Raleigh ranks among Top 10 cheapest pizza cities in America, new report finds

Good news for Triangle pizza lovers watching their wallets: Raleigh is officially one of the most affordable places in the country to grab a pie.

Raleigh landed at No. 9 on NetCredit’s 2026 U.S. Pizza Index, making the City of Oaks one of just two North Carolina metros to crack the Top 10. Charlotte claimed the No. 2 spot, with a medium cheese pizza there averaging $14.50.

For the rankings, the personal online lender used GrubHub and DoorDash to find the price of a medium cheese pizza at major chains in America’s 180 largest cities.

Analysts then calculated the average cost of a pie in each city, providing a snapshot of which spots offer the most affordable pizzas.

“Whether ordering a plain cheese or not, comparing the cost of a medium cheese pizza is a simple way to index the relative affordability of an order from one of the big pizza chains around the country,” Matt Pelkey, a finance expert with NetCredit, wrote.

Raleigh and Charlotte were both among major U.S. cities where the average pizza cost less than $15.

At the opposite end, California was home to five of the six priciest cities for pizza, according to NetCredit. San Diego ($20.76) had the most expensive average pizza, followed by San Jose ($20.02) and Los Angeles ($19.84).

The report also ranked the pizza chains themselves: Little Caesars offered the best value, with a medium cheese pizza averaging $10.27 versus Chuck E. Cheese at $20.23 for the same pie.

How Triangle pizzerias stack up

While NetCredit’s national index focuses on major chains, The Raleigh News & Observer recently took a deep dive into the Triangle’s local pizza scene — from by-the-slice joints and nostalgic pizzerias to fancy wood-fired spots — to find out who delivers the best bang for your local pizza buck.

The N&O scoured the Triangle for as many pizzerias as it could find, ending up with 97 restaurants across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary and beyond.

The list, published in February 2025, focused on traditional round-style pizzas, excluding Chicago-style and rectangular pies for easier comparison. It included local Triangle pizzerias and small chains but skipped the giant pizza companies, whose prices can fluctuate by the day.

Using each restaurant’s largest commonly ordered one-topping pizza — with sizes ranging from 11-50 inches — The N&O applied a price-per-square-inch formula to rank them. The most common large size was 18 inches.

The cheapest local slice

Though its large pizza was only 14 inches, Big Cheese was the cheapest by far, coming in as the only pizza under $10, according to The N&O’s analysis. (Pricing was reported in February 2025 and may have since changed.)

It bested the runner-up, Sofia’s Pizza in Durham, by nearly $10 and was a full penny cheaper per square inch.

One thing The N&O learned: There’s enormous value in larger pizzas.

Most of the top 10 cheapest pizzas come from traditional carry-out or delivery joints, all offering at least an 18-inch pizza for under $20. That includes Frank’s Pizza — voted the Triangle’s favorite pizza by readers of The News & Observer — which landed fifth in the results.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:35 PM.