How South Dakota Became A Pizza Powerhouse For The World Cup

When the 2026 World Cup officially begins across North America this week, soccer fans in South Dakota will be reaching for two things - their TV remotes and their phones.

The need for the remote is obvious, but the reason for the phone might surprise you.

It turns out the folks in the Mount Rushmore State rank fourth in the country for pizza deliveries during major soccer events.

In their story, 'States Most Likely to Order Pizza During the World Cup (2026)', the team at Vegas Insider tracked Google search interest for pizza delivery across eight major soccer events in 2025. Both times South Dakota appeared in the data, it scored a perfect 100.

READ MORE: Frozen Pizza Recall Alert At Costco, Target, Walmart

Top 10 States Most Likely to Order Pizza During the World Cup

1. Rhode Island
2. Delaware
3. Ohio
4. South Dakota
5. Pennsylvania
6. South Carolina
7. Michigan
8. New Hampshire
9. Florida
10. West Virginia

South Dakota doesn't show up often in pizza delivery conversations, but the 2025 data suggests a highly engaged audience on soccer game days — one worth watching as the tournament brings a much larger viewing audience this summer.

The most striking pattern in the data: in 44 out of 51 markets, pizza demand was higher the day after a match than during it. If that pattern holds during the World Cup, the post-game order may be the bigger opportunity for delivery operators than the halftime rush.

Get our free mobile app