Best & Worst Cities for Basketball Fans (2026)

Basketball is the second-most popular sport in the United States, trailing only football. It is also a massive business: the NBA generates around $12.8 billion in annual revenue, with the average franchise valued at $5.4 billion. Teams also bring in significant income through television deals, merchandise sales, and advertising on team uniforms.

While basketball enjoys nationwide popularity, certain cities stand out more than others. Factors such as successful teams, strong revenues, and long-standing traditions all play a role—but none of it matters without fans. A city must also foster attendance and engagement by making arenas accessible and keeping ticket prices affordable.

With basketball fans in mind, WalletHub analyzed data to identify the best places in America to root for the sport. More than 290 major cities were evaluated across 21 key metrics, ranging from the performance level of each city’s NBA and NCAA Division 1 basketball teams to ticket prices to stadium accessibility.

“Basketball is one of the most beloved sports in the U.S., and while you can enjoy watching it from anywhere, there’s something truly special about living in one of the best cities for basketball fans. Being able to see top teams in huge arenas with hordes of dedicated fans is an incredible experience. The best cities also promote basketball not just at the professional level, but at the collegiate level, too.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Best Cities for Basketball Fans

NBA Teams

Best-Performing

• 1. Boston, MA
• 2. Oklahoma City, OK
• 3. Cleveland, OH
• 4. Denver, CO
• 5. Milwaukee, WI

Worst-Performing

• 23. Salt Lake City, UT
• 24. San Antonio, TX
• 25. Detroit, MI
• 26. Washington, DC
• 27. Charlotte, NC

Best City vs. Worst City: 3x Difference

Boston, MA vs. Charlotte, NC

College Basketball Teams

Best-Performing

• 1. Moraga, CA
• 2. Des Moines, IA
• 3. Storrs, CT
• 4. Spokane, WA
• 5. West Lafayette, IN

Worst-Performing

• 292. Green Bay, WI
• 293. Lexington, VA
• 294. Carrollton, GA
• 295. Detroit, MI
• 296. Itta Bena, MS

Best City vs. Worst City: 10x Difference

Moraga, CA vs. Itta Bena, MS

Avg. Ticket Price for NBA Game

Lowest

• 1. Memphis, TN
• 2. Salt Lake City, UT
• 3. New Orleans, LA
• 4. Charlotte, NC
• 5. Portland, OR

Highest

• 23. Chicago, IL
• T-24. Los Angeles, CA
• T-24. Boston, MA
• T-24. San Francisco, CA
• T-24. New York, NY

Best City vs. Worst City: 6x Difference

Memphis, TN vs. New York, NY

Minimum Season-Ticket Price for College Basketball Game

Lowest

• 1. Montgomery, AL
• 2. Troy, AL
• 3. Itta Bena, MS
• 4. Davidson, NC
• 5. Richmond, KY

Highest

• T-290. Chapel Hill, NC
• T-290. Memphis, TN
• T-290. Lexington, KY
• T-290. Auburn, AL
• T-290. Tucson, AZ
• T-290. Spokane, WA

Best City vs. Worst City: 30x Difference

Montgomery, AL vs. Spokane, WA

Accessible NBA Stadiums

Most

• T-1. Salt Lake City, UT
• T-1. Orlando, FL
• 3. Cleveland, OH
• 4. New Orleans, LA
• 5. Minneapolis, MN

Least

• 23. Phoenix, AZ
• 24. Los Angeles, CA
• 25. Houston, TX
• 26. Chicago, IL
• 27. New York, NY

Best City vs. Worst City: 20x Difference

Salt Lake City, UT vs. New York, NY

Accessible College Basketball Stadiums

Most

• T-1. Fayette, MS
• T-1. Itta Bena, MS
• T-1. Loretto, PA
• T-1. Princess Anne, MD
• 5. Grambling, LA

Least

• 293. Denver, CO
• 294. San Antonio, TX
• 295. Kansas City, MO
• 296. New York, NY
• 297. Sacramento, CA

NBA Fans

Most Engaged

• T-1. Miami, FL
• T-1. Cleveland, OH
• T-1. San Francisco, CA
• T-1. Salt Lake City, UT
• T-1. Boston, MA

Least Engaged

• 23. Detroit, MI
• 24. Charlotte, NC
• 25. Philadelphia, PA
• 26. Phoenix, AZ
• 27. New York, NY

Best City vs. Worst City: 27x Difference

Miami, FL vs. New York, NY

College Basketball Fans

Most Engaged

• T-1. Chapel Hill, NC
• T-1. Storrs, CT
• T-1. Bloomington, IN
• T-1. Morgantown, WV
• T-1. East Lansing, MI

Least Engaged

• 293. New York, NY
• 294. Kansas City, MO
• 295. San Jose, CA
• 296. Denver, CO
• 297. Arlington, TX

Show More

Ranking by City Size

In-Depth Look at the Best Cities for Basketball Fans

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles is the best city for basketball fans in 2026. It is home to two NBA teams, the Lakers and Clippers, as well as four Division 1 NCAA teams, the UCLA Bruins, Loyola Marymount Lions, USC Trojans and CSU Northridge Matadors.

L.A. has taken home the NBA championship title 17 times, the second most after Boston – with the Lakers claiming all 17 of these victories, helped by stars like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson. The city has also been home to 18 different hall-of-fame coaches since 1946, the second-most in the country. To top things off, the city’s NBA franchises have an average value of $8.8 billion.

