For most of us, the toughest part about moving is… well, all of it. The packing, the boxes and the bubble wrap are a pain. But when it’s actually time to physically haul boxes from place to place, it can quickly become a nightmare. The worst part? It can be very expensive!
Many cost-conscious movers request help from their friends to load and unload moving trucks to help offset costs. It’s a reasonable trade-off, especially since they traditionally pay their friends in pizza and beer for services rendered.
When it comes to college graduates, the pizza and beer payment plan is usually the best option to get some help while moving. To help out, we wanted to find out where the best pizza places are located in cities college grads are migrating to. Using Yelp data, we were able to identify every pizza place within the city limits and create a weighted ranking scale taking into account star ratings, reviews, cost, and hours of operation.
The Results: Most Popular Pizza Places Across America
According to Yelp, these are the most popular pizza restaurants in towns where college graduates are moving. So, if you’re planning on moving to one of these areas and you owe your friends pizza for helping you with your relocation, these are the places you should be ordering from.
Most Popular Style of College Town Pizza by Region
Pizza styles vary by region and in some cases, the choices make sense. The Northeast favored New York style, which features hand-tossed dough, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese.
Those in the Midwest, however, surprisingly didn’t favor Chicago style deep dish. Instead, they jump on the New York style bandwagon. The West is more likely to opt for the deep dish option, while the South favored a basic wood-fired style of pizza.
Most Popular Pizza in the Northeast
The popular Northeast pizza winners tended to follow the lead of one of the US pizza giants—New York City.
Italian restaurants such as Regina Pizza, Vera Pizzeria, and Sienna Mercato respect the simplistic New York style favored throughout the Northeast, with the most obvious example coming from the Big Apple itself.
New York’s 99 Cent Pizza restaurant is the quintessential New York pizza option. On the other hand, a Halal restaurant came out on top in Connecticut, adding a Mediterranean twist to traditional American specialties of grinders and pizza, while also offering American classics such as mozzarella sticks and onion rings.
Most Popular Pizza in the South
In the South, traditional Italian style restaurants tended to lure in most of the crowds. With names like Luna Rosa Gelato Cafe and Luigi’s, how could anyone expect anything less than Italian perfection?
In Texas and North Carolina, delis were chosen as a source of good pizza. Austin favors Little Deli and Pizzeria, while Raleigh loves Demo’s Pizzeria and Deli.
Most Popular Pizza in the West
The Western region features several pizza joints named for New York, serving authentic Italian carbohydrates.
Alburguerque, however, favors something less traditional. The top pizza option comes from a bakery serving New Mexico-style pizza, homemade bread and various pastries.
As for Hawaii, the top-rated pizza joint is an Irish pub known for their beer as much as their pies.
Most Popular Pizza in the Midwest
In the Midwest, there were a few bars at the top of the pizza game. In Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Sioux Falls, and Cincinnati, the best pizza restaurants placed an equal emphasis on beverages.
Des Moines had a unique source for great pizza – a general store. Casey’s General Store was the highest-ranked pizza restaurant for the Iowa college grad city, the only general store our research uncovered as a top-ranked pizza place.
Moving to a College Town? Now You Know Where to Eat!
Moving isn’t always fun, but pizza makes it better! Whether you’re repaying your friends for helping you relocate or looking for a great slice to take the edge off a stress-filled day, these pizza joints are sure to help make it better.
If you reach your final destination only to discover that your every earthly possession doesn’t quite fit in your new space, search online for self storage locations near you!
