This story originally appeared in PMQ Magazine – click here to read the entire story.
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And the No. 1 city for American pizza fans is … no, not New York. Nope, it’s not Chicago, either. Hey, don’t give us that dirty look—we just report the news here, folks.
According to SmartAsset, which crunched data on pizza-related metrics from 150 of the country’s largest cities, Detroit is the best city in the U.S. for pizza lovers, with Chicago barely even cracking the top 50. Yes, you read that right—Chicago came in at No. 43, while New York finished in third place, behind Buffalo.
SmartAsset, a New York-based company specializing in personal finance technology, analyzed data from 150 of the largest American cities, focusing on total number of pizza restaurants; average quality of pizza restaurants; the percentage of highly rated pizza restaurants; the number of pizza restaurants per 10,000 residents; and the local cost of living.
The study pinpointed Detroit—known for its square, deep-dish, crispy-crust style of pizza—as the “pizza capital of the U.S.” The city, home to the legendary Buddy’s Rendezvous, where Detroit-style pizza originated, boasts around 1,050 pizza shops and 15.5 places for every 10,000 residents. “In terms of quality, Detroit also scores well,” the SmartAsset report states. “The average pizza place in Detroit has a Yelp rating of 3.42. However, if you are a true pizza connoisseur and you’re only visiting Detroit for a brief time, you may want to do some research ahead of time. Only 11% of pizza places here have an average rating above 4.4, meaning popping into just any place may leave you disappointed.”