Food and drink · County · Illinois
Pizza places in Knox County, IL
How Knox County, IL 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 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,759 of 2,090 scored counties
#64 of 87 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 20
- 15 chain locations (75%)
- Official establishments
- 36
- All limited-service restaurants · −20.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $68.9M
- On food away from home · $3,287 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 32% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.5
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 47,767
- −4.1% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in Knox 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 Knox 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
The Groundwork market score for pizza places in Knox County is 31 (lower middle), #1,759 of 2,090 scored counties and #64 of 87 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
At $3,287 per household (19% below the U.S. average), households in Knox County spend about $68.9M a year on food away from home. Spread across 20 pizza places, that is $3.4M per pizza place, 32% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.
Knox County has 20 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 75% of them, against 58% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.5, 19% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Knox County was 36 in 2023, down 20.0% from 2019. That is one for every 583 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, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.4M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Knox County. Population estimates put the population change in Knox County from 2020 to 2025 at −4.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Knox County 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.
| Measure | Knox County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.5 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $4.7M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 583 | 474 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −20.0% | +2.0% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.1% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,287 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $57,030 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 45 → 36All limited-service restaurants · −20.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 672
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2015 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
- 3
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Knox 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 Knox County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 47,767−4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 20,972
- Median age
- 42.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 716 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 68
- Median household income
- $57,030+29.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,560
- Median home value
- $111,900
- Jobs located here
- 15,910
- Daytime population
- 44,318Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Knox 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 Knox County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPizza across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for pizza places, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Knox County marked.
Top counties in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kendall County, IL | 71 | 36 | 7.9 | $6.1M | +9.9% | #275 of 2,090 |
| 2Monroe County, IL | 68 | 11 | 7.9 | $5.8M | −0.3% | #370 of 2,090 |
| 3Kane County, IL | 64 | 163 | 8.8 | $5.3M | +1.8% | #510 of 2,090 |
| 4McHenry County, IL | 63 | 109 | 9.3 | $5.1M | +2.5% | #554 of 2,090 |
| 5Lake County, IL | 62 | 211 | 8.2 | $6.1M | +0.8% | #578 of 2,090 |
| 6Boone County, IL | 62 | 16 | 8.2 | $5.1M | +0.4% | #586 of 2,090 |
| 7Will County, IL | 60 | 215 | 8.8 | $5.5M | +2.2% | #638 of 2,090 |
| 8Piatt County, IL | 59 | 9 | 13.0 | $3.3M | +0.6% | #701 of 2,090 |
| 9Jo Daviess County, IL | 58 | 9 | 8.7 | $4.5M | −2.2% | #729 of 2,090 |
| 10Woodford County, IL | 57 | 19 | 12.9 | $3.4M | −0.8% | #772 of 2,090 |
| 64Knox County, IL | 31 | 20 | 9.5 | $3.4M | −4.1% | #1,759 of 2,090 |
Other business types in Knox 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 Knox County, IL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 20 pizza places in Knox County. 15 of them (75%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 20.0% from 2019. 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 Knox County, IL spend on food away from home?
About $68.9M a year, or $3,287 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 20,972 households in Knox County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Knox County, IL compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
Knox County has 9.5 pizza places per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $3.4M, 32% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, Knox County would have about 14, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 583 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 20.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is Knox County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Knox County at 47,767 people in 2025, down 4.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 20,972 households. Median household income in Knox County is $57,030, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.2%, 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. Knox County scores 31 for pizza places (lower middle), #1,759 of 2,090 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Knox 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 Knox County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Knox 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 Knox 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.