COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 27: Running back Kobe Pace #20 of the Clemson Tigers runs for a touchdown while pursued by defensive back David Spaulding #29 of the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Columbia, South Carolina.

It’s no secret that the US loves its sports. Whether it’s NFL, NBA, MLB, college athletics, NHL, or something else. There are passionate fans everywhere. Anyone who knows me will tell you I definitely fall into that category. But if you love sports there are certainly “better” places to be if you want to be fully immersed in the culture (and a winning one at that). In fact, I’d tell you there are two types of sports fans, those who are fans of teams first, and those that are fans of the game first. Those in the latter are the ones this study is most relevant for. I’d argue that the best sports city to be in is the one where you can see your team play most often. But this study by WalletHub focused on the best overall fan experience. And in that metric, a South Carolina town topped the Best Small Sports City list.

The study compared 392 cities across more than 50 key metrics related to the five largest sports in the U.S.: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer. This is on both the pro and collegiate levels. They ranked the cities overall as well as in small, mid-sized, and large cities. Below you’ll find the rankings across all categories including which South Carolina college town is considered the best sports city. (It pains me to write it and give them this recognition more than I care to admit). In fact, many smaller North and South Carolina cities faired well in these rankings. The larger cities? Not so much. When compared to sports hubs with numerous professional teams, I suppose it’s to be expected. Be sure to read until the end to see where the champion small city ranked in the overall results.

Top 10 Cities For Football
Pittsburgh, PA

Dallas, TX

Green Bay, WI

Boston, MA

Los Angeles, CA

New York, NY

Miami, FL

New Orleans, LA

Cincinnati, OH

Indianapolis, IN
Top 10 Cities For Basketball Fans
Los Angeles, CA

Boston, MA

Salt Lake City, UT

San Francisco, CA

Philadelphia, PA

Miami, FL

San Antonio, TX

Washington, DC

Houston, TX

Oklahoma City, OK
Best Small Sports Cities
Clemson, SC

West Point, NY

Fayette, MS

State College, PA

Hanover, NH

Princeton, NJ

Morgantown, WV

Buies Creek, NC

Stanford, CA

Stillwater, OK

East Lansing, MI

Kingston, RI

Hamilton, NY

Boone, NC

Oxford, MS

Chapel Hill, NC

Conway, SC

Fairfield, CT

Starkville, MS

Lynchburg, VA

Other NC/SC Cities:

35. Greenville, SC

38. Spartanburg, SC

39. Boiling Springs, SC

43. Cullowhee, NC

57. Elon, NC

100. Orangeburg, SC
Best Midsize Sports Cities
Green Bay, WI

Buffalo, NY

Glendale, AZ

Salt Lake City, UT

Tuscaloosa, AL

Orlando, FL

Ann Arbor, MI

Tallahassee, FL

Durham, NC

Baton Rouge, LA

Fargo, ND

Norman, OK

Birmingham, AL

South Bend, IN

Provo, UT

Cambridge, MA

New Haven, CT

Athens, GA

Charleston, SC

Greensboro, NC

Other NC/SC Cities:

43. Columbia, SC

62. North Charleston, SC

74. High Point, NC

75. Wilmington, NC

77. Cary, NC

101. Fayetteville, NC
Best Large Sports Cities
Los Angeles, CA

Boston, MA

New York, NY

Pittsburg, PA

Dallas, TX

Miami, FL

Philadelphia, PA

Denver, CO

Washington, DC

Atlanta, GA

San Francisco, CA

Cincinnati, OH

Seattle, WA

Chicago, IL

Kansas City, MO

Indianapolis, IN

Minneapolis, MN

New Orleans, LA

Houston, TX

Nashville, TN

NC/SC Cities:

