Food and drink · County · California
Pizza places in Kern County, CA
How Kern County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for pizza places: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #969 of 2,090 scored counties
#36 of 53 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 194
- 137 chain locations (71%)
- Official establishments
- 717
- All limited-service restaurants · +8.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.1B
- On food away from home · $3,702 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5.4M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.8
- 15% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 927,068
- +2.3% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in Kern County
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 Kern County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 194 pizza places in Kern County. Chain locations make up 71% of them, against 58% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.8, 15% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Household spending on food away from home in Kern County comes to about $1.1B a year: $3,702 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $5.4M per pizza place, 7% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade.
Official counts show 717 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Kern County in 2023, up 8.3% from 2019. That is one for every 397 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too. Another 115 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 23 SBA-backed loans worth $16M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Kern County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Kern County grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Kern County scores 51 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pizza places, ranking #969 of 2,090 scored counties and #36 of 53 scored counties in California.
How Kern County compares
The same measures for California 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.
| Measure | Kern County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.8 | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $5.4M | $6.6M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 397 | 392 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.3% | +6.5% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,702 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $70,210 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 662 → 717All limited-service restaurants · +8.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 14,090
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $313.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 115All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 194137 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 208The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 23
- Amount
- $16M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Kern County, 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 Kern County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 927,068+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 284,931
- Median age
- 33.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 8,135 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,210+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,147
- Median home value
- $338,300
- Jobs located here
- 302,967
- Daytime population
- 882,683Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Kern County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Kern County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPizza across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for pizza places, numbered among those based in California, with Kern County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba County, CA | 84 | 15 | 5.2 | $7.2M | +8.2% | #46 of 2,090 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 82 | 14 | 6.8 | $7.2M | +8.6% | #56 of 2,090 |
| 3Nevada County, CA | 74 | 26 | 6.1 | $7.1M | −0.4% | #186 of 2,090 |
| 4Amador County, CA | 70 | 14 | 8.7 | $4.7M | +3.2% | #320 of 2,090 |
| 5Contra Costa County, CA | 69 | 266 | 6.4 | $8.1M | +0.3% | #327 of 2,090 |
| 6San Joaquin County, CA | 69 | 159 | 6.5 | $6.6M | +5.5% | #334 of 2,090 |
| 7Napa County, CA | 68 | 32 | 6.4 | $7.6M | −3.3% | #358 of 2,090 |
| 8Marin County, CA | 67 | 62 | 6.0 | $9.2M | −2.9% | #384 of 2,090 |
| 9Riverside County, CA | 67 | 476 | 6.1 | $7M | +5.0% | #387 of 2,090 |
| 10Solano County, CA | 66 | 104 | 6.6 | $6.8M | +0.6% | #434 of 2,090 |
| 36Kern County, CA | 51 | 194 | 6.8 | $5.4M | +2.3% | #969 of 2,090 |
Other business types in Kern County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pizza places are in Kern County, CA?
Kern County has 194 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. 137 of them (71%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 717 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 8.3% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Official counts list 115 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Kern County, CA spend on food away from home?
About $1.1B a year, or $3,702 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 194 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $5.4M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 284,931 households in Kern County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Kern County, CA compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
Kern County has 6.8 pizza places per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $5.4M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, Kern County would have about 208, against 194 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 397 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is Kern County, CA growing?
Population estimates put Kern County at 927,068 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 284,931 households. The median household income in Kern County is $70,210 a year, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. 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. Kern County scores 51 for pizza places (upper middle), #969 of 2,090 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Kern County. 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 Kern County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Kern County?
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 Kern County. 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.