Why Aren't Americans Eating As Much Pizza Anymore?

They say even bad pizza is still pretty good pizza, but that doesn't mean people are eating it anymore. Once the undisputed king of delivery food options, pizza has fallen from its perch. For years, pizzerias were the second most common type of restaurant in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal. Only fast food places outnumbered them. But in recent years, pizza has been outpaced, and many restaurants, including big chains, are now struggling. Americans aren't eating pizza as much anymore, and the reason may be that it's simply no longer competitive.

Back in the day, if you wanted to order dinner, you probably only had the option of Chinese or pizza. Before the advent of DoorDash and other food delivery apps, few restaurants offered delivery options. Pizza became so synonymous with delivery food that DiGiorno could distinguish itself by saying it tastes like delivery, and we all know what that means. Now there's no single easily identifiable reason why pizza is slipping, but it does seem to be the product of a shift in not just what we eat but how we eat.

Not only can you get cheaper fresh and frozen pizzas you can make at home, but you can also have virtually every kind of cuisine delivered. If you want fast food burgers, fried chicken, pad thai, your favorite coffee, tacos, or anything else, it's all available on the same app. Where pizza once had virtually no competition, it now has to go head-to-head with everything. It also has to contend with options that are cheaper and healthier, not to mention restaurants that can offer breakfast and a wider variety.

If you have been following restaurant news, you know that many pizza places have fallen on hard times in the last few years. Pizza locations reached their peak in 2019 and have been on a steady decline since. In 2024, Tasting Table addressed the issue of why so many pizza places were filing for bankruptcy, and the trend has only continued. In 2025, Pieology's parent company filed for bankruptcy, and many others have vanished as well.

The cost of pizza, like most things, has been going up. That, in turn, has been making some diners order smaller pizzas with fewer toppings, or simply not order pizza at all. If the quick and cheap meal everyone grew up with is no longer cheap, it loses a lot of its appeal. That isn't to say the industry has tanked entirely. Pizza was still worth $31 billion in 2024, and one in ten Americans ate it daily. But the fact that Pizza Hut has seen two straight years of falling sales is a bad sign.

Not everyone sees a grim future for pizza. The fact that it isn't as big as it once was doesn't mean pizza is going to vanish from the delivery food landscape. There is a belief that this is just a plateau, a sort of normalizing of the industry after years of being on top. Now that every other type of food is as accessible to consumers, pizza will settle into its spot. The future of pizza will not look the same, and you may have fewer options, but it's unlikely to ever go away.