Food and drink · County · New Jersey
Pizza places in Essex County, NJ
The pizza places in Essex County, NJ, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #343 of 2,090 scored counties
#4 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey
- Listings
- 238
- 81 chain locations (34%)
- Official establishments
- 626
- All limited-service restaurants · +7.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On food away from home · $4,245 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5.7M
- 12% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.4
- 7% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 896,379
- +4.2% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in Essex 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 Essex 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 238 pizza places in Essex County. Chain locations make up 34% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 7.4 for every 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.
At $4,245 per household (4% above the U.S. average), households in Essex County spend about $1.4B a year on food away from home. That is about $5.7M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 12% above 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 Essex County was 626 in 2023, up 7.4% from 2019. That is one for every 511 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 208 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $5.7M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Essex County.
Population estimates put the population change in Essex County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Essex County scores 69 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pizza places, ranking #343 of 2,090 scored counties and #4 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Essex County compares
The same measures for New Jersey 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 | Essex County | New Jersey | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.4 | 9.9 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $5.7M | $4.7M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 511 | 457 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.4% | +7.1% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,245 | $4,680 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $80,789 | $103,556 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 69 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 583 → 626All limited-service restaurants · +7.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 7,551
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $174.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 208All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23881 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 267The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 16
- Amount
- $5.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Essex 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 896,379+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 319,788
- Median age
- 38.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 45%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.3
- Land area
- 126 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 6,845
- Median household income
- $80,789+31.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $131,554
- Median home value
- $524,100
- Jobs located here
- 362,597
- Daytime population
- 843,719Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex 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 Essex County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPizza across New Jersey
Every New Jersey market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in New Jersey for pizza places, numbered among those based in New Jersey, with Essex County marked.
Top counties in New Jersey
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hunterdon County, NJ | 79 | 39 | 7.7 | $7.1M | +2.3% | #99 of 2,090 |
| 2Sussex County, NJ | 79 | 46 | 8.0 | $6.1M | +2.9% | #107 of 2,090 |
| 3Somerset County, NJ | 72 | 100 | 7.6 | $7.2M | +3.5% | #243 of 2,090 |
| 4Essex County, NJ | 69 | 238 | 7.4 | $5.7M | +4.2% | #343 of 2,090 |
| 5Union County, NJ | 67 | 164 | 8.1 | $5.9M | +5.0% | #400 of 2,090 |
| 6Morris County, NJ | 66 | 173 | 9.0 | $6.1M | +3.2% | #438 of 2,090 |
| 7Mercer County, NJ | 64 | 134 | 9.3 | $5M | +3.3% | #513 of 2,090 |
| 8Burlington County, NJ | 64 | 178 | 10.0 | $4.7M | +4.3% | #516 of 2,090 |
| 9Hudson County, NJ | 63 | 250 | 8.3 | $5.4M | +1.8% | #549 of 2,090 |
| 10Warren County, NJ | 62 | 48 | 10.6 | $4.2M | +3.2% | #596 of 2,090 |
Other business types in Essex 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 Essex County, NJ?
There are 238 pizza places on map listings in Essex County as of September 2026. 81 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 626 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 7.4% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Official counts also show 208 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Essex County, NJ spend on food away from home?
About $1.4B a year, or $4,245 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 238 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $5.7M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 319,788 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, NJ compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
Essex County has 7.4 pizza places per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $5.7M, 12% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, Essex County would have about 267, against 238 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 511 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, NJ growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 896,379 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 319,788 households. The median household income in Essex County is $80,789 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.3% 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. Essex County scores 69 for pizza places (upper middle), #343 of 2,090 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex 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 Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex 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 Essex 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.