North Carolina Ranked The 3rd Best State to Try Edible Insect and Wildlife Cuisine

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Charlotte Stories
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What are the best states to harvest edible wildlife and explore unique culinary experiences?

To highlight the growing interest in foraging and harvesting edible species, the website LawnStarter ranked 2025’s Top States to Try Edible Insect and Wildlife Cuisine.

How does North Carolina stack up in some key metrics (1st = Best)?

  • Number of Invasive Edible Species – 4th
  • Percentage of Sunshine – 19th
  • Incidence of Rabies – 2nd
  • Google Search Interest – 6th

To come up with our ranking, the site compared all 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, based on 4 categories. They considered the number of edible species, restaurants serving insects, and Google search interest, among 8 total metrics.

2025’s Top States to Try Edible Insect and Wildlife Cuisine

1 California 69.66 2 8 3 1
2 New York 62.57 1 29 3 4
3 North Carolina 53.86 3 18 3 6
4 Minnesota 49.87 4 11 3 20
5 Florida 48.91 9 43 3 3
6 Virginia 48.68 5 17 3 12
7 Massachusetts 48.48 7 2 3 15
8 Illinois 47.33 9 27 3 5
9 Georgia 46.41 6 47 3 8
10 Ohio 44.88 13 26 3 8
11 Texas 44.81 11 51 45 2
12 Pennsylvania 44.65 16 15 3 6
13 Nebraska 42.37 12 21 3 35
14 Wisconsin 41.92 18 16 3 20
15 Arizona 41.61 16 39 3 12
16 New Jersey 41.27 19 30 3 12
17 Oregon 41.27 15 35 3 17
18 Colorado 40.90 21 1 3 20
19 Maryland 38.82 20 32 3 17
20 Mississippi 38.71 8 50 45 35
21 Michigan 38.47 26 23 3 10
22 South Dakota 37.79 23 14 3 44
23 Kansas 37.16 22 37 3 31
24 Indiana 36.79 29 20 3 19
25 Kentucky 36.30 27 19 3 27
26 Iowa 36.25 30 10 3 31
27 Connecticut 36.07 32 6 3 31
28 Hawaii 35.99 45 6 1 35
29 Tennessee 35.91 27 40 3 16
30 New Hampshire 35.00 39 36 2 35
31 Missouri 34.99 30 34 3 23
32 Louisiana 34.67 14 49 45 27
33 Arkansas 34.59 25 46 3 31
34 Alabama 34.52 24 48 3 27
35 Washington 34.38 34 42 3 10
36 Idaho 32.98 36 28 3 35
37 Oklahoma 32.69 33 45 3 23
38 West Virginia 32.18 35 41 3 35
39 North Dakota 32.11 42 9 3 44
40 Utah 32.07 38 33 3 23
41 New Mexico 31.60 41 25 3 35
42 South Carolina 30.51 37 38 45 23
43 Maine 30.49 44 3 3 35
44 Delaware 29.61 43 22 3 44
45 Nevada 29.25 39 12 45 27
46 Vermont 27.82 47 24 3 44
47 Rhode Island 27.54 45 5 45 44
48 Montana 27.11 49 13 3 44
49 Wyoming 26.01 50 4 3 44
50 Alaska 24.92 48 44 3 44
51 District of Columbia 11.94 51 31 45 35