Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Missouri

Pizza places in the Columbia, MO metro area

The pizza places in the Columbia, MO metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #243 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri

Listings
83
73 chain locations (88%)
Official establishments
175
All limited-service restaurants · +3.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$331.9M
On food away from home · $3,842 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
21% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.6
20% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
219,062
+3.9% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 83 pizza places in the Columbia metro area. 73 of them (88%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That is 9.6 per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

At $3,842 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Columbia metro area spend about $331.9M a year on food away from home. Spread across 83 pizza places, that is $4M per pizza place, 21% 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 the Columbia metro area was 175 in 2023, up 3.6% from 2019. That is one for every 494 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. Official counts list 18 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $4.2M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Columbia metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Columbia metro area grew 3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Columbia metro area scores 44 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pizza places, ranking #243 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.

How the Columbia metro area compares

The same measures for Missouri 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 Columbia, MO metro area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureColumbia metro areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.69.98.0
Spending per listing$4M$3.8M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)494521478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.6%+8.4%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,842$3,799$4,070
Median household income$72,340$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score4432

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
175All limited-service restaurants · +3.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,234
Annual payroll, 2023
$76.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
18All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8373 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
65The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
16
Amount
$4.2M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
219,062+3.9% since 2020
Households
86,393
Median age
36.4
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,714 sq. mi.
People per square mile
125
Median household income
$72,340+32.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,624
Median home value
$258,700
Jobs located here
114,165
Daytime population
231,692Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Missouri for pizza places, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the Columbia metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kansas City, MO-KS686877.7$5.4M+3.4%#75 of 387
2St. Louis, MO-IL519548.2$5M−0.2%#186 of 387
3Columbia, MO44839.6$4M+3.9%#243 of 387
4Jefferson City, MO397713.1$2.9M+2.2%#284 of 387
5Springfield, MO361849.3$3.9M+5.1%#300 of 387
6Joplin, MO-KS309311.7$2.9M+3.9%#339 of 387
7Cape Girardeau, MO-IL214712.3$2.9M+1.7%#368 of 387
8St. Joseph, MO-KS185712.2$2.9M−2.0%#374 of 387

Other business types in the Columbia metro area

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Columbia, MO metro area?

There are 83 pizza places on map listings in the Columbia metro area as of September 2026. 73 of them (88%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 175 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.6% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Official counts also show 18 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Columbia, MO metro area spend on food away from home?

About $331.9M a year, or $3,842 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 83 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $4M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,393 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Columbia, MO metro area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Columbia 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 $4M, 21% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 65, against 83 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 494 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Columbia, MO metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 219,062 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,393 households. The median household income in the Columbia metro area is $72,340 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.0% 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. The Columbia metro area scores 44 for pizza places (lower middle), #243 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.