The Most Popular Pizza Chain in Every State, New Data Shows
It's no secret that delivery pizza hit it big during the pandemic. Besides being just about everyone's go-to comfort food, pizza was better positioned than other types of fast food to meet growing consumer demand for off-premise dining. When restaurants started shutting down en masse, it was delivery pizza's time to shine.
And shine, it did. The big names of delivery pizza all saw massive sales increases in 2020: in May, Pizza Hut had its best week of delivery and carryout sales in eight years; Domino's maintained double-digit same-store sales growth from the second quarter straight through to the fourth; and Papa John's closed out the year with an incredible $1 million in average unit volume.
While that growth has slowed somewhat in 2021, all three companies still managed at least single-digit increases in same-store sales this past quarter. Papa John's saw 5.2% growth, Pizza Hut 10%, and Domino's 3.5%. (At both Pizza Hut and Domino's, international same-store sales growth greatly outstripped domestic growth—Pizza Hut's global operations saw increases of 16%, and Domino's, 13.9%.)
Now, a recent report published by Top Data confirms that not only is pizza still trending in the U.S.—pizza-lovers are making more in-person visits to the most popular pizza chains. Top Data's report looks at foot traffic over a two-year period for the twelve largest U.S. pizza chains. Using offline GPS data collected from millions of pizza customers, the study found that visits to chains (including in-store dining and carryout) increased in 2021 by 32%.
The study also determined the top five most popular pizza chains in each state for 2021. The results may surprise you.
Have a look at the results below. And for more, don't miss the Most Expensive Cheese Pizzas in America.
Pizza Hut
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 2
"Victory" states: Louisiana, South Dakota
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Papa Murphy's
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 1
"Victory" state: Washington
Marco's Pizza
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 2
"Victory" states: Indiana, South Carolina
Related: Marco's Pizza Is Opening 200 New Locations This Year
Godfather's Pizza
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 2
"Victory" states: New York, Oklahoma
Related: 50 Classic Fast-Food Menu Items—Ranked!
Domino's
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 7
"Victory" states: Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon
Related: 8 Secrets Domino's Doesn't Want You to Know
Papa John's
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 10
"Victory" states: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Related: Papa John's Just Made This Big Announcement About Its Menu
Little Caesars
Little Caesars (yes, Little Caesars) claimed first place in half of the states studied!
Number of states in which the pizza chain ranks first: 24
"Victory" states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont
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