Hockey, like all sports, was impacted greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, its revenue is rebounding now, and is projected to hit over $5 billion for the 2021-2022 season, a record number. That’s great news for hockey fans in the lead up to the Stanley Cup semifinals. The teams that qualified are the Colorado Avalanche (2 Stanley Cup wins), Edmonton Oilers (5 Stanley Cup wins), Tampa Bay Lightning (3 Stanley Cup wins) and New York Rangers (4 Stanley Cup wins).
So for all the diehard and rookie fans, WalletHub crunched the numbers to determine the best places for hockey enthusiasts. We ranked 72 U.S. cities based on 21 key indicators of a good hockey city. Our data set ranges from ticket prices to stadium capacity to the performance level of each city’s teams.
Main Findings
Best Hockey Cities
| Overall Rank | City | Total Score | NHL | NCAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston, MA | 59.51 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh, PA | 53.33 | 1 | 55 |
| 3 | Detroit, MI | 49.56 | 3 | 55 |
| 4 | St. Louis, MO | 46.79 | 4 | 55 |
| 5 | New York, NY | 46.00 | 5 | 52 |
| 6 | Denver, CO | 44.35 | 8 | 21 |
| 7 | Buffalo, NY | 42.74 | 7 | 40 |
| 8 | Tampa, FL | 42.48 | 6 | 55 |
| 9 | Newark, NJ | 41.39 | 9 | 55 |
| 10 | Sunrise, FL | 39.62 | 10 | 55 |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | 38.69 | 11 | 55 |
| 12 | Raleigh, NC | 38.41 | 12 | 55 |
| 13 | St. Paul, MN | 37.13 | 13 | 49 |
| 14 | Philadelphia, PA | 36.46 | 14 | 55 |
| 15 | Washington, DC | 35.56 | 15 | 55 |
| 16 | Anaheim, CA | 35.26 | 16 | 55 |
| 17 | Dallas, TX | 33.76 | 17 | 55 |
| 18 | Las Vegas, NV | 32.30 | 18 | 55 |
| 19 | Glendale, AZ | 32.26 | 19 | 55 |
| 20 | San Jose, CA | 30.56 | 21 | 55 |
| 21 | Seattle, WA | 30.34 | 20 | 55 |
| 22 | Columbus, OH | 30.03 | 23 | 43 |
| 23 | Nashville, TN | 29.82 | 22 | 55 |
| 24 | Los Angeles, CA | 24.65 | 24 | 55 |
| 25 | Grand Forks, ND | 21.43 | 25 | 2 |
| 26 | Ann Arbor, MI | 20.29 | 25 | 3 |
| 27 | Houghton, MI | 19.52 | 25 | 4 |
| 28 | West Point, NY | 19.25 | 25 | 5 |
| 29 | Lewiston, NY | 19.10 | 25 | 6 |
| 30 | Hamilton, NY | 18.81 | 25 | 7 |
| 31 | Potsdam, NY | 18.14 | 25 | 8 |
| 32 | Hanover, NH | 17.66 | 25 | 9 |
| 33 | Orono, ME | 16.96 | 25 | 10 |
| 34 | East Lansing, MI | 16.59 | 25 | 11 |
| 35 | Storrs, CT | 16.03 | 25 | 12 |
| 36 | Big Rapids, MI | 15.89 | 25 | 13 |
| 37 | Durham, NH | 15.73 | 25 | 14 |
| 38 | Ithaca, NY | 15.69 | 25 | 15 |
| 39 | Madison, WI | 15.50 | 25 | 16 |
| 40 | State College, PA | 15.44 | 25 | 17 |
| 41 | Sault Ste. Marie, MI | 15.36 | 25 | 18 |
| 42 | Bowling Green, OH | 15.26 | 25 | 19 |
| 43 | Fairfield, CT | 14.99 | 25 | 20 |
| 44 | Bemidji, MN | 14.57 | 25 | 22 |
| 45 | Colorado Springs, CO | 14.32 | 25 | 23 |
| 46 | Providence, RI | 14.32 | 25 | 24 |
| 47 | Amherst, MA | 14.13 | 25 | 25 |
| 48 | Canton, NY | 13.95 | 25 | 26 |
| 49 | Minneapolis, MN | 13.64 | 25 | 27 |
| 50 | Schenectady, NY | 13.15 | 25 | 28 |
| 51 | New Haven, CT | 13.15 | 25 | 29 |
| 52 | Erie, PA | 13.03 | 25 | 30 |
| 53 | Rochester, NY | 12.95 | 25 | 31 |
| 54 | Springfield, MA | 12.52 | 25 | 32 |
| 55 | Cambridge, MA | 12.41 | 25 | 33 |
| 56 | Mankato, MN | 12.37 | 25 | 34 |
| 57 | South Bend, IN | 12.33 | 25 | 35 |
| 58 | Duluth, MN | 12.32 | 25 | 36 |
| 59 | Lowell, MA | 11.39 | 25 | 37 |
| 60 | Waltham, MA | 11.28 | 25 | 38 |
| 61 | St. Cloud, MN | 11.09 | 25 | 39 |
| 62 | Marquette, MI | 10.86 | 25 | 41 |
| 63 | Omaha, NE | 10.83 | 25 | 42 |
| 64 | Troy, NY | 10.54 | 25 | 44 |
| 65 | Princeton, NJ | 10.05 | 25 | 45 |
| 66 | North Andover, MA | 9.76 | 25 | 46 |
| 67 | Oxford, OH | 9.73 | 25 | 47 |
| 68 | Worcester, MA | 9.09 | 25 | 48 |
| 69 | Fairbanks, AK | 8.75 | 25 | 51 |
| 70 | Kalamazoo, MI | 8.27 | 25 | 50 |
| 71 | Tempe, AZ | 8.19 | 25 | 53 |
| 72 | Burlington, VT | 6.09 | 25 | 54 |
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.
