Who among us hasn’t enjoyed a few hundred chain pizzas in their lifetime? Okay, maybe not that many for everyone, but it’s hard to completely avoid the four quintessential American pizza businesses. Although their positioning has changed over the past few decades, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars are firmly ahead of the pack in the chain pizza game.
CivicScience recently surveyed Americans to get a sense of their pizza preferences, and a clear winner emerged among adults who enjoy chain pizza to some degree: Pizza Hut. More than one-third of adults favor the Hut, with the ever-evolving Domino’s clocking in behind with 27% support. Papa John’s and Little Caesars, not to be overshadowed, drew in a smaller chunk of the pie, with less than one-quarter of Americans preferring each of them.
Gen Z Americans are significantly more likely to rank Domino’s as their favorite pizza chain, well outpacing its favorables with the Gen Pop. And although Pizza Hut overindexes among Americans aged 35 and older, it’s the least popular choice among the youngest adults. Papa John’s is remarkably steady across age groups, but Little Caesars does especially well with Americans aged 25-to-34.
Although you’re infinitely more likely to pick up a two-liter bottle of soda at a chain pizza restaurant than a six-pack of beer, it’s hard to untangle one from the other. The pizza preferences for regular beer drinkers don’t deviate much at all from the Gen Pop, but occasional drinkers disproportionately favor Domino’s. Adults who never drink beer are even more likely to be Pizza Hut fans.
Gaming and chain pizza go together nearly as well as beer and pizza, and sometimes all three in the right environment. Gamers outpace the Gen Pop when it comes to Papa John’s fandom, and non-gamers are even more consistently Pizza Hut fans — more than two-in-five opt for the Hut.
No matter how you slice it, pizza isn’t exactly the healthiest meal option around, and a plurality of Americans attempt to counteract this with their side dish preferences. More than one-third of Americans opt for salad when ordering something along with pizza. However, a majority are perfectly content to double-down on the indulgence, with wings, mozzarella sticks, and breadsticks/garlic bread outpacing the healthy alternative when tallied together.
Domino’s fans are considerably more interested in sandwiches — perhaps thanks in part to the restaurant prioritizing a mix-and-match menu — but surprisingly lag behind in wing interest. Meanwhile, Papa John’s and Little Caesars fans outpace the Gen Pop in devotion to wings and breadsticks.
The chain pizza space has changed significantly in just the past five years, with competitors retooling their menus and mobile ordering capabilities to keep up. Americans might be steadfast in their preferences for now, but younger generations could ensure that chains like Domino’s and Little Caesars only have room to grow from here.