Sure, there's good pizza to be found in Colorado, but I don't think anyone has ever claimed that a place in the Centennial State is the pizza capital of the country – that is, until a recent data analysis was released from a publication called Clever.
Clever took a look at eight different pizza-related metrics across the country's 50 largest metro areas, including factors like pizza restaurant ratings, the average price of pizza, pizza-related search history, and more.
Oddly enough, classic pizza spots like New York City and Chicago ranked 15th and 14th, respectively. Perhaps even odder, the top-ranking spot on the list was the good ol' Mile High City – Denver, Colorado.
Affordability and high restaurant rankings helped Denver earn the spot at the top of the list. While the average Yelp rating of local pizza restaurants was a high 4.05 (compared to New York's 3.93), the price of a large cheese pizza was just $16.79 ($11.81 cheaper than a $28.60 cheese pizza in NYC).
It's also worth noting that Denver is home to 9.5 pizza restaurants per 100,000 residents – above a national average of 8.4. In fact, Denver ranked better than the national average across the board – better pizza that's cheaper and with more local interest in the hugely popular and shareable Italian dish.
This isn't the first time Denver has been given a nod for its local pizza scene – it was ranked as the 7th-best spot for pizza in 2023 by the same publication, but it's perhaps the first time anyone has claimed that there's no better spot for this dish nationwide than Denver.
A few of the top-ranking pizza places in Denver include Brooklyn's Finest (4.5 stars on Yelp), Blue Pan Pizza (4.4 stars on Yelp), Redeemer Pizza (4.3 stars on Yelp), and Pizza 3.14 (4.5 stars on Yelp).
A quick look at all four of those top-rated restaurants does reveal a unique quality that may have helped propel Denver's pizza scene to the top of the Clever list – diversity. In a city known for accumulating transplants from around the country, Colorado's pizza seems to reflect the same eclectic mix of regional styles – it's got great New York City-style pizza, it's got great Chicago deep dish, it's got great Detroit-style pan 'za.
Would you say Denver's pizza scene can compete with the best of them? Let us know in the comments.
Find the full city-by-city pizza ranking from Clever here.
(3) comments
I firmly believe that if Uncle Bosie would have had a BeauJo’s Extra Meat Pie the day he was shot down over the jungles of New Guinea, the cannibals would’ve spared President Biden’s uncle and feasted on a delicious Colorado Mountain Pie. . That is, of course, if he had packed some honey for the crust. Darn cannibals!!!
Sure Denver can compete with the best of them especially with the help of TommyKnockers
This is such nonsense. I live in Denver. I used to live in NYC. For typical pizzeria slice joints Denver is terrible and NYC is the best. If you want fancy, overpriced gourmet style pizza Denver and the metro area has some decent places.
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