Meaty matters: Here are America's 45 favorite burger joints

Though there are many claims of its historical origins, one thing is clear: Americans love a good burger. From a fast-food burger at a drive-in to an elevated version topped with shaved truffles and seared foie gras, there's a burger out there that's sure to please any palate. 

To grill it down to the best in the nation, Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top 45 burger spots around the country, using Yelp data and our own special sauce* to produce a data-driven breakdown of where burgers reign supreme across the U.S.

Topping the list is South Dakota’s Black Hills Burger and Bun Co., located at 441 Mount Rushmore Road in Custer. With a 4.5-star rating out of 346 reviews on Yelp, this burger joint has made an impression with its house-made 6-ounce patties prepared nearly a dozen different ways. Look for The Hot Granny with bacon, cream cheese and jalapeños; The Greek Goddess with feta cheese, roasted red pepper, spinach and Kalamata olive aioli; or the classic with all the traditional fixins’. And if you’ve still got room for more, each burger comes with a choice of sides like baked beans or sweet potato fries. 

In second place is Wisconsin’s Oscar’s Pub & Grill with a solid 4.5 stars out of 630 reviews. Located in Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park neighborhood at 1712 W. Pierce St., this tavern and eatery features a selection of honkin’ signature burgers like The Big O with chipotle jack and smoked Gouda, bacon, chorizo and fried onions; The Big Foot with blue and boursin cheese; and The Big Aloha with ham, havarti, avocado and a slice of pineapple. 

The third-place spot goes to Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis, which boasts a steady four stars out of an impressive 1,279 reviews. Located at 3500 Cedar Ave., this no-frills pub specializes in the Juicy Lucy, a cheese-stuffed burger patty topped with pickles and grilled onions. 

When it comes to the popularity of burgers across the country, Yelp data show that businesses tagged with the "burger" category are largely clustered along the East and West coasts, with the Midwestern and Southern states, such as Texas, Florida and the Carolinas, also seeing notable numbers of burger-focused restaurants. 

As for relative popularity across the nation, measured by average ratings for a given category, Yelp data indicate that Maryland, Colorado, Virginia and Georgia may not be home to the biggest burger fans, comparatively speaking.

When it comes to how prevalent burger outlets are, state by state, New Mexico shows the strongest ratio of burger joints compared to all other categories, with Utah, Kentucky, Kansas and Indiana the runners-up. So, New Mexico should be your top stop if you want a diversity of burger options to choose from.

Want to know where to score the most satisfying burgers the country has to offer? Here's the rundown of the 45 American burger spots to knock off your bucket list:

1. Black Hills Burger and Bun Co. (Custer, South Dakota) 
2. Oscar’s Pub & Grill (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
3. Matt's Bar (Minneapolis, Minnesota) 
4. Baby Barnaby’s (Houston, Texas)
5. Nic’s Grill (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 
6. Portillo’s Hot Dogs (Chicago, Illinois)
7. Uncle Uber’s (Dallas, Texas)
8. The Garage Burgers and Beer (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
9. SideStreet Burgers (Olive Branch, Mississippi)
10. Gabby’s Burgers (Nashville, Tennessee) 
11. Lexie’s Joint (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
12. Do-B’s (Emporia, Kansas)
13. Billy Bob’s Dairyland (Branson, Missouri) 
14. LA Burger (Irving, Texas)
15. Breakroom (New York City, New York)
16. David's Burgers (Conway, Arkansas) 
17. Mad Mike’s Burgers & Fries (Florence, Kentucky)
18. Baha Burger (Hoover, Alabama)
19. Panini Pete’s (Fairhope, Alabama)
20. Tucker’s Onion Burgers (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
21. The Garage Burgers and Beer (Norman, Oklahoma)
22. Al’s Burger Shack (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
23. Paradise Valley Burger Company (Phoenix, Arizona)
24. GoldBurgers (Newington, Connecticut) 
25. LA Burger (Carrollton, Texas)
26. Swensons Drive-In (Akron, Ohio)
27. Grillshack Fries and Burgers (Nashville, Tennessee)
28. Band Box Diner (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
29. Slabtown Cafe & Burgers (Traverse City, Michigan)
30. Paradise Pup (Des Plaines, Illinois)
31. Cozy Inn (Salina, Kansas) 
32. Stamps Superburger (Jackson, Mississippi) 
33. David's Burgers (North Little Rock, Arkansas) 
34. LA Burger (Richardson, Texas)
35. The Cow Calf-Hay (Edmond, Oklahoma)
36. Flub A Dub Chub’s (Chicago, Illinois)
37. Olive Burger (Richardson, Texas)
38. Bates Hamburgers (Livonia, Michigan)
39. Fatso’s Last Stand (Chicago, Illinois)
40. Tailgater’s Burger Company (Hope, Arkansas)
41. Unk’s Burgers (Lee's Summit, Missouri)
42. Corbett’s Burgers and Soda Bar (Cary, North Carolina)
43. Big Burger Spot (Greensboro, North Carolina) 
44. Peace -N- Hominy Q (Belmont, North Carolina)
45. Pinky’s Westside Grill (Charlotte, North Carolina)
    

* To determine "best" businesses, Hoodline took into account the business's Yelp rating and the significance of that rating proportional to the number of reviews, as well as regional variations, to ensure that states with a stronger pattern of reviews don't have an unfair advantage over states that tend to review businesses less frequently.