Today is National Hot Dog Day
July 18, 2018
The Bottom Line: Fun facts about hot dogs!
The Full Story:
We’re in prime hot dog season…and that means we've got some fun hot dog facts and figures from the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (NDHSC):
- Americans consume more than 20-BILLION hot dogs every year, 9-billion of which were purchased in retail stores. That tallies about 350-million pounds.
- Americans will eat 26.8-million hot dogs in major league ballparks - that's enough to stretch from Dodgers' Stadium in Los Angeles to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida!
- On average, 450 hot dogs are eaten every second of every day in the United States or an average of about 70 dogs per person.
- According to the Council's 2016 survey of hot dog and sausage consumption at major league ballparks in the United States, ballparks sell about 19.4-million hot dogs every season. The baseball fans love of the hot dog is why all top ten hot dog consuming cities host MLB teams. This information is based on sales data for the previous year and expected attendance for the upcoming season.
- On the Fourth of July, Americans will enjoy 150-million hot dogs! That’s enough to stretch from D.C. to Los Angeles more than five times.
- During peak hot dog season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans typically consume seven-billion hot dogs during the season, which runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. That’s 818 hot dogs per second and more than a third of the hot dogs eaten per year.
- The Council estimates Americans will consume more than 2-billion hot dogs during this month, which also happens to be National Hot Dog Month!
- Hot dogs are served in 95% of homes in the United States.
- While most hot dogs are eaten at home, 15% are purchased from street vendors, 9% are purchased at ball parks.
- Mustard remains the most popular hot dog topping – 87% of hot dog eaters use it.
- Los Angeles residents consume more hot dogs than any other city (more than 39-million), beating out New York and Philadelphia.
- Chicago's O'Hare International Airport consumes SIX times more hot dogs than Los Angeles International Airport and LaGuardia Airport combined. How many is that? 725,000.