Expect To Pay A Lot Of Dough For Pizza In Oregon
Hearing news of price rises is about as shocking as learning of the latest political controversy, but just because cost increases are dejectedly expected it doesn't make them any less impactive on people's bank accounts.
Many basic foodstuffs have seen dramatic annual increases since 2021, according to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Flour prices have risen by 34.5%, while for tomatoes costs have grown by 16.9%. That most crucial of foods, glorious cheese, has seen 14% and 19.7% price hikes for cheddar and American processed respectively.
All of this spells bad news for pizza lovers — if the basic ingredients surge in price, at least some of those costs are going to be passed on to hungry customers when the final product is created. However, information analyzed by Slice shows that one U.S. state stands out as having particularly expensive pizzas: Oregon. But exactly how expensive are pizzas in Oregon — and why are they so valuable?
Oregon has the highest pizza prices in the U.S.
According to data gathered by Slice, the average price of a large pizza in America is $17.81. For the cheapest pie in the country you need to head to Oklahoma where the typical price is $12.70. However, if you're searching for pizza in Oregon you have quite a large problem: the average price for a pizza there is a whopping $26.94 — more than twice that of the cheapest, and sure to take a noticeable slice out of your bank balance.
In fact, searching for pizza in Oregon could form part of the pizza price problem. PMQ notes that Oregon has a below-average number of pizza restaurants compared to its population, with 2.36 stores per 10,000 people. KOIN reports that areas with fewer restaurants can see higher prices, although this theory is somewhat undermined by Oklahoma recording an only slightly higher 2.38 stores despite its significantly cheaper pizzas.
However, KOIN also explains that Oregon has a greater proportion of high-quality pizzas, meaning costs could reflect better ingredients. A final reason for Oregon's costly pizzas may be that it is a generally expensive place to live. According to Insure.com, Oregon is one of the top 10 priciest states in the U.S., having a cost of living almost 19% more expensive than the national average.