Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Georgia

Pizza places in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pizza places in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #314 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia

Listings
83
62 chain locations (75%)
Official establishments
187
All limited-service restaurants · +7.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$311.7M
On food away from home · $3,621 a household
Spending per listing
$3.8M
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.6
20% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
224,148
+3.9% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area. 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

For pizza places, the Athens-Clarke County metro area has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #314 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area spend about $311.7M a year on food away from home, or $3,621 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 83 pizza places, that is $3.8M per pizza place, 26% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

There are 83 pizza places on map listings in the Athens-Clarke County metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 75% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That is 9.6 per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 187 businesses with payroll in the Athens-Clarke County metro area classed as limited-service restaurants, up 7.5% from 2019. That is one for every 460 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. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $7M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Athens-Clarke County metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Athens-Clarke County metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Athens-Clarke County metro area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureAthens-Clarke County metro areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.68.78.0
Spending per listing$3.8M$4.5M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)460419478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.5%+9.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,621$3,917$4,070
Median household income$65,608$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score3439

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
187All limited-service restaurants · +7.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,555
Annual payroll, 2023
$83.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
25All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8362 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
61The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
10
Amount
$7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
224,148+3.9% since 2020
Households
86,101
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
56%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,025 sq. mi.
People per square mile
215
Median household income
$65,608+39.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,551
Median home value
$310,200
Jobs located here
94,787
Daytime population
224,908Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Athens-Clarke County metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for pizza places, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Athens-Clarke County metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Georgia

Metro areas in Georgia ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA601,7117.4$5.8M+5.9%#113 of 387
Chattanooga, TN-GA571606.9$5.4M+5.3%#132 of 387
2Gainesville, GA53669.0$4.4M+11.4%#169 of 387
3Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC521556.7$5.5M+4.7%#175 of 387
4Dalton, GA40356.7$5.1M+3.5%#266 of 387
5Savannah, GA3517210.7$3.6M+8.1%#307 of 387
6Athens-Clarke County, GA34839.6$3.8M+3.9%#314 of 387
7Rome, GA33297.9$4.5M+2.8%#316 of 387
8Warner Robins, GA337910.6$3.6M+8.2%#320 of 387
9Hinesville, GA32248.0$4.1M+12.6%#326 of 387

Other business types in the Athens-Clarke County metro area

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 83 pizza places in the Athens-Clarke County metro area. 62 of them (75%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 187 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 7.5% 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 list 25 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $311.7M a year, or $3,621 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 83 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 86,101 households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Athens-Clarke County metro area has 9.6 pizza places per 10,000 households, 20% 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area would have about 61, against 83 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 460 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Athens-Clarke County metro area at 224,148 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,101 households. Median household income in the Athens-Clarke County metro area is $65,608, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.0%, 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. The Athens-Clarke County metro area scores 34 for pizza places (lower middle), #314 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens-Clarke County metro 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 Athens-Clarke County metro 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.