The State That Consumes A Ridiculously High Amount Of Frozen Pizza

When pizza-lovers think of America's primo 'za locations, New York City's thin crust, Chicago's deep-dish, and Detroit's square slices likely come to mind. But, when it comes to frozen pizza specifically, the U.S. epicenter is perhaps-fittingly none other than America's Dairyland. According to Instacart data for online orders (via KRQE), foodies in Wisconsin ordered more frozen pizzas than foodies in any other state. Runners-up for frozen pizza sales by volume were North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota.

The state's abundance of locally-available cheese is partially to thank for its domestic frozen pizza popularity. Wisconsin is known for its cheeses, and nationwide frozen pizza giants DiGiorno, Tombstone, and Jack's are all primarily produced in Wisconsin, and all source their mozzarella cheese from Wisconsin dairy farms, as of 2019. Supermarket freezer aisles in Wisconsin are also typically stocked with other popular regional frozen pizza brands like Palermo's and Portesi.

Beyond that famous cheese-trove, a weather-specific motivation also gives Wisconsinites an edge over frozen pizza consumption in other states. "There's a big portion of the year when you're not going outside and you want something that's convenient and tastes great and feeds the whole family," Nick Fallucca, chief product and innovation officer at Palermo's Pizza, told Spectrum News in 2019. "Per capita," says Fallucca, "people in Wisconsin eat more frozen pizza than anyone else in the country ... It's highly unlikely that any other state is going to take over from pizza production, Wisconsin I think has that covered."

From December through February, the Midwest state regularly sees average daily temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It isn't uncommon for severe Wisconsin winter days to drop below 0 degrees and well into the negatives. Conditions can be particularly brutal in the state's Northern areas, where Lake Superior brings notorious quantities of lake-effect snow. It's no surprise, then, that snowed-in Wisconsinites commonly buy frozen pizzas by the case instead of individually (as reported by local outlet the Appleton Post Crescent) as a plan-ahead freezer-stock. 

Wisconsin's love affair with frozen pizza doesn't seem to be a fleeting trend, and it isn't slowing down any time soon. In fact, Future Market Insights expects the global frozen pizza industry to enjoy "robust growth" motivated by "an increase in overall consumer demand for convenience food, long shelf-life type products, and premium frozen meals." The market is anticipated to see a 5.5% CAGR from 2025 to 2035, climbing from a current valuation of $22.69 billion to $38.76 billion. 

Another 2023 study by Market.US found that 60% of consumers chow down on a hot or frozen pizza either weekly or every two to three months. Regardless of state, the most popular pizza flavors by sales volume (per the Instacart study) are pepperoni (40%) and plain cheese (24%), but Midwest pizza orders tend to feature meaty toppings more often than other states. We'll take a sausage and pep, to stay-in.