Special Report

American Cities With the Most Expensive Pizza

Woodkern / iStock via Getty Images

Pizza is generally regarded as a cheap and cheerful dining option. While any good example is always a pleasure to eat, however, it’s more expensive in some places than in others — even in its simplest form.

24/7 Tempo has identified the 50 U.S. cities with the most expensive pizza. The information is drawn from the Pizza Index 2021 published by the financial advisory site Expensivity, which considered the comparative prices of a cheese pizza in 259 cities around the country based on information from MenuWithPrice. (These are the American cities with the most pizza places.)

Expensivity considered any offering described as “plain pizza,” “cheese pizza,” or “Margherita pizza,” but didn’t differentiate between pies of different sizes, so the averages given reflect the prices of qualifying pizzas of all sizes.

We were surprised to discover that the city with the most expensive pizza is Eau Claire in Wisconsin — the Cheese State, which has marketing slogans like “We dream in cheese!” Wisconsin produces more cheddar, brick, muenster, and American cheese than any other state, and yet a cheese pie in Eau Claire costs an average of $15.01.

Click here to see cities with the most expensive pizza.

Perhaps equally surprising was the fact that the No. 2 city on our list was New Haven, Connecticut — a city considered by some aficionados to be the pizza capital of America — where an average pie costs $13.84. On the other hand, another Connecticut city, Bridgeport, just 20 miles down the I-95 from New Haven, comes in at No. 50, as the least expensive city for pizza. (These are the 25 Best pizza places in America.)

At No. 48, New York City, where the first pizzerias opened more than a century ago, looks like a relative bargain. A plain pizza there averages $9.96, just eight cents more than you’d pay in Bridgeport.

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

50. Bridgeport, Connecticut
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $9.88

[in-text-ad]

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

49. Boston, Massachusetts
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $9.91

GCShutter / Getty Images

48. New York, New York
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $9.96

Jeff Yount / iStock via Getty Images

47. Hickory, North Carolina
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.07

[in-text-ad-2]

SpVVK / Getty Images

46. San Mateo, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.07

pabradyphoto / iStock via Getty Images

45. Des Moines, Iowa
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.08

[in-text-ad]

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

44. Naperville, Illinois
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.10

Spondylolithesis / Getty Images

43. Sunnyvale, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.19

pabradyphoto / iStock via Getty Images

42. Jersey City, New Jersey
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.21

[in-text-ad-2]

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

41. Alexandria, Virginia
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.22

Art Wager / E+ via Getty Images

40. Oceanside, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.26

[in-text-ad]

gmc3101 / iStock via Getty Images

39. Kent, Washington
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.27

LPETTET / Getty Images

38. Bakersfield, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.28

photovs / iStock via Getty Images

37. Avondale, Arizona
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.34

[in-text-ad-2]

Dot Slash Digital / iStock via Getty Images

36. Columbia, Maryland
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.45

Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images

35. Berkeley, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.46

[in-text-ad]

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

34. Fargo, North Dakota
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.49

Steven D Reynolds / iStock via Getty Images

33. Muskegon, Michigan
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.49

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

32. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.50

[in-text-ad-2]

traiansum / iStock via Getty Images

31. Davie, Florida
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.52

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

30. Charlottesville, Virginia
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.55

[in-text-ad]

TriciaDaniel / iStock via Getty Images

29. College Station, Texas
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.56

Ron and Patty Thomas / E+ via Getty Images

28. San Diego, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.57

27. Grand Junction, Colorado
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.58

[in-text-ad-2]

Rmprit / Wikimedia Commons

26. Olathe, Kansas
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.60

Didier Moïse / Wikimedia Commons

25. Anchorage, Alaska
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.61

[in-text-ad]

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

24. Modesto, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.67

23. Antioch, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.75

ibsky / Getty Images

22. San Francisco, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $10.87

[in-text-ad-2]

Ultima_Gaina / iStock via Getty Images

21. Allentown, Pennsylvania
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.03

SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images

20. Arlington, Virginia
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.05

[in-text-ad]

AlizadaStudios / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

19. Mckinney, Texas
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.07

DebraMillet / Getty Images

18. Syracuse, New York
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.08

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

17. Joliet, Illinois
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.10

[in-text-ad-2]

traiansum / iStock via Getty Images

16. Coral Springs, Florida
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.10

Ultima_Gaina / Getty Images

15. Bellevue, Washington
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.15

[in-text-ad]

DenisTangneyJr / E+ via Getty Images

14. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.46

ChrisBoswell / iStock via Getty Images

13. Albany, New York
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.50

ChuckSchugPhotography / iStock via Getty Images

12. Daly City, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.61

[in-text-ad-2]

jmoor17 / Getty Images

11. Chico, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.77

RoschetzkyIstockPhoto / Getty Images

10. Round Rock, Texas
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $11.85

[in-text-ad]

Ultima_Gaina / iStock via Getty Images

9. Trenton, New Jersey
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $12.17

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

8. Elizabeth, New Jersey
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $12.23

Art Wager / Getty Images

7. Honolulu, Hawaii
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $12.51

[in-text-ad-2]

SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images

6. Hartford, Connecticut
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $12.52

Caleb Long / Wikimedia Commons

5. Tulsa, Oklahoma
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $13.06

[in-text-ad]

LPETTET / iStock via Getty Images

4. Thousand Oaks, California
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $13.32

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

3. Waterbury, Connecticut
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $13.49

nancykennedy / Getty Images

2. New Haven, Connecticut
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $13.84

[in-text-ad-2]

William Reagan / iStock via Getty Images

1. Eau Claire, Wisconsin
> Avg price of a plain pizza: $15.01

Find a Qualified Financial Advisor (Sponsor)

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.