Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Arizona

Pizza places in the Safford, AZ area

The pizza places in the Safford, AZ area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #78 of 520 scored small-town markets
#1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona

Listings
7
5 chain locations (71%)
Official establishments
24
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$44.4M
On food away from home · $3,484 a household
Spending per listing
$6.3M
25% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.5
31% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
40,157
+4.0% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Safford area

The site report maps the pizza places on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Safford area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $3,484 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Safford area spend about $44.4M a year on food away from home. Spread across 7 pizza places, that is $6.3M per pizza place, 25% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

There are 7 pizza places on map listings in the Safford area as of September 2026. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 71%, against 58% across the U.S. That is 5.5 per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Safford area in 2023. That is one for every 531 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places.

Population estimates put the population change in the Safford area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Safford area scores 69 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pizza places, ranking #78 of 520 scored small-town markets and #1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Safford area compares

The same measures for Arizona and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the pizza places counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Pizza in Safford, AZ area compared with Arizona and the U.S.
MeasureSafford areaArizonaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.56.38.0
Spending per listing$6.3M$6.3M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)531500478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.0%+6.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,484$3,982$4,070
Median household income$67,325$79,964$80,734
Groundwork market score6970

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
24All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
519
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
75 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Safford area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places.

Population and households in the Safford area

Population, 2025 estimate
40,157+4.0% since 2020
Households
12,746
Median age
35.5
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
4,622 sq. mi.
People per square mile
8
Median household income
$67,325+31.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,219
Median home value
$212,000
Jobs located here
9,824
Daytime population
35,369Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Safford area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the pizza places on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Safford area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arizona for pizza places, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Safford area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arizona

Small-town markets in Arizona ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Safford, AZ6975.5$6.3M+4.0%#78 of 520
2Payson, AZ61166.8$4.9M+0.9%#142 of 520
3Nogales, AZ60127.1$4.5M+4.8%#153 of 520
4Show Low, AZ50307.5$4.2M+3.0%#255 of 520

Other business types in the Safford area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Safford, AZ area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 7 pizza places in the Safford area. 5 of them (71%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too.

How much do households in the Safford, AZ area spend on food away from home?

About $44.4M a year, or $3,484 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $6.3M per pizza place. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,746 households in the Safford area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Safford, AZ area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Safford area has 5.5 pizza places per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $6.3M, 25% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Safford area would have about 9, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 531 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Safford, AZ area growing?

Population estimates put the Safford area at 40,157 people in 2025, up 4.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,746 households. Median household income in the Safford area is $67,325, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.1%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Safford area scores 69 for pizza places (upper middle), #78 of 520 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Safford area. It maps the pizza places on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for pizza places · All 56 business types in the Safford area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Safford area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Safford area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.