Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Pizza places in the Carbondale, IL area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 21 out of 100: Low

Ranked #505 of 520 scored small-town markets
#19 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
28
18 chain locations (64%)
Official establishments
46
All limited-service restaurants · +12.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$73M
On food away from home · $3,181 a household
Spending per listing
$2.6M
49% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.2
53% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
52,501
−1.5% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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

The Groundwork market score for pizza places in the Carbondale area is 21 (low), #505 of 520 scored small-town markets and #19 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the Carbondale area spend about $73M a year on food away from home, or $3,181 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Spread across 28 pizza places, that is $2.6M per pizza place, 49% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

There are 28 pizza places on map listings in the Carbondale area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 64% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That is 12.2 per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Carbondale area was 46 in 2023, up 12.2% from 2019. That is one for every 499 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, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.5M has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Carbondale area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Carbondale area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Carbondale area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Carbondale, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCarbondale areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.28.98.0
Spending per listing$2.6M$4.7M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)499474478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+12.2%+2.0%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.5%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,181$4,215$4,070
Median household income$48,763$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score2136

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
46All limited-service restaurants · +12.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,034
Annual payroll, 2023
$19.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
9All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2818 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale area

Population, 2025 estimate
52,501−1.5% since 2020
Households
22,955
Median age
37.7
Homes lived in by their owners
50%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
584 sq. mi.
People per square mile
91
Median household income
$48,763
Average household income
$70,409
Median home value
$137,300
Jobs located here
23,658
Daytime population
57,693Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Freeport, IL58157.7$4.5M−3.0%#168 of 520
2Quincy, IL-MO57278.7$4.1M−2.0%#177 of 520
3Sterling, IL53229.5$3.8M−2.6%#227 of 520
4Rochelle, IL522713.0$3M−0.7%#236 of 520
5Lincoln, IL501210.7$3.4M−2.5%#258 of 520
6Dixon, IL461712.7$2.9M−3.4%#302 of 520
7Pontiac, IL422416.4$2.3M−2.1%#337 of 520
8Taylorville, IL411914.0$2.5M−1.5%#351 of 520
9Ottawa, IL408914.4$2.6M−1.6%#361 of 520
10Canton, IL392014.5$2.4M−2.0%#375 of 520
19Carbondale, IL212812.2$2.6M−1.5%#505 of 520

Other business types in the Carbondale area

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Carbondale, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 28 pizza places in the Carbondale area. 18 of them (64%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 12.2% 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 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Carbondale, IL area spend on food away from home?

About $73M a year, or $3,181 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 28 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $2.6M 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 22,955 households in the Carbondale area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Carbondale, IL area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Carbondale area has 12.2 pizza places per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $2.6M, 49% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Carbondale area would have about 14, against 28 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 499 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Carbondale, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Carbondale area at 52,501 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,955 households. Median household income in the Carbondale area is $48,763, 40% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Carbondale area scores 21 for pizza places (low), #505 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 Carbondale 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 Carbondale area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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.