At the collegiate level, Los Angeles also has the most national titles – all of which have been won by the UCLA Bruins.

Boston, MA

Boston is the second-best city for basketball fans, and it’s home to the Boston Celtics, who have won 18 NBA championships, breaking their tie with the Los Angeles Lakers after winning the 2024 NBA Finals. The Celtics also have one of the most engaged fans of any NBA team, based on Facebook and X (Twitter) followers. In addition, the Celtics ranked as the third-most popular NBA team in Statista’s most recent NBA Fan Survey, and they are the fourth-most valuable team in the league, at $6.7 billion.

Boston also has three Division 1 NCAA teams, the Northeastern Huskies, Boston College Eagles and Boston University Terriers. None of these teams have taken home a national championship in basketball, but they’ve collectively brought Boston the 12th-most conference titles among the nearly 300 cities in our study.

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco is the third-best city for basketball fans, and it has one NBA team, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have won 7 NBA championships, the third-most in the country, and they have the eighth-highest overall winning percentage.

Despite lagging behind the Lakers and Celtics in terms of championships, the Golden State Warriors are beloved by fans, taking the top spot in Statista’s latest NBA Fan Survey, thanks in large part to Stephen Curry’s star power.

The Golden Gate City is also home to one Division 1 NCAA team, the San Francisco Dons. This team has taken home two national championships, which puts San Francisco in 11th place for the number of NCAA championship wins.

Ask the Experts

Showing team spirit can get pretty expensive. For insight on enjoying hoops on a budget and other basketball-related matters, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. Do you think the NBA or the NFL has a better chance of successfully adding a European franchise?
2. What, in your mind, makes a good basketball fan?
3. What do you think is the best city for basketball fans and why?
4. Do you have any tips for how basketball fans can enjoy the sport without breaking the bank?
5. What are the biggest challenges facing professional basketball today?

Ask the Experts

Sean Pradhan
Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Sports Management and Business Analytics, School of Business Administration - Menlo College
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Theodore Curtis
Professor, Sports Management - Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida
Read More

Amy Bass
Ph.D. – Professor of Sport Studies; Chair, Division of Social Science & Communication; Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) to the NCAA - Manhattanville University
Read More

Dennis Deninger
Professor Emeritus, Falk College and Newhouse School of Public Communications - Syracuse University and Author of The Football Game That Changed America
Read More

Adriana Sekulovic
Ph.D. – Lecturer, School of Management - California Lutheran University
Read More

Farah J. Ishaq
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education – Northern Illinois University
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

To determine the best and worst cities for professional- and college-basketball fans, WalletHub compared 298 of the most populated cities across two divisional categories, “NBA” and “NCAA.”

We evaluated those categories using 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 basketball fandom.

We then 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 sample, we chose cities with at least one college basketball or NBA team. We also ranked the cities based on population size, using the following groupings:

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

NBA – Total Points = 70

• Number of NBA Team(s): Full Weight (~8.24 Points)
• Performance Level of NBA Team(s): Full Weight (~8.24 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing “Number of Wins” by “Total Games Played” and using the past three seasons’ averages.
• Number of NBA Championships Wins: Full Weight (~8.24 Points)
• Number of NBA Division Championship Wins: Half Weight (~4.12 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~4.12 Points)
• Franchise Value (Team Estimated Value in $ Billion): Half Weight (~4.12 Points)
• Average Ticket Price for NBA Game: Full Weight (~8.24 Points)
  Note: The price includes one general admission ticket, two beers, a hot dog and parking.
• NBA Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~8.24 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding “Number of Twitter Followers” and “Number of Facebook ‘Likes’ per Capita.”
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons: Half Weight (~4.12 Points)
  Note: “Past 10 Seasons” include seasons 2016–2017 to 2025–2026.
• NBA Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~4.12 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing “Stadium Capacity” by “City Population.”
• NBA Attendance: Half Weight (~4.12 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing “Average Home-Fan Attendance” by “Stadium Capacity” for NBA teams only.
• NBA Popularity Ranking: Half Weight (~4.12 Points)

NCAA Basketball – Total Points = 30

• Number of College Basketball (Division 1) Team(s): Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Performance Level of College Basketball (Division 1) Team(s): Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing “Number of Wins” by “Total Games Played” and using the past three seasons’ averages.
• Number of College Basketball (Division 1) Championship Wins: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• Number of College Basketball (Division 1) Conference Regular Season Championship Wins: Half Weight (~2.14 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~2.14 Points)
• Minimum Season Ticket Price for College Basketball (Division 1) Games: Full Weight (~4.29 Points)
• College-Basketball Fan Engagement: Full-Weight (~4.29 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding “Number of Twitter Followers” and “Number of Facebook ‘Likes’ per Capita.”
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons: Half Weight (~2.14 Points)
  Note: “Past 10 Seasons” include seasons 2016–2017 to 2025–2026.
• College-Basketball Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~2.14 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing “Stadium Capacity” by “City Population.”

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of April 9, 2026 from the U.S. Census Bureau, ESPN, NBA, NCAA.org, Forbes, Facebook, Twitter, Sports Reference, SportsCasting, Statista Research Department and each team’s website.

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