America's 'Best Cities For Pizza' List Includes 2 Passaic County Towns

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A list of the top cities in America for quality pizzerias includes six New Jersey cities, and two in Passaic County.

Pizzello.com, a company selling outdoor pizza ovens and fire pit tables, compiled a list of the 250 best cities for pizza in the United States. The study "wasn't just a frivolous foray into flatbreads," Pizzello noted — the company analyzed average Google reviews from the 500 most-populous towns and cities in the country.

Each city got a score out of 5, and both Clifton and Paterson earned a spot on the list. Newark, Elizabeth, Jersey City, and Camden also represent the Garden State's vast offerings for pizza, and all six New Jersey spots on the list had ratings between 4.4 and 4.5.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York City topped the list with an average Google rating of 4.68. The legacy of pizza across the five boroughs "cannot be ignored," Pizzello wrote. The city's history of pizza-making "is evident in the generations of family-owned pizzerias that dot the cityscape, each with its own story and a secret recipe that's a slice of New York's history."

Take a look at the rankings in Passaic County:

#212 Clifton (4.44) — "Clifton's proximity to New York City means its pizzerias uphold high standards, serving East Coast-style pizzas that are both authentic and delicious."

#240 Paterson (4.43) — "In Paterson, the pizza scene is robust and diverse, reflecting the city's rich cultural mix with a variety of traditional and global flavors."

Pizzello also carried out a survey of 1,000 pizza fanatics to get a taste of their least favorite toppings, and their pizzeria preferences. Curious about what the survey found?

First, the average pizza enthusiast is willing to travel for up to 26 minutes to take a bite of their absolute favorite pie. And, just over half of respondents (52 percent) had a preference for independent pizzerias over large chains. But when it comes right down to it, 40 percent of people said that what they make at home could surpass any pizza they purchased at a restaurant.

When it comes to divisive types of pizza, Hawaiian pizza had 26 percent of respondents turning up their noses at the combo of ham and pineapple. Following in second place for least favorites was pizza bianca, or white pizza — with 22 percent of respondents deeming it unfit for eating.

See the full study here.