The Best Budget-Friendly Ice Cream Spot in 40 Cities

By Andrew DePietro July 11, 2016 Start Saving Now

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If you’re an ice cream lover, you’re not alone. Eighty-seven percent of Americans have ice cream in their freezer at any given time, according to IceCream.com. And in 2015, Americans spent $12.2 billion on ice cream and frozen novelties, according to International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.

To celebrate Americans’ love for ice cream, as well as National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 17, GOBankingRates.com took a look at some of the best ice cream shops across the U.S., assessing them in terms of popularity, quality and price.

From New York City to Honolulu, here are the coolest ice cream spots in the U.S. and how much they’ll cost you. Click through to find out where you should celebrate National Ice Cream Day 2016 and if your city — or favorite ice cream shop — made the list.

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1. Philadelphia: Capogiro Gelato

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Hazelnut, Thai Coconut
Two Scoops: $5.56
Three Scoops: $6.97
Four Scoops: $8.37

Read: 101 Ways to Save Money This Summer

2/40

2. Baltimore: Pitango Gelato

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Hazelnut (Nocciola) Gelato
Regular Size: $5.65
Large Size: $6.99

3/40

3. Washington, DC: Ice Cream Jubilee

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Cookies & Cookie Dough, Banana Bourbon Caramel and Thai Iced Tea
One Scoop: $2.95

4/40

4. Virginia Beach, Va.: Confetti

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Sea Salt Caramel, Stracciatella, Belgian Chocolate Chip and Pistachio
Cup or Cone: $3.49, $4.49, $5.49

5/40

5. Raleigh, N.C.: Fresh Local Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Milkshakes
Cost of Classic Milkshake: $4.95

6/40

6. Atlanta: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Double scoop cones of Salty Caramel, Milkiest Chocolate, Darkest Chocolate and Ndali Estate Vanilla Bean
One Scoop: $4.65
Two Scoops: $6
Waffle Cone: $1+

7/40

7. Miami: Azucar Ice Cream Company

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Abuela Maria (flavor)
Cost: $4.28

8/40

8. Orlando, Fla.: Jeremiah’s Italian Ice

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Gelati (product)
Cost: $3.25-$6.60

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9. New Orleans: The Creole Creamery

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Black and Gold Crunch, Golden Summer Fig, Creole Cream Cheese, Salty Smoky Chocolate Almond, Green Fairy and Lavender Honey
Single Scoop: $3
Double Scoop: $5.75

10/40

10. Dallas: Steel City Pops

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Lavender Lemonade
Per Pop: $3
Four Pops: $11

11/40

11. Houston: SweetCup

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Texan Kulfi Gelato
Small cup (choice of 3 flavors with a free house made waffle chip): $4.60

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12. Austin, Texas: Dolce Neve

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Gelato on a Stick
Cost: $5.30

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13. San Antonio: Paciugo Gelato & Caffé

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Pistachio, Wedding Cake (flavors)
Small: $4.29
Medium: $5.39
Large: $5.89

14/40

14. Tucson, Arizona: Allegro – Il Gelato Naturale

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Gelato Allegro and Cinnamon (flavors)
Small Cup/Cone: $3.75/$4.40
Medium Cup/Cone: $4.75/$5.40
Large Cup/Cone: $5.75/$5.90

15/40

15. Phoenix: Sweet Republic

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Toffee Banofi Sundae
Cost: $7.75

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16. San Diego: Mariposa Homemade Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Mexican Chocolate (flavor)
One Scoop: $2.75
Two Scoops: $4.50

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17. Los Angeles: Gelateria Uli

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Chocolate Sorbet and Speculoos Cookies (flavor)
Kiddie (1 flavor and 1 scoop): $4
Small (2 flavors and 2 scoops): $5.75
Medium (3 flavors and 3 scoops): $7

18/40

18. San Jose, Calif.: Sweet Rendezvous

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Fudge Ana Sundae
Single: $5.95
Double: $6.65

19/40

19. San Francisco: Bi-Rite Creamery

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Salted Caramel and Honey Lavender
Single Scoop: $4.50
Double Scoop: $6

