The United States might be largely considered a meat-and-potatoes nation, but we sure do love our pizza.
Americans are expecting to spend nearly $45 billion on the pies this year, according to pizza industry trade analysis, but while we're united on our love of pizza, we're divided on where to get it from.
There are approximately 70,000 pizzerias around the country, more than half of which are affiliated with the top chains. And just as there are iconic styles of pizza, like New York and Chicago, there are iconic companies who make them.
To get a sense of how true icons of the pizza industry continue to expand their slice of the $45 billion pie — and how a new group of pizza chains are becoming iconic in a hurry — we've compiled a list of the chains that have the highest annual sales and are also seeing tremendous growth, as well as pizza companies that have seen a recent surge in popularity, measured by year-over-year sales growth.