In some U.S. cities, sports teams help define culture. From beloved ballparks and stadiums to residents proudly donning team jerseys, sports can be seen in the very fabric of life.
You can feel it more in some cities than others. This week, WalletHub released a report about the cities with the best vibes for sports fans. It compared nearly 400 towns across the county based on 50 key metrics related to football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of Americans consider football to be the national sport, followed by 27% who say it’s baseball and 8% who think it’s basketball. Soccer and auto racing were tied at 3% and just 1% think it’s hockey. WalletHub’s ranking weighted football offerings as 60% of a city’s overall score.
Overall, the research center said 38% of Americans follow professional college sports at least somewhat closely and 7% are “superfans” of sports. WalletHub’s report said that the U.S. franchise sports industry is expected to bring in $49 billion in revenue from ticket and merchandise sales, media rights, and sponsorship fees this year and that many fans still love to see games in-person even with many options for watching at home.
“Sports can cause rivalries between cities, but can also give people a deep appreciation for places other than their hometown,” said Chris Lupo, an analyst from WalletHub. “The best sports cities overall tend to be those with the highest-performing, most-popular professional teams.”
California and Pennsylvania each had two cities on WalletHub’s top 10 best sports cities. Interestingly, ballpark dogs from both Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and Fenway Park in Boston have both been ranked as some of the best hot dogs in the country. Food is part of the sports experience too
Here are those top towns, along with their professional football, baseball and basketball teams:
1. Boston, Mass.: the New England Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Celtics
2. Los Angeles, Calif.: the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers
3. Pittsburgh, Pa.: the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, no NBA team
4. New York, N.Y.: the New York Jets and the New York Giants; the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, the New York Nicks and the Brooklyn Nets
5. Dallas, Texas: the Dallas Cowboys, the Texas Rangers (based in Arlington, Texas), the Dallas Mavericks
6. Philadelphia, Pa.: the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Philadelphia 76ers
7. San Francisco, Calif.: the San Francisco 49ers, the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors
8. Kansas City, Mo.: the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals, no NBA team
9. Washington, D.C.: the Washington Commanders, the Washington Nationals, the Washington Wizards
10. Miami, Fla.: the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Marlins, the Miami Heat
In addition to professional sports, many of these towns also have a collegiate sports culture. For example, though Pittsburgh and Kansas City don’t have NBA teams, people can catch Pittsburgh Panthers (the University of Pittsburgh’s team) games and Kansas City Roos college games in KC.
“There are a ton of amazing local sports scenes to discover,” said WalletHub of U.S. sports cities. “For example, Green Bay, Wisc., is a midsize city with one of the richest football cultures in America, and Clemson, S.C., is a small city with high-level, affordable games across multiple sports at the collegiate level.”
As for cities to skip for sports-related pilgrimages, Rochester, Mich., came in dead last based on WalletHub’s ranking system, followed by DeWitt, N.Y.; Lawrence, N.J.; South Orange Village, N.J.; Marquette, Mich.; Oakland, Calif.; Hamden, Conn.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Fairbanks, Ark. And Troy, N.Y.