’s a strong relationship between the two American classics.
The largest hot dog consuming-state (per capita) in the country is West Virginia. It’s one of the least-dense areas with 1.77 million residents in the whole state. Compare this to California with a population just shy of 40 million, and whose per capita consumption of hot dogs is minimal. Still, it might actually be this low population that affords it the top spot. Each West Virginia resident eats an average of 481 hot dogs per year. That’s more than one on any given day, but with such a small population, there’s plenty to go around, especially with their acclaimed West Virginia Hot Dog.
As for the cities that eat the most, Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas take the lead. These stats aren’t so surprising given their very large population sizes, as well as the fact that each of these areas are big baseball hubs. Los Angeles Dodgers fans alone ate a total of 2.7 million hot dogs in the 2019 season. New York City sells over 20 different kinds of hot dogs, and their baseball industry averages more than one million sausages and hot dogs (note, they are not the same thing) sold each season.
The relationship between Americans and hot dogs
Many Germans immigrated to America in the 19th century, and they brought with them a host of their foods. One was the frankfurter, a boiled and smoked sausage covered in a thin casing. Over time, Germans started selling their franks in small street carts, and the convenient and affordable dish quickly became a hit. The name “hot dog” started appearing as early as the late 1800s. Germans also brought dachshunds to the United States, and a joke developed about fitting these long, thin dogs into a bun. By the 1890s, there were college magazines writing about them, and the popularity of the name spread. There is an appealing folklore that states a cartoonist at a baseball game drew a picture of a dachshund in a bun, captioning it “Get your hot dogs!” While it’s cute, there is actually no evidence of said cartoon.
Hot dogs have stayed consistently cheap, simple, and filling. As people got busier, hot dog carts continued to pop up in cities across the country, offering passersby an easy meal to eat on the go. Regardless of how the economy was doing, hot dog prices remained attainable, and were easy to make at home, too. While not all hot dog brands are created equal, there’s no shortage of excellent options. They’ve become staples at barbecues and picnics, and on the Fourth of July alone, Americans consume around 150 million of them. Plus, who could forget the annual Hot Dog eating contest held on the holiday, which has become a much-loved tradition and continually cements hot dogs in American culture.
