The U.S. States Where Pizza Is Most Abundant
Pizza is arguably the most universally beloved food in the entire United States. Whether it’s fresh out of a wood-fired oven, or fresh out of the freezer, pizza is always delicious. Plus, it’s one of the few foods that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But is this national culinary treasure equally popular across the country? No. It seems some of these United States have turned their back on one of the few things thought to unite us.
In honor of National Pizza Day, Estately set out to find out which states make the best places for pizza lovers to call home by determining which states have the most pizza places per capita. It wasn’t surprising to see pizza is most popular in the Northeast, but it is shocking to see how unpopular pizza is along this country’s Southern Border, stretching from California all the way to Georgia. It’s like a bland, unsatisfying waste of land devoid of melted cheese and toppings. What’s wrong with this flavorless hellscape?
Five Most Pizza-Enthusiastic States
The Mountaineer State has 1,553 establishments serving pizza, that’s one for every 1,210 people in the state. It also Googles “pepperoni” more than any other state. The only blemish on the state’s unmatched pizza enthusiasm is that Little Caesars makes up nearly 8 percent of the pizza places in West Virginia.
2. Delaware
The state is shaped like a slice so of course the state is crazy for pizza. Good work, Delaware.
3. New Jersey
They should stop calling it New York-style pizza and start calling it New Jersey-style pizza because they’re the one’s who are eating all those pies. Same goes for any “New York” pro sports team that play in New Jersey
4. Ohio
Nearly 20% of all restaurants in Ohio serve pizza, which is some kind of wonderful. It’s also nearly double the percentage of places per capita that serve it in Nevada.
5. Nevada
Nevada is a bastion of pizza, a citadel of melted cheese in a section of the country that refuses to embrace pizza with the same fervor other parts of America do. Of course maybe this is just Las Vegas places catering to New Jersey tourists, but we’ll take it.
Interesting Pizza Facts:
- Rhode Island Googles “pizza” more than any other state.
- Colorado and Washington state Google “pizza delivery” way more than other states. Wonder why that is?
- New England Greek is a style of pizza popular in New England, and it’s baked in a greased cast iron pan.
- “Deep Dish” is a Washington, DC-based musical group formed by two Iranian-American DJs.
- Wisconsin Googles “frozen pizza” more than any other state.
- Detroit-style pizza is similar to Sicilian-style pizza, with a deep-dish crust and marinara sauce sometimes served on top.
- Domino’s Pizza was started in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
- Tomato Pie (New Jersey-style) is popular in the greater Philadelphia area and features tomato sauce on top of the cheese and toppings.
- California Googles “gluten-free pizza” more than any other state, which is what you’d expect from a state that shows little enthusiasm for pizza.
- Oklahoma Googles “stuffed crust” more than any other state.
- Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita, Kansas by two college students.
- New York residents search for the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen song “Gimme Pizza” more than residents of other states
Five Least Pizza-Enthusiastic States
46. Utah
Make sense of this: Utah has the fifth fewest few pizza places, but the most Google searches for “free pizza”. Maybe Utah really likes pizza, but the people are just super cheap.
47. Alabama
Does America need to have a pizza intervention for Alabama? Just try it, Alabama. It’s generally greasy and unhealthy. You’ll love it.
48. Louisiana
Given the state’s culinary reputation America will forgive Louisiana’s limited enthusiasm for pizza. After all, Louisiana gave us gumbo, jambalaya, po boys, crawfish boils, and so much more.
49. Mississippi
There are nearly four times the number of pizza places per capita in West Virginia than there are in Mississippi, yet somehow they have almost identical obesity rankings. C’mon!
50. Hawaii
How can the state with the fewest pizza places per capita have one of the most popular types of pizza named after it? It makes no sense, especially because the Hawaiian pizza wasn’t invented in Hawaii. It was invented in Canada by a Greek immigrant.
Looking to buy a home somewhere where pizza is abundant? Estately.com is the best ways to search for your dream home.
