Best & Worst Cities for Football Fans in 2024 (2024)

For many people, football is far more than just a game: it’s a sacred American tradition. They get extremely invested, roaring in approval when their team scores a touchdown or crying out in disappointment when they fumble their way to failure. The popularity of football compared to other sports isn’t even close – every one of the 50 most-watched sporting events last year was an NFL game.

Certain cities provide a better football experience than others, though. With Super Bowl LVIII upon us, WalletHub compared more than 240 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional football team across 21 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the number of NFL and college football teams to stadium capacity to fan engagement.

For fun and interesting facts about the biggest sporting event of the year, check out WalletHub’s Super Bowl LVIII By The Numbers infographic.

Main Findings

Best Football Cities for Fans

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

In-Depth Look at the Best Cities for Football Fans

Pittsburgh, PA

The best city for football fans is Pittsburgh, in large part due to the presence of its NFL team, the Steelers. The Steelers have won six Super Bowls, tied for the most wins with the New England Patriots. Football fans in the city can watch games at Acrisure Stadium, which has a large capacity at over 68,000 seats and also hosts the NCAA team the Pittsburgh Panthers.

When it comes to the NFL specifically, the Pittsburgh Steelers have some of the most engaged football fans in the country in terms of social media likes and followers per capita. Pittsburgh has some of the most loyal fans, too, measured by ticket revenues, social media engagement, and the home team’s ability to outperform its payroll investments.

Pittsburgh doesn’t have an overly stellar performance when it comes to NCAA football, but the dominance of its NFL team secures it the number one spot.

Dallas, TX

Dallas is the second-best city for football fans because it hosts the most valuable football franchise in the entire country – the Dallas Cowboys, worth a staggering $9 billion dollars. That value isn’t just for show, either. The Cowboys have the second-highest number of Super Bowl wins, at 5, tied with the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas has the highest number of NFC East division championship wins, too.

As evidenced by their high value, the Dallas Cowboys are one of the most popular teams in terms of ticket sales and fan engagement.

Green Bay, WI

The third-best city for football fans is Green Bay, WI, home of the NFL team the Packers. Green Bay’s Lambeau Field stadium is one of the largest in the country, able to seat a whopping 81,441 fans, many of whom will be wearing the iconic “cheesehead” hats that honor one of the state’s biggest culinary contributions.

The Green Bay Packers have won four super bowl titles, which ties them for the third-most wins with the New York Giants. Although there are other cities that have more wins, Green Bay gets pushed up in the rankings by the support of its fans, who rank among the most engaged and second-most loyal in the country.

Ranking by City Size

Ask the Experts

Certain qualities make a city a good environment for football fans. For more insight, we asked a panel of experts to weigh in with their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What are the biggest challenges facing professional football today?
2. How can the game be adapted to better ensure the long term health and safety of players?
3. What are some strategies for fans to enjoy watching football (at home, in a bar, at the stadium) without breaking the bank?
4. Is having a professional football team an economic drain or benefit for cities?
5. Does hosting the Super Bowl economically help or hurt the host city?

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst cities for football fans, WalletHub compared 249 U.S. cities based on 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for football fans.

For our sample, we chose cities with at least one professional football team (NFL) or at least one college football team (NCAA, including FBS and FCS). We then grouped the cities by division — “Pro Football” and “College Football” — and assigned weights to each divisional category based on its popularity among fans.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. For our “Ranking by City Size,” we categorized each city according to the following population-size guidelines:

• Large cities: More than 300,000 people
• Midsize cities: 100,000 to 300,000 people
• Small cities: Fewer than 100,000 people

Pro Football – Total Points = 75

• Number of NFL Teams: Full Weight (~8.82 Points)
• Performance Level of NFL Team: Full Weight (~8.82 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated using the past three seasons’ averages and the following formula: Number of Wins / Total Number of Games Played.
• Number of NFL Championships Wins: Full Weight (~8.82 Points)
• Number of NFL Division Championship Wins: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)
• Number of Hall-of-Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)
• Franchise Value: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the team(s) estimated value in millions of dollars.
• Average Ticket Price for an NFL Game: Full Weight (~8.82 Points)
• NFL Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~8.82 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of Twitter followers and Facebook “Likes” (on each team’s official accounts) per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)
  Note: “Past 10 Seasons” include seasons 2014-2015 to 2023-2024.
• NFL Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated using the following formula: Stadium Capacity / Total City Population.
• Attendance: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated using the following formula: Average Home-Fan Attendance / Stadium Capacity.
• Popularity Index: Half Weight (~4.41 Points)

College Football – Total Points = 25

• Number of College Football (FBS & FCS) Teams: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Performance Level of College Football (FBS & FCS) Team(s): Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated using the past three seasons’ averages and the following formula: Number of Wins / Total Number of Games Played.
• Number of College Football (FBS & FCS) Championship Wins: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Number of College Football (FBS & FCS) Conference Championship Wins: Half Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Number of Hall-of-Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Minimum Season-Ticket Price for College Football (FBS & FCS) Game: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• College Football Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of Twitter followers and Facebook “Likes” (on each team’s official accounts) per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons: Half Weight (~1.79 Points)
  Note: “Past 10 Seasons” include seasons 2014–2015 to 2023–2024.
• College Football (FBS & FCS) Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~1.79 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated using the following formula: Stadium Capacity / Total City Population.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of January 15, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Team Marketing Report, ESPN, NCAA, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sports Reference, Forbes, The Athletic, Fanalytics, each team’s website and social media accounts.

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Important Disclosures