Groundwork

Food and drink · County · North Carolina

Pizza places in Pender County, NC

How Pender County, NC 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 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #172 of 2,090 scored counties
#9 of 83 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
16
8 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
47
All limited-service restaurants · +23.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$98.5M
On food away from home · $3,895 a household
Spending per listing
$6.2M
21% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.3
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
72,111
+19.0% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in Pender 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 Pender County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 Pender County is 75 (high), #172 of 2,090 scored counties and #9 of 83 scored counties in North Carolina. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for pizza places.

At $3,895 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Pender County spend about $98.5M a year on food away from home. That is about $6.2M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 21% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

Pender County has 16 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That is 6.3 per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Pender County was 47 in 2023, up 23.7% from 2019. That is one for every 538 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. Population estimates put the population change in Pender County from 2020 to 2025 at +19.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Pender 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 Pender County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasurePender CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.37.48.0
Spending per listing$6.2M$5.1M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)538504478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+23.7%+4.7%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+19.0%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,895$3,776$4,070
Median household income$80,396$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score7553

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
38 → 47All limited-service restaurants · +23.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
916
Annual payroll, 2023
$16M
One-person businesses, 2023
8All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
168 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19The 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 Pender 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 Pender County

Population, 2025 estimate
72,111+19.0% since 2020
Households
25,291
Median age
41.9
Homes lived in by their owners
83%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
871 sq. mi.
People per square mile
75
Median household income
$80,396+40.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,635
Median home value
$299,000
Jobs located here
14,661
Daytime population
52,912Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Pender 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 Pender 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 Pender 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

Other business types in Pender County

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in Pender County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 pizza places in Pender County. 8 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 23.7% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $98.5M a year, or $3,895 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $6.2M 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 25,291 households in Pender County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Pender County has 6.3 pizza places per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $6.2M, 21% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, Pender County would have about 19, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 538 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Pender County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Pender County at 72,111 people in 2025, up 19.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 25,291 households. Median household income in Pender County is $80,396, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 40.5%, 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. Pender County scores 75 for pizza places (high), #172 of 2,090 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Pender 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 Pender 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.