- Best-Performing Teams
- 1. Denver, CO
- 2. Tampa, FL
- 3. Sunrise, FL
- 4. Raleigh, NC
- 5. Boston, MA
- Worst-Performing Teams
- 20. Buffalo, NY
- 21. Anaheim, CA
- 22. Newark, NJ
- 23. Seattle, WA
- 24. Detroit, MI
- Best-Performing Teams
- 1. Mankato, MN
- 2. Grand Forks, ND
- 3. Springfield, MA
- 4. Ithaca, NY
- 5. Amherst, MA
- Worst-Performing Teams
- 50. Canton, NY
- 51. Oxford, OH
- 52. Big Rapids, MI
- 53. Burlington, VT
- 54. St. Paul, MN
- Lowest Price
- 1. Sunrise, FL
- 2. Glendale, AZ
- 3. Seattle, WA
- 4. Denver, CO
- 5. Buffalo, NY
- Highest Price
- 20. Detroit, MI
- 21. Washington, DC
- 22. Boston, MA
- 23. Las Vegas, NV
- 24. Chicago, IL
- Lowest Price
- T-1. Fairfield, CT
- T-1. St. Paul, MN
- 3. Erie, PA
- 4. Worcester, MA
- 5. Buffalo, NY
- Highest Price
- T-48. Burlington, VT
- T-48. Tempe, AZ
- T-48. Grand Forks, ND
- T-48. Duluth, MN
- T-48. Minneapolis, MN
- Highest Capacity
- 1. Sunrise, FL
- 2. Buffalo, NY
- 3. Glendale, AZ
- 4. Pittsburgh, PA
- 5. St. Paul, MN
- Lowest Capacity
- 20. Dallas, TX
- 21. Philadelphia, PA
- 22. Chicago, IL
- 23. Los Angeles, CA
- 24. New York, NY
- Highest Capacity
- 1. Lewiston, NY
- 2. Hamilton, NY
- 3. Durham, NH
- 4. Houghton, MI
- 5. Storrs, CT
- Lowest Capacity
- 49. Denver, CO
- 50. Worcester, MA
- 51. Buffalo, NY
- 52. St. Paul, MN
- 53. Tempe, AZ
- Highest
- T-1. Pittsburgh, PA
- T-1. Sunrise, FL
- 3. Boston, MA
- 4. Buffalo, NY
- 5. St. Louis, MO
- Lowest
- 20. Dallas, TX
- 21. Columbus, OH
- 22. Seattle, WA
- 23. Los Angeles, CA
- 24. New York, NY
- Highest
- T-1. Lewiston, NY
- T-1. Hamilton, NY
- T-1. Orono, ME
- T-1. Houghton, MI
- 5. Grand Forks, ND
- Lowest
- 50. Springfield, MA
- 51. Worcester, MA
- 52. Buffalo, NY
- 53. St. Paul, MN
- 54. New York, NY
Ask the Experts
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new set of challenges for hockey stakeholders. For additional insight about the business side of the sport, hockey fandom and more, we asked a panel of sports experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:
- What are the biggest challenges facing the business of professional hockey today?
- Do you have any tips for how hockey fans can enjoy the sport without breaking the bank?
- In evaluating the best cities for hockey fans, what are the top five indicators?
- How has the pandemic impacted the hockey industry?
- With sports betting now federally legal, how will the Stanley Cup finals be affected?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Sport Marketing – Montclair State University, Feliciano School of Business
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Adjunct Instructor, Department of Sport Studies – St. John Fisher College
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Professor, Department of Management, Jack Welch College of Business and Technology – Sacred Heart University
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Ed.D., Professor of Sport and Entertainment Management, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management – University of South Carolina
Read More
Methodology
In order to determine the best cities for hockey fans, WalletHub compared 72 U.S. cities across two divisional categories, NHL (Division I Men’s) and NCAA (Division I Men’s). For our sample, we chose cities with at least one college or professional hockey team.
We evaluated each divisional category 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 hockey fans. The weight for each divisional category is based on its popularity, which we determined by summing the number of “Likes” for all the teams in each category and calculating the proportion that each league represents in total.
We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to construct our final ranking.
NHL – Total Points: 80
- Number of NHL Team(s): Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
- Performance Level of NHL Team(s): Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of wins by the total games played. We used the past three seasons’ average for this calculation. - Number of Stanley Cup Wins: Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
- Number of NHL Division Championship Wins: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
- Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
- Franchise Value: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Note: This metric measures the team’s estimated value in millions of dollars. - Average Ticket Price for NHL Game: Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
- NHL Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~9.41 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers to the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita. - Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2012-13 to 2021-22): Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
- NHL Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population. - Attendance: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing average home-fan attendance by stadium capacity. - NHL Regular Season and Local Ratings: Half Weight (~4.71 Points)
NCAA (Division I Men’s) – Total Points: 20
- Number of NCAA (Division 1) Team(s): Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
- Performance Level of NCAA (Division 1) Team(s): Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of wins by the total games played. The past three seasons’ average was used for this calculation. - Number of NCAA (Division 1) Championship Wins: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
- Number of NCAA (Division 1) Conference Regular Season Championship Wins: Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches: Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Minimum Season-Ticket Price for NCAA (Division 1) Game: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
- College-Hockey Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers to the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita. - Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2012-13 to 2021-22): Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
- College-Hockey Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~1.43 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, ESPN, NCAA.org, NHL.com, U.S. College Hockey Online, College Hockey News, Forbes, Sports Business Journal, Facebook, Twitter, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Team Marketing Report and each team’s website.