Starting in 2014, I logged every slice of pizza I ate in New York City on the Instagram account NYC Slice. The results below come from 464 slices. Over an eight-year period the average price of a plain slice went from $2.52 to $3.00. This calculation excludes dollar slices. By the end of 2025 the average had reached $3.81. The subway fare went to $3 a week later. Those two prices tracked each other for decades. They don’t anymore.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Slices logged464
- Years tracked2014–2022
- Average plain slice$2.52 → $3.00
- Most expensive slice$6.53
- Spent on plain slices$955.09
- Spent on pepperoni slices$202.28
- Spent on other slices$51.76
- Spent on dollar slices$35.09
- Total spent$1,244.22
THE METHOD
The average excludes dollar slices. The most expensive was a $6.53 pepperoni slice at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza in Times Square, and it was fine. I did not rate the slices, to avoid controversy and bribes.
The biggest thing I noticed is the decline in the amount of sauce put on slices. I’m sure this is a cost-saving measure, but the overall quality of your average slice in the city has definitely suffered.
EVERY SLICE, MAPPED
PRICE OVER TIME
SEARCH THE SLICES
NOTABLE SLICES
- Margherita Pizza163-04 Jamaica Avenuefrom $3.00$3.75
- Joe’s Pizza7 Carmine Streetfrom $2.75$4.00
- Bleecker Street Pizza69 7th Avenue Southfrom $2.75$3.64
- Sunnyside Pizza4001 Queens Boulevardfrom $2.50$3.50
- New Park Pizza156-71 Cross Bay Boulevardfrom $2.75$3.25
- Pizza Place4024 White Plains Road$3.25
- Ozone Pizzeria9615 Liberty Avenue$3.00
- Sam’s Pizza232 W 231st Street$3.00
- Mario’s Pizzeria224 Dekalb Avenue$3.00
- PG Pizza904 Morris Avenue$2.75
- Big John’s Pizza219-11 Jamaica Avenue$2.75
- Ciro Pizza Cafe862 Huguenot Avenue$2.50
- Pizza D’Amore208 Beach 116th Street$2.50
In no particular order. Prices as logged; “from” figures are the 2014 price at the same shop.
SELECTED PRESS
- Bloomberg CityLab — Mapping the Death of NYC’s Cheap Slice
- NBC New York — This Guy Tracked the Average Cost of an NYC Pizza Slice for 8 Years. Here’s What He Found
- Slate — The Man Who Spent $1,244.22 on 464 Slices of New York Pizza Explains What He Learned
- Time Out New York — This New Yorker tracked the price of NYC pizza slices for eight years and the results are shocking
- amNewYork — New Yorker creates map of the 464 pizza slices he ate over 8 years in NYC (and Jersey)
- Boing Boing — New Yorker documents every pizza slice he’s eaten for past nine years, shares hard data
- FlowingData — Tracking hundreds of pizza slices
- Queens Daily Eagle — After eating nearly 500 slices, Brooklyn man says Queens has best pizza
- PMQ Pizza Magazine — This New Yorker Logged Eight Years of Pizza Slices and Prices
- Secret NYC — The Cost Of A NYC Pizza Slice Has Jumped 19% Over The Last 8 Years
- NBC New York — Sign of the Times: No More $1 Slices of Pizza at Two Bros in NYC
