--- title: National Margherita Pizza Price Index: Map Of Average Costs Across US description: Breaking down the costs of a classic margherita pizza canonical: https://time.com/39201/margherita-pizza-price-map/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-26T20:34:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:08:13.000Z og:title: This Map Shows How Much Pizza Costs Across the U.S. og:description: Breaking down the costs of a classic margherita pizza og:url: https://time.com/39201/margherita-pizza-price-map/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93cf872099385336/6986877306f2c1369932e11e/pizza-prices.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: pizza-prices og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Map Shows How Much Pizza Costs Across the U.S. twitter:description: Breaking down the costs of a classic margherita pizza twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93cf872099385336/6986877306f2c1369932e11e/pizza-prices.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Map Shows How Much Pizza Costs Across the U.S. > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 26, 2014 8:34 PM UTC  Raphael Brion / Eater by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 26, 2014 8:34 PM UTC We all know pizza styles vary dramatically from city to city (see: the great Chicago vs. New York pizza rivalry) — but what about prices? The folks over at Eater set out to determine just how much the cost of pizza (specifically classic margherita pizza) varies across the nation and created [this handy infographic](http://eater.com/archives/2014/03/26/national-margherita-pizza-price-index.php) to illustrate their findings. To create an accurate index, Eater only analyzed pies from VPN-certified pizzerias. (VPN stands for Verace Pizza Napoletana.) To be certified, pizzas must adhere to [a code](http://www.pizzanapoletana.org/public/pdf/associato%5Feng.pdf) that includes the following rules: cheese must be mozzarella di bufala campana D.O.P, mozzarella S.T.G., or a certified Fior di Latte, olive oil must be extra virgin, basil must be fresh and salt must be from the sea. Turns out the cheapest VPN-certified pizzas can be found in Kentucky, and the most expensive can be found in New York, the Bay Area, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The national average is $13.21 For pizza fans on a budget, this map could actually be a useful guide. For example, if you’re for some reason torn between visiting Kentucky and Connecticut, might as well go for Kentucky so you can eat cheap pizza to your heart’s content. 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