This State Has the Most Expensive Pizza in America, With Pies Going for Almost $27

Sorry to everyone in Oregon.

We consider every day to be National Pizza Day, but unofficially, that day is meant to be celebrated on Thursday, February 9. Here’s where we all need to spare a thought for any Oregonians who are commemorating the occasion because, according to some recent data, the cost of a pie is higher in the Beaver State than it is anywhere else in the U.S. 

Pizza delivery app Slice released its annual Slice of the Union report, and after it “munched and crunched data” — their words —  from almost 19,000 independent pizza shops, it determined that the average cost of a pizza can differ by up to $14 (!!!) depending on which state you’re ordering in.

According to Slice’s numbers, the U.S. average for a large cheese pizza is $17.81. On average, the cost of a large cheese pizza from an indie pizzeria jumped from $16.74 in 2021 to $17.81 in 2022, an increase of 6.4%.

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That same pie is, on average, the most expensive in Oregon ($26.94), followed by Washington ($23.34), Illinois ($22.52), Alaska ($21.74), and Colorado ($21.23.). On the other end of the spectrum, the five states where a large cheese pizza is the least expensive are Oklahoma ($12.70), Minnesota ($13.88), Alabama ($14.80), Kansas ($14.96), and North Dakota ($15.35).

The Slice of the Union report also noted that the most "iconic" names for pizzerias were Joe's Pizza and Sal's Pizza, which were both used by 206 pizza shops across the U.S., followed by Tony's (114 shops), Johnny's (56), and Ray's (43).

As far as pizza toppings go, we collectively ordered mushrooms on 8.9% more pizzas last year, and pineapple was ordered on 6.1% fewer orders (and that eternally controversial topping was most likely to be served up in California). We're also scoring more sides of ranch: requests for that dressing (or dipping sauce, no judgment) were up by 9.7%.

"While the report provides a fun look at pizza ordering through the lens of "most popular store name" and identifying trends for the year, it also emphasizes the importance of data to our businesses, allowing pizza shops to better serve their customers and more efficiently run their businesses," Slice CEO and Founder Ilir Sela said in a statement. "More than 400,000 people in the U.S. work at independent pizzerias, and we have made it our mission to support as many of them as we can, as best as we can."

Slice is also giving first-time customers $5 off for National Pizza Day. By using the code PIZZADAY2023, you can save $5 off any order of $25 or more — which is enough to make Oregonians feel like Alaskans for a day, at least when it comes to pizza.