Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Wisconsin

Pizza places in the Appleton, WI metro area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #15 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin

Listings
63
47 chain locations (75%)
Official establishments
159
All limited-service restaurants · +5.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$415.2M
On food away from home · $4,162 a household
Spending per listing
$6.6M
30% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.3
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
249,876
+2.7% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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 Appleton metro area has a Groundwork market score of 79 (high): #15 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for pizza places.

Households in the Appleton metro area spend about $415.2M a year on food away from home, or $4,162 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That is about $6.6M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 30% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

The Appleton metro area has 63 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 75% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 6.3 for every 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 159 businesses with payroll in the Appleton metro area classed as limited-service restaurants, up 5.3% from 2019. That is one for every 627 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, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Appleton metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Appleton metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Appleton metro area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Appleton, WI metro area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureAppleton metro areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.36.98.0
Spending per listing$6.6M$5.7M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)627632478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.3%+3.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,162$3,959$4,070
Median household income$85,825$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score7963

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
159All limited-service restaurants · +5.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,193
Annual payroll, 2023
$57M
One-person businesses, 2023
23All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6347 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
82The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$1M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
249,876+2.7% since 2020
Households
99,754
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
956 sq. mi.
People per square mile
257
Median household income
$85,825+26.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,747
Median home value
$268,900
Jobs located here
130,221
Daytime population
246,801Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pizza across Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for pizza places, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Appleton metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Wisconsin

Metro areas in Wisconsin ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI801,0146.9$6.7M+2.6%#12 of 387
1Appleton, WI79636.3$6.6M+2.7%#15 of 387
2Madison, WI782197.3$6M+4.1%#18 of 387
3Wausau, WI72356.0$6.5M+1.0%#50 of 387
4Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI69486.0$6.6M+0.4%#63 of 387
5Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI674266.5$6.2M0.0%#78 of 387
6Green Bay, WI671027.5$5.3M+2.5%#82 of 387
7La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN65486.7$5.8M+0.4%#91 of 387
8Kenosha, WI61446.4$6.4M−0.4%#109 of 387
9Eau Claire, WI59577.9$4.8M+2.6%#117 of 387

Other business types in the Appleton metro area

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Appleton, WI metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 63 pizza places in the Appleton metro area. 47 of them (75%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 159 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 5.3% 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 23 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $415.2M a year, or $4,162 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $6.6M 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 99,754 households in the Appleton metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Appleton, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Appleton metro area has 6.3 pizza places per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $6.6M, 30% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Appleton metro area would have about 82, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 627 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Appleton, WI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Appleton metro area at 249,876 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 99,754 households. Median household income in the Appleton metro area is $85,825, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.9%, 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 Appleton metro area scores 79 for pizza places (high), #15 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 Appleton 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 Appleton metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Appleton 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 Appleton 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.