Food and drink · Small-town market · Colorado
Pizza places in the Sterling, CO area
How the Sterling, CO area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pizza places: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #355 of 520 scored small-town markets
#9 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado
- Listings
- 7
- 6 chain locations (86%)
- Official establishments
- 13
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $26.4M
- On food away from home · $3,215 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.5
- 6% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 20,654
- −2.7% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in the Sterling 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 Sterling area. 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
Households in the Sterling area spend about $26.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,215 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.8M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 26% below 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 Sterling area as of September 2026. 6 of them (86%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.5, 6% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in the Sterling area classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 631 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 show the Sterling area declined 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Sterling area scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pizza places, ranking #355 of 520 scored small-town markets and #9 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado.
How the Sterling area compares
The same measures for Colorado 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 | Sterling area | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.5 | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $6.4M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 631 | 500 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.1% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.7% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,215 | $4,421 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,829 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 72 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 13All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 215
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 76 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Sterling 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 Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 20,654−2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,203
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,839 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 11
- Median household income
- $51,829−2.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,877
- Median home value
- $245,300
- Jobs located here
- 6,794
- Daytime population
- 18,497Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sterling 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 Sterling area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPizza across Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Colorado for pizza places, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cañon City, CO | 81 | 6 | 3.3 | $10.2M | +2.4% | #17 of 520 |
| 2Montrose, CO | 78 | 11 | 6.1 | $5.9M | +4.1% | #25 of 520 |
| 3Fort Morgan, CO | 77 | 7 | 6.3 | $5.5M | +4.2% | #31 of 520 |
| 4Durango, CO | 55 | 23 | 9.4 | $4.4M | +2.2% | #209 of 520 |
| 5Rifle, CO | 55 | 34 | 10.4 | $4.2M | +1.2% | #210 of 520 |
| 6Steamboat Springs, CO | 54 | 16 | 9.6 | $4.6M | +0.9% | #217 of 520 |
| 7Alamosa, CO | 48 | 11 | 9.6 | $3.2M | +2.1% | #280 of 520 |
| 8Edwards, CO | 47 | 24 | 10.9 | $4.3M | −2.4% | #288 of 520 |
| 9Sterling, CO | 40 | 7 | 8.5 | $3.8M | −2.7% | #355 of 520 |
| 10Breckenridge, CO | 33 | 31 | 19.9 | $2.4M | +1.1% | #433 of 520 |
Other business types in the Sterling area
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 the Sterling, CO area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 7 pizza places in the Sterling area. 6 of them (86%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 13 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 Sterling, CO area spend on food away from home?
About $26.4M a year, or $3,215 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 8,203 households in the Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sterling, CO area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
The Sterling area has 8.5 pizza places per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $3.8M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 5, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 631 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sterling, CO area growing?
Population estimates put the Sterling area at 20,654 people in 2025, down 2.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,203 households. Median household income in the Sterling area is $51,829, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median fell 2.8%, 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 Sterling area scores 40 for pizza places (lower middle), #355 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 Sterling 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 Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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.