Groundwork

Food and drink · County · North Carolina

Pizza places in Catawba County, NC

The pizza places in Catawba County, NC, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,073 of 2,090 scored counties
#49 of 83 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
57
40 chain locations (70%)
Official establishments
141
All limited-service restaurants · +3.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$235.4M
On food away from home · $3,554 a household
Spending per listing
$4.1M
19% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.6
8% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
170,172
+5.8% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in Catawba 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 Catawba County. 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

At $3,554 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in Catawba County spend about $235.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.1M per pizza place, 19% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

Catawba County has 57 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. 40 of them (70%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 8.6 for every 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts show 141 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Catawba County in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 470 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. Official counts also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.9M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Catawba County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Catawba County grew 5.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pizza places, Catawba County has a Groundwork market score of 49 (lower middle): #1,073 of 2,090 scored counties and #49 of 83 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Catawba County compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Catawba County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCatawba CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.67.48.0
Spending per listing$4.1M$5.1M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)470504478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.7%+4.7%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.8%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,554$3,776$4,070
Median household income$67,864$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4953

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
136 → 141All limited-service restaurants · +3.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,873
Annual payroll, 2023
$53.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
15All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5740 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
46The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$2.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Catawba 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 Catawba County

Population, 2025 estimate
170,172+5.8% since 2020
Households
66,227
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
401 sq. mi.
People per square mile
408
Median household income
$67,864+30.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$90,959
Median home value
$241,600
Jobs located here
91,506
Daytime population
180,194Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pizza across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for pizza places, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Catawba County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Union County, NC85607.1$6.4M+11.7%#43 of 2,090
2Davie County, NC83105.8$6.6M+6.9%#52 of 2,090
3Orange County, NC82335.8$7.6M+6.1%#55 of 2,090
4Chatham County, NC81288.5$5.3M+11.0%#76 of 2,090
5Hoke County, NC79115.7$6.1M+9.0%#109 of 2,090
6Yadkin County, NC7674.7$7.3M+2.9%#151 of 2,090
7Durham County, NC75795.6$7.4M+7.7%#165 of 2,090
8Henderson County, NC75295.7$6.4M+5.0%#171 of 2,090
9Pender County, NC75166.3$6.2M+19.0%#172 of 2,090
10Stokes County, NC7394.6$7M+3.5%#214 of 2,090
49Catawba County, NC49578.6$4.1M+5.8%#1,073 of 2,090

Other business types in Catawba County

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in Catawba County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 57 pizza places in Catawba County. 40 of them (70%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 141 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Catawba County, NC spend on food away from home?

About $235.4M a year, or $3,554 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 57 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $4.1M 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 66,227 households in Catawba County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Catawba County, NC compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

Catawba County has 8.6 pizza places per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $4.1M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, Catawba County would have about 46, against 57 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 470 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Catawba County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Catawba County at 170,172 people in 2025, up 5.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 66,227 households. Median household income in Catawba County is $67,864, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.4%, 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. Catawba County scores 49 for pizza places (lower middle), #1,073 of 2,090 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Catawba 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 Catawba County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Catawba 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 Catawba 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.