99% of Americans live near a Mexican restaurant

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99% of Americans live near a Mexican restaurant, per Axios.The prevalence of Mexican cuisine in the United States has reached a point where an astounding 99 percent of Americans live in close proximity to a Mexican restaurant, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. Drawing on data from Yelp and SafeGraph, the study revealed that approximately 11 percent of restaurants in the country specialize in Mexican food, with 85 percent of U.S. counties boasting at least one Mexican restaurant.The counties without Mexican restaurants, constituting 15 percent of the total, tend to be sparsely populated, accounting for only around 4 million people or 1 percent of the U.S. population. California and Texas contribute significantly to the Mexican restaurant landscape, representing nearly 40 percent of all such establishments in the U.S. Los Angeles County in California alone is home to over 5,400 Mexican restaurants, making up around 30 percent of the state's total, while 17 percent are in Harris County, Texas, where Houston is situated.Mexican restaurants make up a substantial portion of dining establishments in certain states, such as 22 percent in New Mexico, 20 percent in Texas, 18 percent in Arizona, and 17 percent in California. A closer look at the data reveals that 22 percent of Mexican restaurants nationwide are categorized as fast-food, with 12 percent specializing in tacos, 8 percent operating as food trucks or carts, and 6 percent offering Tex-Mex cuisine.The affordability of Mexican cuisine likely contributes to its increasing popularity, with 61 percent of Mexican restaurants rated with just one "dollar sign" on Yelp's pricing scale. Restaurants with a rating of three or more dollar signs make up less than 1 percent of Mexican establishments nationwide.This culinary trend reflects the growing influence of Mexican Americans on U.S. culture, as Mexican food becomes increasingly intertwined with American dining preferences. According to Aaron Smith, the director of data labs at Pew Research Center, "Mexican cuisine really is ubiquitous across the American landscape," emphasizing that Mexican food and American food are becoming synonymous in many ways.