Groundwork

Food and drink · County · California

Pizza places in Monterey County, CA

How Monterey 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 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #887 of 2,090 scored counties
#32 of 53 scored counties in California

Listings
100
66 chain locations (66%)
Official establishments
305
All limited-service restaurants · +4.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$586.8M
On food away from home · $4,429 a household
Spending per listing
$5.9M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.5
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
433,729
−1.5% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in Monterey 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 Monterey County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

At $4,429 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in Monterey County spend about $586.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $5.9M per pizza place, 15% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

Monterey County has 100 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 66 are chain locations, or 66%, against 58% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.5, 6% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 305 businesses with payroll in Monterey County classed as limited-service restaurants, up 4.1% from 2019. That is one for every 434 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. Official counts list 34 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $3.5M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Monterey County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Monterey County declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pizza places in Monterey County is 53 (upper middle), #887 of 2,090 scored counties and #32 of 53 scored counties in California.

How Monterey 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.

Pizza in Monterey County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureMonterey CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.56.98.0
Spending per listing$5.9M$6.6M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)434392478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.1%+6.5%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.5%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,429$4,559$4,070
Median household income$97,230$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score5355

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
293 → 305All limited-service restaurants · +4.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,469
Annual payroll, 2023
$135.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
34All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10066 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
116The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$3.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Monterey 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 Monterey County

Population, 2025 estimate
433,729−1.5% since 2020
Households
132,489
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
52%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
3,282 sq. mi.
People per square mile
133
Median household income
$97,230+36.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$131,514
Median home value
$781,000
Jobs located here
167,373
Daytime population
429,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Monterey 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 Monterey County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pizza across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in California for pizza places, numbered among those based in California, with Monterey County marked.

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuba County, CA84155.2$7.2M+8.2%#46 of 2,090
2San Benito County, CA82146.8$7.2M+8.6%#56 of 2,090
3Nevada County, CA74266.1$7.1M−0.4%#186 of 2,090
4Amador County, CA70148.7$4.7M+3.2%#320 of 2,090
5Contra Costa County, CA692666.4$8.1M+0.3%#327 of 2,090
6San Joaquin County, CA691596.5$6.6M+5.5%#334 of 2,090
7Napa County, CA68326.4$7.6M−3.3%#358 of 2,090
8Marin County, CA67626.0$9.2M−2.9%#384 of 2,090
9Riverside County, CA674766.1$7M+5.0%#387 of 2,090
10Solano County, CA661046.6$6.8M+0.6%#434 of 2,090
32Monterey County, CA531007.5$5.9M−1.5%#887 of 2,090

Other business types in Monterey County

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in Monterey County, CA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 100 pizza places in Monterey County. 66 of them (66%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 305 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.1% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too. Official counts also show 34 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Monterey County, CA spend on food away from home?

About $586.8M a year, or $4,429 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 100 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $5.9M 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 132,489 households in Monterey County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Monterey County, CA compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

Monterey County has 7.5 pizza places per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $5.9M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, Monterey County would have about 116, against 100 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 434 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Monterey County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Monterey County at 433,729 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 132,489 households. Median household income in Monterey County is $97,230, 20% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 36.9%, 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. Monterey County scores 53 for pizza places (upper middle), #887 of 2,090 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Monterey 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 Monterey County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Monterey 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 Monterey 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.