26. Charlotte, NC

42. Raleigh, NC
Top 30 Sports Cities Overall
A combination of small, midsize, and large cities.
30. Clemson, SC

Total Score: 22.57

Football: 31

Basketball: 52

Baseball: 45

Soccer: 43

Hockey: 450
29. Glendale, AZ

Total Score: 25.09

Football: 13

Basketball: 450

Baseball: 450

Soccer: 450

Hockey: 19
28. Charlotte, NC

Total Score: 26.31

Football: 25

Basketball: 25

Baseball: 75

Soccer: 41

Hockey: 450
27. Las Vegas, NV

Total Score: 27.27

Football: 23

Basketball: 252

Baseball: 73

Soccer: 40

Hockey: 18
26. Tampa, FL

Total Score: 27.3

Football: 21

Basketball: 228

Baseball: 89

Soccer: 102

Hockey: 8
25. Cleveland, OH

Total Score: 28.49

Football: 26

Basketball: 20

Baseball: 11

Soccer: 112

Hockey: 450
24. Detroit, MI

Total Score: 29.67

Football: 30

Basketball: 23

Baseball: 22

Soccer: 38

Hockey: 3
23. Baltimore, MD

Total Score: 29.69

Football: 16

Basketball: 78

Baseball: 19

Soccer: 94

Hockey: 450
22. Nashville, TN

Total Score: 29.97

Football: 24

Basketball: 66

Baseball: 30

Soccer: 23

Hockey: 23
21. Buffalo, NY

Total Score: 30.44

Football: 14

Basketball: 155

Baseball: 124

Soccer: 108

Hockey: 7
20. Houston, TX

Total Score: 30.75

Football: 29

Basketball: 9

Baseball: 17

Soccer: 15

Hockey: 450
19. New Orleans, LA

Total Score: 31.93

Football: 8

Basketball: 16

Baseball: 214

Soccer: 450

Hockey: 450
18. Minneapolis, MN

Total Score: 32.52

Football: 18

Basketball: 28

Baseball: 9

Soccer: 245

Hockey: 49
17. Green Bay, WI

Total Score: 32.76

Football: 3

Basketball: 226

Baseball: 450

Soccer: 137

Hockey: 450
16. Indianapolis, IN

Total Score: 33.23

Football: 10

Basketball: 21

Baseball: 33

Soccer: 35

Hockey: 450
15. Kansas City, MO

Total Score: 34.24

Football: 11

Basketball: 249

Baseball: 20

Soccer: 5

Hockey: 450
14. Chicago, IL

Total Score: 34.55

Football: 27

Basketball: 17

Baseball: 6

Soccer: 12

Hockey: 11
13. Seattle, WA

Total Score: 35.83

Football: 17

Basketball: 144

Baseball: 21

Soccer: 2

Hockey: 21
12. Cincinnati, OH

Total Score: 35.95

Football: 9

Basketball: 55

Baseball: 7

Soccer: 22

Hockey: 450
11. San Francisco, CA

Total Score: 36.58

Football: 12

Basketball: 4

Baseball: 8

Soccer: 202

Hockey: 450
10. Atlanta, GA

Total Score: 37.34

Football: 20

Basketball: 14

Baseball: 4

Soccer: 8

Hockey: 450
9. Washington, DC

Total Score: 37.48

Football: 22

Basketball: 8

Baseball: 23

Soccer: 6

Hockey: 15
8. Denver, CO

Total Score: 37.75

Football: 15

Basketball: 24

Baseball: 24

Soccer: 18

Hockey: 6
7. Philadelphia, PA
Username: jharden13
Team: Philadelphia 76er

Total Score: 38.54

Football: 19

Basketball: 5

Baseball: 18

Soccer: 16

Hockey: 14
6. Miami, FL

Total Score: 38.84

Football: 7

Basketball 6:

Baseball: 26

Soccer: 14

Hockey: 450
5. Dallas, TX

Total Score: 42.38

Football: 2

Basketball: 18

Baseball: 313

Soccer: 19

Hockey: 17
4. Pittsburgh, PA

Total Score: 46.48

Football: 1

Basketball: 99

Baseball: 12

Soccer: 31

Hockey: 2
3. New York, NY

Total Score: 47.09

Football: 6

Basketball: 12

Baseball: 1

Soccer: 7

Hockey: 5
2. Boston, MA

Total Score: 50.88

Football: 4

Basketball: 2

Baseball: 5

Soccer: 13

Hockey: 1
1. Los Angeles, CA

Total Score: 50.91

Football: 5

Basketball: 1

Baseball: 3

Soccer: 1

Hockey: 24
Methodology
In order to determine the best sports cities, WalletHub combined the results from its previous rankings listed below. Each sports category was assigned a weight corresponding with the total percentage of adults in the U.S. who claim to follow that particular sport, according to Gallup.

Football Ranking (Overall) – Total Weight: 54 Percent

Basketball Ranking (Overall) – Total Weight: 16 Percent

Baseball Ranking (Overall) – Total Weight: 13 Percent

Soccer Ranking (Overall) – Total Weight: 11 Percent

Hockey Ranking (Overall) – Total Weight: 6 Percent

Each sports category was also graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for sports fans. Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all sports categories to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Our sample includes a total of 392 U.S. cities, categorized 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

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, TN Bets, Team Marketing Report, ESPN, NCAA, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sports Reference, Forbes, Minute Media, Sports Business Journal, MLB Advanced Media, Minor League Baseball, YouGov, Sports Reference, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, The National Collegiate Athletic Association, Forbes, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, NBA, NHL.com, U.S. College Hockey Online, TicketIQ, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, USL, Soccer Stadium Digest, FlashScore, Google Trends, National Soccer Hall of Fame and WalletHub analysis.