It’s kind of a silly question: How much money would it take to get you to stop eating pizza for the rest of your life? Current Backyard, an electric outdoor cooking brand, asked it anyway in a survey of more than 6,500 Americans.
On average, the figure came to $14,677,634, according to Current Backyard’s new “Pizza Wars” survey.
The survey explores pizza preferences, habits and ratings among respondents in America’s 25 most populous metropolitan areas. The question about giving up pizza for life appears to be the hook for the news media—most of the survey dwelled on factoids like favorite and least favorite toppings, frequency of pizza orders, and so-called “pizza crimes.”
Respondents most often chose New York as their preferred pizza style and pepperoni as their first choice in toppings, while mushrooms edged out sausage for No. 2 in the toppings battle. Anchovies were the least popular topping nationwide. White pizza/Alfredo was the top alternative to red sauce.
Related: Anchovies: The Pizza Topping People Love to Hate Is an Underrated Umami Powerhouse
Chicagoans begged to differ on the subject of pepperoni, though: Sausage is king there. And New York-style pizza ranked No. 1 everywhere except Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Louis, the cities that preferred deep-dish pizza. Which is odd considering that St. Louis in particular has a unique pizza style of its own boasting a thin cracker-like crust.
The survey found that, on average, respondents said they order nearly five pizzas a month, at $23.51 apiece, totaling $114.20. Meanwhile, diners in the New York and Chicago areas rated their cities’ pizza choices tops nationwide, while pizza lovers in Portland and Minneapolis-St. Paul were the least pleased with their options. (How can anyone in Portlandia complain when they’ve got Lovely’s Fifty Fifty and Ken’s Artisan Pizza? And Minnesotans surely don’t need to be told about Pizzeria Lola and Pizza Luce, right?)
But what really drives pizza fans up the wall? Nationally, 48% of the respondents identified undercooked pizza dough as the worst “pizza crime,” followed by pineapple as a pizza topping (24%), and broccoli on a pizza (23%). Others grumbled about BBQ sauce, ranch sauce and using a fork and knife to eat a slice.
Weirdly, other “pizza crimes” in the survey included stuffed-crust and square-cut pizza. If those are crimes, lock us up and throw away the key.
Atlanta led the survey in average number of pizza orders at 7.5 per month, while Portland reported the fewest at 3.1 monthly. On the other hand, Portland ranked at the top in the “most adventurous” category due to its many alternative sauces.
A few more fun facts from the survey:
- Men were more likely to rank meats among their favorite toppings, while women tended to put vegetables on top—except for jalapeno peppers, the only veggie men preferred more often than women.
- Men order pizza 44% more often than women (5.9 times per month vs 4.1) and spend 52% more on pizza monthly ($143.01 vs $94.37).
- Men also eat 33% more frozen pizza each week (1.2) than women (.92).
- Men were more likely than women to know the differences among pizza styles (90% vs. 82%).
But when it came to naming their price to quit pizza, women wanted 29% more compensation than men demanded: $16,221,205 compared to $12,556,199. Further proof, if any is needed, that women are smarter than men. Case closed.
“At Current Backyard, we love how passionate people are about pizza,” said Tom Penner, CEO of Current Backyard. “They literally wouldn’t give it up for a million dollars. This survey shows that how people prefer their pizza is clearly a form of self-expression—it’s a reflection of their lifestyles, their traditions and the cities they love.”
In case you’re wondering, yes, Current Backyard is rolling out a new portable pizza oven—the Model P Smart Electric Pizza Oven—and pre-orders began last week. It’s billed as “the first Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi-connected smart electric pizza oven approved for use both indoors and outdoors.” It’s priced at $699 and comes with a smart app and a Pizza Build Calculator that tailors each bake to the crust style, thickness and toppings.
Click here for more details from the survey.
