Best & Worst Cities for Football Fans

For many people, football is far more than just a game: it’s a sacred American tradition. These fans aren’t just spectators but are also participants. They do more than just proudly wear a team’s jersey, perfect game-day chili or tailgate with fellow fans. They show their passion by roaring in approval when their team scores a touchdown or crying out in disappointment when they fumble their way to failure. Football is by far Americans’ favorite sport to watch, with more popularity than basketball, baseball and soccer combined. In fact, 62% of Americans consider themselves either a fan or “somewhat” of a fan of professional football, and 54% say the same for college football.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been a difficult time for football lovers, who have seen games get canceled or played for empty stands or sparse groups of fans. Nevertheless, the NFL season has been able to proceed, and the Super Bowl will happen in front of a socially-distanced crowd. Still, for the moment, football may be best enjoyed from the couch. Certain cities provide a better football experience than others, though.

With Super Bowl LV 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, make sure to check out WalletHub’s Super Bowl LV By The Numbers infographic.

Main Findings

Best Football Cities for Fans

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 or at the stadium, for instance — 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?
6. In your opinion, what will be the financial toll of the pandemic on the football industry?

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst cities for football fans, WalletHub compared 245 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

Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NCAA schedule for the 2019-2020 season, for some metrics we considered the values up to the 2018-2019 season. This helps to ensure a level comparison field among the teams.

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 2011-2012 to 2020-2021.
• 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 2011–2012 to 2020–2021.
• 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 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Team Marketing Report, ESPN, NCAA, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sports Reference, Forbes, Sports Analytics Research from Mike Lewis, each team’s website and social media accounts.

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