Football fans from across the country are flocking to New Orleans, La., this weekend to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles play in Super Bowl LIX. While the Big Easy is one of the best towns for football fans, it isn’t actually at the top of the list.
Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, personal finance website WalletHub analyzed 250 U.S. cities based on 21 key metrics to find the best places for football fans. Metrics included the number of National Football League teams, college football teams, stadium capacity and fan engagement.
WalletHub said that, for many, football is more of “a sacred American tradition,” than just a sport. In fact, it found that 72 of the 100 most-watched sporting events in 2024 were NFL games, including the Super Bowl.
Here are the top 15 U.S. cities for football fans, according to WalletHub’s report (spoiler: both of the cities vying to win the Super Bowl this year are on it):
1. Pittsburgh, Pa. (home of the Pittsburgh Steelers)
2. Dallas, Texas (home of the Dallas Cowboys)
3. Green Bay, Wisc. (home of the Green Bay Packers)
4. Boston, Mass. (home of the New England Patriots)
5. Kansas City, Mo. (home of the Kansas City Chiefs)
6. New York, N.Y. (home of the New York Jets)
7. Los Angeles, Calif. (home of the Los Angeles Rams)
8. San Francisco, Calif. (home of the San Francisco 49ers)
9. New Orleans, La. (home of the New Orleans Saints)
10. Miami, Fla. (home of the Miami Dolphins)
11. Philadelphia, Pa. (home of the Philadelphia Eagles)
12. Minneapolis, Minn. (home of the Minnesota Vikings)
13. Cincinnati, Ohio (home of the Cincinnati Bengals)
14. Baltimore, Md. (home of the Baltimore Ravens)
15. Washington, D.C. (home of the Washington Commanders)
“Living in one of the best football cities means much more than attending games and watching your hometown team on TV every weekend in the fall,” said WalletHub analyst Chris Lupo. “Faithfully following your team on social media, spending big on tickets and merchandise, and taking part in local traditions are just some of the factors that make the best football cities stand out. Having a football team with a winning culture and multiple championships doesn’t hurt, either.”
Earlier this week, Audacy reported that nearly 23 million Americans are planning to skip work Monday after the big game. Football fans are anxious to see if the Chiefs will win a historic three Super Bowl titles in a row or if the Eagles – winners of the 2018 title – will upset their winning streak.