It will come as no surprise to anyone in the industry that Domino’s performed best in a new survey by PR Hub that looks at the most popular pizza chains in each U.S. state. What’s more interesting is the variety of smaller but still-rising brands that showed up in the top 5 rankings.
For its “Most Popular Pizza Chain by State” report, PR Hub says it used public data to identify the chains, adding, “This analysis was conducted considering various factors such as customer satisfaction, number of outlets and menu diversity. The results reveal a fascinating tapestry of regional preferences and national loyalties toward these pizza brands.”
Let’s start with the smaller chains and save the giants for later.
The socially conscious Seattle-based MOD Pizza, founded by Scott and Ally Svenson, came in at No. 3 in Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina, while also making the Top 5 in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Washington State. (Honestly, we would have expected MOD to rank higher than No. 4 in its home state of Washington—let’s assume it was a tight race between MOD and No. 3 Pizza Hut.)
Related: How MOD Pizza became one of the country’s fastest-growing restaurant chains
Blaze Pizza, famously backed by Lebron James, took the No. 3 spot in Nevada, New Jersey and North Carolina. Blaze also put in a Top 5 showing in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia.
The scrappy Round Table Pizza landed in the No. 2 spot in both Hawaii and Nevada while also taking fifth place in California, Oregon and Washington. And Ledo Pizza, inventor of Maryland-style pizza, came in at No. 4 in its home state of Maryland and No. 3 in next-door neighbor Virginia.
As for the country’s biggest pizza brands, Little Caesars is tops in 12 states, including Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas and West Virginia.
Pizza Hut, meanwhile, is the preferred chain in 10 states (Alabama, California, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming), while Papa Johns also claimed 10 states (Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia).
Finally, Domino’s placed at the top of the list for 19 states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Yes, we said New York and New Jersey. Apparently convenience and price still win the day for some folks even in those pizza-crazy states.
