One Of America's Most Popular Pizza Chains Isn't A Restaurant At All

It's no secret that Americans are big on pizza. A survey conducted by OnePoll in 2023 revealed that the average adult in the United States eats the cheesy food three times a month and is likely to indulge in around five slices when the opportunity avails itself, totaling up to 180 slices annually (via StudyFinds). And while there's some disagreement over the preferred place to buy pizza — a restaurant versus the grocery store's frozen foods aisle, for instance — the popularity of pizza chains is undeniable.

From late-night delivery to deals on extra toppings, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa Johns are satisfying cravings all over America. Even take-and-bake chains like Papa Murphy's or build-your-own-personal-pie places like Mod Pizza and Blaze Pizza do big business. While the largest pizza chain in the United States isn't easy to guess, you might be more surprised to learn that one of the most popular places to buy a slice isn't a restaurant, but a superstore. 

Costco, the massive retailer best known for its deals on bulk goods, is one of the biggest pizza chains in the country. While many loyal customers feel most passionate about Costco's fan-favorite hot dogs, the number of warehouses throughout the United States and the food court pizza's low price make it a popular spot for people to grab a slice or a whole pie. Plus, as plenty of online forums reveal, the company's pizza is pretty tasty, even if you're limited to cheese and pepperoni.

From size to revenue, there are a lot of factors that go into quantifying a pizza chain's popularity. However, one go-to metric is the number of locations. While Costco doesn't often appear on these lists since it sells pizza out of a store food court instead of a restaurant kitchen, if included, it would place toward the top. According to ScrapeHero, the big three pizza chains in the U.S. are Hunt Brother's Pizza (9,703), Domino's (6,929), and Pizza Hut (6,739), followed by Little Caesars, Papa Johns, Marcos Pizza, and Papa Murphy's respectively with 1,000+ locations. Costco would be next up, taking the title of 8th largest pizza chain, with 611 warehouses in the United States as of August 2024 (via Costco).

However, if you judge a pizza chain's prominence based on sprawl — specifically how many states it's available in — the list would look different. Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa Johns are present in all 50 states, but the other top 10 chains haven't broken 40, per ScrapeHero. Meanwhile, Costco has at least one location in 47 states (sorry, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Rhode Island), according to the company's website. You could always work out the math based on square footage, too. This may make Costco the biggest pizza place overall, since its average location is 146,000 square feet. (Of course, only an extremely small percentage of each warehouse is dedicated to pizza-making, though, so that's more fun than fair.)

While plenty of other menu items have come and gone — or gone up in price — pizza remains one of the Costco food court's most beloved offerings. Even compared to the inflation-proof hot dog, the company's pizza is remarkably affordable. For $1.99 plus tax, you can get a large slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza. Feeding a whole family or want leftovers? An 18-inch pie, which is slightly bigger than extra-large pizzas from Domino's or Pizza Hut, is only $9.95 plus tax. Chances are you'll have a hard time scoring a pizza similar in both size and price at any other major chain, even if you take advantage of coupons. However, just because Costco's pizza is so cheap doesn't mean that it's lacking in quality. In fact, the cheese pie is anything but light on its main topping, packing on an impressive 1½ pounds of provolone, mozzarella, and parmesan. 

Still, there are a few downsides to getting pizza from the bulk retailer's food court. Big on topping variety? Sadly, cheese and pepperoni are the only options (R.I.P., discontinued combo pizza). Also, while you can call ahead to order a to-go pie, Costco doesn't do pizza delivery — and probably never will. Finally, the only way to eat at Costco's food court is to be a paying member (or know one willing to bring you along). But hey, technically, this makes Costco the largest exclusive pizza chain in the country.