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20. Sacramento, Calif.: Gunther’s Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Fruit Freeze (product)
Small: $3.75
Medium: $5.60
Large: $7.45

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21. Portland, Ore: Salt & Straw

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons
Kids: $2.95
Single Scoop: $3.95
Double Scoop: $5.95
Ice Cream Flight of Four Flavors: $9
Pint Go Go: $9

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22. Seattle: Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Passionfruit and Marionberry
Cup: $3.75
Small: $3.90
Medium: $5.90
Family: $12

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23. Honolulu: Frostcity

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Green Tea (flavor)
Cost: $4.95-$7.75

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24. Las Vegas: Gelatology

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Gelatology
Cost: $4-$8.50

25/40

25. Denver: Sweet Cow

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Cookies & Cream (flavor), Pretzel Cones
Single: $2.95
Double: $3.75
Triple: $4.50
Pretzel Cone: $0.95

26/40

26. Omaha, Neb.: Ted and Wally’s Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Dutch Chocolate
One Scoop: $2.69
Two Scoops: $4.19
Three Scoop: $4.79

27/40

27. Minneapolis: Izzy’s Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Salted Caramel
5.33-ounce size: $5.55

28/40

28. Madison, Wis.: Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Bang!! Caffeinated Ice Cream
Single Scoop: $3.38
Double Scoop: $4.54

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29. Chicago: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Double scoop cones of Salty Caramel, Milkiest Chocolate, Darkest Chocolate and Ndali Estate Vanilla Bean
One Scoop: $4.65
Two Scoops: $6
Waffle Cone: $1+

30/40

30. Kansas City, Mo.: Glace Artisan Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Christopher Elbow Dark Chocolate
Small: $3.75
Regular: $4.75

31/40

31. St. Louis: Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Concretes (ice cream product with different flavors to choose from)
Mini: $2.60
Regular: $4.20
Large: $5.50

32/40

32. Memphis, Tenn.: Jerry’s Sno Cones

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Sno Cone Supreme
Cost: $2 to $4

33/40

33. Nashville, Tenn.: Las Paletas

Best ice cream dish, flavor or products: Hot Chocolate with Chili (flavor)
Cost: $3.50

34/40

34. Indianapolis: Brics

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Monon Tracks (flavor)
Briclet (kid size): $2.75
One Scoop: $3.49
Two Scoops: $5.05

35/40

35. Detroit: Treat Dreams

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Kooky Monster (flavor)
Single Scoop: $3.45
Double Scoop: $5.19
Triple Scoop: $6.25

36/40

36. Columbus, Ohio: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Double scoop cones of Salty Caramel, Milkiest Chocolate, Darkest Chocolate and Ndali Estate Vanilla Bean
One Scoop: $4.65
Two Scoops: $6
Waffle Cone: $1+

37/40

37. Cleveland: Sweet Moses

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Brownie Sundae
Cost: $7.50

38/40

38. New York: Ice & Vice

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Milk Money and Tea Dance (flavors)
Single: $4.36
Double: $6.20

39/40

39. Pittsburgh: The Milk Shake Factory

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Classic Shake
Cost: $5

40/40

40. Boston: FoMu

Best Ice Cream Dish, Flavor or Product: Peanut Butter Mud Pie (flavor)
Small: $4.50
Regular: $5.50

Keep Reading: 30 Ways to Avoid Spending Money This Summer

Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed ice cream, frozen yogurt and frozen dessert shops from throughout the United States via Yelp. Ice cream establishments were selected based on the following criteria: (1) ice cream shops must be categorized as “Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt” on Yelp; (2) ice cream shop prices must be categorized as “Inexpensive” or “Moderate” on Yelp; (3) ice cream shops must have over 250 reviews on Yelp. Ice cream establishments were then sorted by the highest rated to provide the selected shops for the study. Prices were sourced from Yelp, the shops’ official websites and/or through customer service representatives.

About the Author

Andrew DePietro

Andrew DePietro is a finance writer with years of experience covering topics such as taxation, Social Security, entrepreneurship, investing, real estate and housing markets. His work has appeared on MSN, Yahoo Finance, Fortune, Forbes, CBS and U.S. News. Before writing for GOBankingRates, Andrew worked as a research assistant and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in History.