Scranton named pizza capital of the country due to high density of pizza restaurants

Old Forge may claim to be the “Pizza Capital of the World,” but according to one study, Scranton is not only the pizza capital of the state, but the entire country due to the sheer number of pizza restaurants in the area.

Real estate website FindTheHome found that the Electric City, which has a population of 75,842, has the highest density of pizzerias per capita – 9.9 per 10,000 people.

It named Pizza by Pappas as a notable restaurant, recommending the Pappas Special.

The data was collected from the 2014 American Community Survey by the United States Census Bureau.

“Cities with populations of 30,000 people or more were considered, except for in Alaska and Vermont, where cities with populations over 5,000 people were considered. This ensured that at least three cities were considered for every state. In the case of ties, the more populous city is ranked higher,” the website explained.

Scranton came out ahead of cities like South Burlington, Vermont; Mentor, Ohio; Pittsfield, Massachusetts; and Miami Beach, Florida. Unsurprisingly, the density of pizza places in Northeastern Pennsylvania is highest in Lackawanna and Luzurne Counties, as shown in the interactive graph below:

In a list of “The Best Cities for Pizza Lovers” that FindTheHome published last year, Scranton was named No. 2, recommending the potato pizza by Mamma Mia’s. No. 1 was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which actually has a higher density of pizzerias per capita, 16.1 per 10,000 people, but it didn’t beat Scranton in the pizza capital list because its population is under 30,000.

Pizza is so popular in NEPA that two Scranton filmmakers are producing a documentary on the subject called “Tray: A Cut of Culture” that they are currently crowdfunding. Read an exclusive interview with the director and watch early footage from the film here.

Photo by Pizza by Pappas