Bay Area/ Oakland/ Food & Drinks
Published on July 20, 2017
Think Inside The Bun: How The Bay Area Stacks Up In America's Top 50 BurgersThe Box Burger. | Photo: Stefanie W./Yelp

With the classic hamburger being one of the most prevalent menu items across America’s cities and towns, it’s not difficult to find a passable patty near you. But if you want a burger that’s not a Big Mac and not going to break the bank, where’s the best place to go?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top 50 burgers around the country that are under $10, using both Yelp data and our own secret marinade to produce a data-driven breakdown of where burgers sizzle supreme (and cheap) in the US—and how the Bay Area compares.

Nearly 10,000 burger eateries have both a rating of 4 stars or higher and one dollar sign on Yelp, as this map illustrates. We crunched the numbers to find the 50 best.

Not surprisingly, San Francisco and Oakland are represented, with two of the best cheap burgers in the country. The highest-ranking spot, at #24, is Box Kitchen, a SoMa staple since 2012, that landed on our list with an impressive 4.5- star rating with 464 reviews.

What makes the Box Burger so bomb? The restaurant’s positioning adjacent to long-running dive bar, the Tempest, helps, as eaters seem to enjoy the pairing of burgers, beer and pool tables as they watch their local sports teams play on the TV. According to our analysis, 18 percent of the top 50 hamburger haunts are cross-categorized for burgers and bars, and Box Kitchen is the sole establishment on our list to show up as both a burger place and a dive bar.

Next on the list at #30, you'll find TrueBurger, in Oakland. While it has a lower, 4.0- star average, TrueBurger has accumulated a relatively large number of reviews at 1,403 — weighting it more favorably than most other burger joints in that tier. Characterized by a basic menu of bold burger options, even TrueBurger’s double pattied burgers come in at under $10, making it a popular lunch and dinner go-to for commuters, locals and perceptive passers-by.

Curious to know where to nab the juiciest, most flavorful, least expensive burgers around the country? Here's the rundown of the top 50 affordable burgers to plan your next cross-country road trip around:

  1. PDX Sliders (Portland)
  2. Peter’s Gourmade Grill (Tustin)
  3. Hodad’s (San Diego)
  4. Breakroom (New York)
  5. Bunz (Huntington Beach)
  6. Paradise Valley Burger Company (Phoenix)
  7. Hawkins House of Burgers (Los Angeles)
  8. LA Burger (Irving)
  9. Rockfire Grill (Mission Viejo)
  10. Ty’s Burger House (Oceanside)
  11. Paradise Pup (Des Plaines)
  12. Canada Steak Burger (San Diego)
  13. Rocket Burger & Subs (Phoenix)
  14. Mick’s Karma Bar (Irvine)
  15. Apollo Restaurant (Victorville)
  16. Grinderz (Huntington Beach)
  17. Super Burger (Pasadena)
  18. Rain City Burgers (Seattle)
  19. Fatso’s Last Stand (Chicago)
  20. The Pocket Burger Shack (Sunset Beach)
  21. Bishop Burger Barn (Bishop)
  22. Oscar’s Pub & Grill (Milwaukee)
  23. Mo Better Burgers (Los Angeles)
  24. Box Kitchen (San Francisco)
  25. Hwy 101 Burger (Lincoln City)
  26. M&M Grill (Houston)
  27. Corner Burger (Lawndale)
  28. Lexie’s Joint (Portsmouth)
  29. Nick’s Jr Burgers and Gyros (Everett)
  30. TrueBurger (Oakland)
  31. Hippo Burgers (Humble)
  32. Jaspers Cafe (Medford)
  33. Rocky’s Crown Pub (San Diego)
  34. Bill’s Hamburgers (Van Nuys)
  35. Olive Burger (Richardson)
  36. Flip.n.Shake (Sacramento)
  37. Stella’s Bar & Grill (Bellevue)
  38. Kopp’s Frozen Custard (Glendale)
  39. Mission (Newport)
  40. Wee Shack (Morro Bay)
  41. The Balboa Bar & Grill (San Diego)
  42. Gabby’s Burgers (Nashville)
  43. Famous Burgers (Rancho Cordova)
  44. Little City Grille (Boulder City)
  45. Sylvester’s Burgers (Los Osos)
  46. GoldBurgers (Newington)
  47. Spelunker’s Burgers & Frozen Custard (Front Royal)
  48. O’side Sports Bar & Grill (Oceanside)
  49. Red Mill Burgers (Seattle)
  50. P&G Burgers (Colton)