Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Pizza places in the State College, PA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pizza places in the State College, PA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #301 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
61
24 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
116
All limited-service restaurants · +4.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$228.9M
On food away from home · $3,879 a household
Spending per listing
$3.8M
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.3
29% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
157,393
−0.4% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the State College 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 State College 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

For pizza places, the State College metro area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #301 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on food away from home in the State College metro area comes to about $228.9M a year: $3,879 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 61 pizza places, that is $3.8M per pizza place, 26% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

The State College metro area has 61 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. 24 of them (39%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That is 10.3 per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the State College metro area was 116 in 2023, up 4.5% from 2019. That is one for every 509 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. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the State College metro area. Population estimates show the State College metro area declined 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the State College metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 State College, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureState College metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.310.38.0
Spending per listing$3.8M$3.8M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)509538478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.5%+2.2%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,879$3,973$4,070
Median household income$74,291$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score3638

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
116All limited-service restaurants · +4.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,131
Annual payroll, 2023
$35.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
17All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6124 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
45The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$2.2M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
157,393−0.4% since 2020
Households
59,013
Median age
38.2
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,107 sq. mi.
People per square mile
143
Median household income
$74,291+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,987
Median home value
$323,500
Jobs located here
66,922
Daytime population
170,905Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the State College 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 State College metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pizza across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for pizza places, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the State College metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lancaster, PA661657.8$5.3M+1.9%#87 of 387
2Reading, PA601368.3$4.7M+2.7%#114 of 387
3Gettysburg, PA59348.3$4.8M+3.6%#119 of 387
4Chambersburg, PA59548.5$4.5M+3.0%#120 of 387
5Lebanon, PA56478.3$4.7M+2.2%#147 of 387
6York-Hanover, PA561709.4$4.3M+3.6%#148 of 387
7Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ5433910.0$4.1M+3.0%#161 of 387
8Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA502429.8$4.1M+4.2%#199 of 387
9Williamsport, PA45306.4$5.4M−1.3%#233 of 387
10Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD452,55710.4$4.2M+1.4%#234 of 387
11State College, PA366110.3$3.8M−0.4%#301 of 387

Other business types in the State College metro area

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in the State College, PA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 61 pizza places in the State College metro area. 24 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 116 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.5% 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 17 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the State College, PA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $228.9M a year, or $3,879 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 61 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 59,013 households in the State College metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the State College, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The State College metro area has 10.3 pizza places per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $3.8M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the State College metro area would have about 45, against 61 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 509 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the State College, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the State College metro area at 157,393 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 59,013 households. Median household income in the State College metro area is $74,291, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.0%, 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 State College metro area scores 36 for pizza places (lower middle), #301 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 State College 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 State College metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the State College 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 State College 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.