Best Pizza Cities: Tampa Beats Out Chicago & New York
Anytime Estimate recently took a deep dive into the always-exciting, never-boring subject of pizza to determine America’s top 15 pizza cities.
Determining factors included indie pizzerias per 100k citizens, chains per 100k citizens, pizza joints per square mile, price of cheese pizza, price of pepperoni pizza, and cost of each compared to income. But the interesting part of the methodology was search terms—the variety of styles googled by the community and the variety of styles subsequently consumed.
Facts: 1) Tampa made the list of America’s top 15 pizza cities, 2) Tampa is the highest-ranking pizza city in the state of Florida. So where did Tampa land? Who was number one? What kinds of pizza are eaten in the top 15 cities? Let’s dig in.
The Winners
Detroit
Any way you slice it, Motor City is the pizza capital of the USA. Naturally, it ranks No 1 in internet searches for Detroit-style pizza. But The D also ranks No 1 for BBQ chicken pizza, No 2 for Chicago-style pizza, and No 2 for taco pizza.
DETROIT-STYLE PIZZA
Cleveland
Believeland is No 1 in searches for veggie pizza and No 2 for pizza bagels, which, frankly, look amazing.
PIZZA BAGELS
Columbus
And the Midwest takes the top 3 spots. The Arch City has its own thing: Ohio Valley-style pizza, where the cheese and all the toppings are dropped onto the pizza (cold) after the dough and sauce have baked. Whatever you say, Columbus.
OHIO VALLEY-STYLE PIZZA
Boston
The Athens of America is No 1 in searches for Greek pizza, No 4 for BBQ chicken pizza, and No 5 for Sicilian pizza.
GREEK PIZZA
Pittsburgh
Steel City ranks No 2 in searches for both veggie pizza and Detroit-style pizza. Veggie pizza? Pittsburgh?
VEGGIE PIZZA
Indianapolis
Aaand back to the Midwest. Would you guess that Indy comes in No 1 in searches for taco pizza? Why? Circle City also ranks No 3 in searches for both sausage pizza and Greek pizza.
TACO PIZZA
Providence
The Renaissance City ranks No 1 in searches for Neapolitan pizza—which basically means a specific crust (thin and chewy with a thicker outer ridge) topped with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. The margherita is a subset of the Neapolitan. But Providence is also into pizza strips: Thick, cheeseless (wait—what) planks of baked dough topped with tomato paste. Is this really pizza tho?
PIZZA STRIPS
St Louis
More Midwest. The Saint Lou is another city with its own style of pizza: Squares with a thin, crispy foundation and lots of provel cheese. Provel is a blend of cheddar, Swiss and provolone, particularly popular in the Gateway City.
ST LOUIS-STYLE PIZZA
Philadelphia
The Quaker City ranks No 2 in the nation in searches for tomato pie, behind only Buffalo. Tomato pie (is this really the best name) is served colder than real pizza, and substitutes parmesan for mozzarella on a thick, spongy doughy base. Philly also ranks No 2 in searches for margherita pizza and No 3 for Sicilian pizza.
TOMATO PIE
Norfolk
The Capital of the South searches for two things: New York-style pizza and meat pizza (which seems a little non-specific). “Hello, Del Vecchios? Meat, please.”
“MEAT” PIZZA
Baltimore
When the folks of Charm City aren’t eating crabcakes, I guess they’re eating pizza. Remember Cleveland and its pizza bagels? Baltimore is into those, too. And also margherita pizza.
MARGHERITA PIZZA
Tampa
Our turn! Tampa F-L-A has a pizza restaurant every 1.75 miles. We also have 4.3 independent pizza joints per 100k citizens, which is the 7th highest in America. Cigar City ranks No 4 in searches for Greek pizza and No 5 for Neapolitan.
BREAKFAST PIZZA
Minneapolis
The Midwest may only comprise 24% of America, but half of the nation’s 15 pizza cities are located in these 12 states. Which brings us to City of Lakes. So what do those in search of pizza search for in this Twin City? Breakfast pizza, sausage pizza, BBQ chicken pizza and veggie pizza. And yes—breakfast pizza is eaten in the morning.
BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA
Chicago
This Midwest city has long enjoyed a reputation for incredible pizza. The City of Big Shoulders ranks No 1 in its search for Chicago-style pizza, and No 2 for sausage pizza. Story checks out.
CHICAGO-STYLE PIZZA
Nashville
Music City ranks No 2 in searches for Sicilian pizza. They want to make it an offer it can’t refuse.
SICILIAN PIZZA
And the Rest
Are you thinking, “HEY, WHAT ABOUT NEW YORK”? The Big Apple didn’t make the cut. Residents of the five boroughs can find pizza every 1.2 miles, but the city is low on independent pizzerias. Strike one. And locals aren’t too interested in varying styles of pizza. Strike two. And there are only 7.7 pizza shops per 100,000 residents, including chains. Strike three. New York did manage a top-half finish though, coming in at #22.
NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA
These are the 10 worst pizza cities in America. Travel accordingly.
— Riverside CA
— New Orleans LA
— Birmingham AL
— Houston TX
— San Antonio TX
— Miami FL
— Memphis TN
— San Diego CA
— Phoenix AZ
— Austin TX
