Food and drink · County · Illinois
Pizza places in Mercer County, IL
How Mercer 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 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,206 of 2,090 scored counties
#22 of 87 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 9
- 6 chain locations (67%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $25.4M
- On food away from home · $3,862 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.8M
- 45% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.7
- 71% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 15,229
- −2.6% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in Mercer 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 Mercer 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 9 pizza places in Mercer County. 6 of them (67%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That is 13.7 per 10,000 households, 71% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Household spending on food away from home in Mercer County comes to about $25.4M a year: $3,862 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 9 pizza places, that is $2.8M per pizza place, 45% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Mercer County was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 938 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too.
Population estimates show Mercer County declined 2.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pizza places in Mercer County is 46 (lower middle), #1,206 of 2,090 scored counties and #22 of 87 scored counties in Illinois.
How Mercer 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 | Mercer County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.7 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.8M | $4.7M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 938 | 474 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.0% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,862 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $74,182 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 7All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 104
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 96 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 15,229−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 6,565
- Median age
- 43.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 84%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 561 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 28
- Median household income
- $74,182+24.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,846
- Median home value
- $146,700
- Jobs located here
- 3,052
- Daytime population
- 11,354Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Mercer 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 Mercer 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 Mercer 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 |
| 22Mercer County, IL | 46 | 9 | 13.7 | $2.8M | −2.6% | #1,206 of 2,090 |
Other business types in Mercer 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 Mercer County, IL?
Mercer County has 9 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (67%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places.
How much do households in Mercer County, IL spend on food away from home?
About $25.4M a year, or $3,862 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $2.8M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,565 households in Mercer County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Mercer County, IL compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
Mercer County has 13.7 pizza places per 10,000 households, 71% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $2.8M, 45% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, Mercer County would have about 5, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 938 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is Mercer County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Mercer County at 15,229 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,565 households. The median household income in Mercer County is $74,182 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Mercer County scores 46 for pizza places (lower middle), #1,206 of 2,090 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mercer 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 Mercer County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.