The 10 Most Popular Pizza Toppings in Iowa Might Surprise You

I'm not sure I ever met someone who didn't like pizza. My girlfriend and I just ate it for dinner last night. I'm a little different insofar that I like green peppers and some kind of hot sauce (or crushed red pepper) on my pizza. I like pepperoni, but I find myself opting for green and/or banana peppers more often than not.

The website Casinos.com looked into the most popular pizza toppings in the United States. The study coincides with National Pepperoni Pizza Day (on September 20th). Of course, this study incorporated Iowa into the fold and looked at the favorite toppings Iowans reach for when making or ordering a pizza.

There's a Country-Wide Consensus:

Casinos.com discovered that one topping in particular is the most popular in the United States, with research finding that 29/50 states claim it as their favorite:

The research revealed that Pepperoni is by far the most popular topping in the US, being the most popular topping across 29 states in total!
Bacon came out in second place as it is the most popular topping in 11 states across the country, and Sausage placed 3^rd leading the popularity ranking in 5 states.

Photo Credit: irman, GettyStock

The Most Popular Toppings Across the United States:

Before we dive into Iowa's favorite toppings, here are the overall results of the study, which found that pepperoni was the overwhelming favorite in the United States based on Google trends:

Rank	Topping	Avg. Google Trends Score	#1 Spots
1	Pepperoni	71.62	29
2	Bacon	67.58	11
3	Sausage	66.48	5
4	Mushrooms	64.78	1
5	Chicken	60.10	1
6	Peppers	58.58	2
7	Ground Beef	56.56	0
8	Tomatoes	48.86	0
9	Onions	47.56	0
10	Olives	46.26	0
11	Jalapenos	45.58	0
12	Pineapple	39.32	1
13	Ham	37.70	0
14	Basil	35.30	0
15	Anchovies	22.22	0

I still can't believe anchovies cracked the top 15. I've never tried anchovies on pizza, nor do I see doing so in my future.

The Top 10 Pizza Toppings in Iowa:

Rank	Topping	Avg. Google Trends Score
1	Pepperoni	70
2	Bacon	66
3	Sausage	63
4	Mushrooms	62
5	Chicken	58
6	Peppers	57
7	Ground Beef	55
8	Onions	47
9	Tomatoes	47
10	Olives	45

I am happy to say that my love for peppers on pizza is at least shared enough to make the topping crack the top 10 in the state of Iowa. I've also noticed that a lot of pizzerias in Dubuque and the Tri-State area often have/promote ground beef on pizza, which too explains its fairly high ranking on this list.

Rounding out the top 10 are onions, tomatoes, and olives, three things I don't particularly love on a pizza.

Photo Credit: Olga Nayashkova, Getty Images

Other Findings from the Research:

Casinos.com offered this analysis based on the findings of their research coinciding with National Pepperoni Pizza Day:

Pepperoni is the overwhelming favorite across the US with an average Google Trends score of 71.62 out of a possible 100 and is the most popular pizza topping in 29 US states. In second and third place are Bacon and Sausage who have scores of 67.58 and 66.48 and are the number one topping in 11 and 5 states, respectively.

As far as some controversial toppings go, Anchovies finish dead last in the ranking with a score of just 22.22 out of 100, and Pineapple is 12^th with a score of 39.32. Pineapple does however rank first in one state: you guessed it, Hawaii.

Finally, I'll offer my two-cents on the everlasting debate of whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza. It's acceptable indeed. It's far away from my favorite topping, but it does give a pizza a sweetness to go along to its inherent savory qualities.

Furthermore, while supplies last, you can get half-priced gift certificates to Falbo Bros. Pizza in Dubuque ($10 gets you a $20 gift certificate) via Seize the Deal!

View the full results of Casinos.com's research on their website.