Best Cities for Soccer Fans (2025)

Americans finally have found their own soft spot for the world’s most beloved professional sport. After what seemed an eternity of low popularity among U.S. fans, soccer — better known as “football” to the international community — has gained admiration and respect here at home.

Much of the credit for the sport’s growing domestic acceptance goes to the U.S. Women’s National Team, who made us proud with its record-breaking victory in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Part of the glory is also owed to COPA América Centenario, the world’s oldest soccer competition, held the following year on U.S. turf for the first time in its 100-year history. In 2019, the U.S. National Team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup once more, and they took home a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021. The U.S. Men’s National Team and U.S. Women’s National Team qualified for their respective World Cups in 2022 and 2023, but neither team made it past the initial round of 16.

Some places make it easier for soccer fans to enjoy the sport than others. To determine the top spots for soccer fandom, WalletHub compared more than 300 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional soccer team across five divisions and examined each based on 52 key metrics. Our data set ranges from minimum season-ticket price for a game to stadium accessibility to number of championship wins.

“America has a late-blooming but clear passion for soccer, and cities such as Los Angeles and Orlando are leading the way in creating a great environment for soccer fans. Not only do these cities provide plenty of opportunities to enjoy high-level soccer at the professional and college level, but they also have cultivated highly engaged fans who support those teams passionately everywhere from the stands to social media.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Best Soccer Cities in America

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.
 

MLS Teams

Best-Performing

• 1. Cincinnati, OH
• 2. Los Angeles, CA
• 3. Orlando, FL
• 4. Miami, FL
• 5. Columbus, OH

Worst-Performing

• T-20. Denver, CO
• T-20. Kansas City, MO
• T-22. Chicago, IL
• T-22. Washington, DC
• 24. San Jose, CA

Best City vs. Worst City: 2x Difference

Cincinnati, OH vs. San Jose, CA

NWSL Teams

Best-Performing

• 1. Kansas City, KS
• 2. Orlando, FL
• 3. Portland, OR
• 4. Cary, NC
• 5. San Jose, CA

Worst-Performing

• 10. Chicago, IL
• 11. Los Angeles, CA
• 12. Houston, TX
• 13. Salt Lake City, UT
• 14. Louisville, KY

Best City vs. Worst City: 2x Difference

Kansas City, KS vs. Louisville, KY

Min. Season-Ticket Price for MLS Games

Lowest

• 1. Houston, TX
• 2. Orlando, FL
• 3. Salt Lake City, UT
• 4. St. Louis, MO
• 5. Los Angeles, CA

Highest

• T-20. San Diego, CA
• T-20. Atlanta, GA
• 22. Columbus, OH
• 23. Philadelphia, PA
• 24. Washington, DC
• 25. Miami, FL

Best City vs. Worst City: 5x Difference

Houston, TX vs. Miami, FL

Min. Season-Ticket Price for NWSL Games

Lowest

• 1. Orlando, FL
• 2. Kansas City, KS
• T-3. Houston, TX
• T-3. Salt Lake City, UT
• 5. Louisville, KY

Highest

• T-7. San Jose, CA
• T-7. Portland, OR
• 11. Seattle, WA
• 12. Chicago, IL
• 13. Cary, NC
• 14. Los Angeles, CA

Best City vs. Worst City: 2x Difference

Orlando, FL vs. Los Angeles, CA

MLS Stadium Capacity

Highest

• 1. Atlanta, GA
• 2. Salt Lake City, UT
• 3. Charlotte, NC
• 4. Cincinnati, OH
• 5. Orlando, FL

Lowest

• 21. Dallas, TX
• 22. Los Angeles, CA
• 23. Philadelphia, PA
• 24. Houston, TX
• 25. New York, NY

Best City vs. Worst City: 17x Difference

Atlanta, GA vs. New York, NY

NWSL Stadium Capacity

Highest

• 1. Salt Lake City, UT
• 2. Orlando, FL
• 3. Kansas City, KS
• 4. Cary, NC
• 5. Portland, OR

Lowest

• 10. Seattle, WA
• 11. Houston, TX
• 12. Chicago, IL
• 13. Los Angeles, CA
• 14. New York, NY

Best City vs. Worst City: 34x Difference

Salt Lake City, UT vs. New York, NY

MLS Fans

Most Engaged

• T-1. Miami, FL
• T-1. Orlando, FL
• T-1. Atlanta, GA
• 4. Salt Lake City, UT
• 5. Seattle, WA

Least Engaged

• 21. Nashville, TN
• 22. Philadelphia, PA
• 23. Chicago, IL
• 24. Charlotte, NC
• 25. San Diego, CA

NWSL Fans

Most Engaged

• T-1. Orlando, FL
• T-1. Kansas City, KS
• 3. Cary, NC
• 4. Portland, OR
• 5. Seattle, WA

Least Engaged

• 10. Houston, TX
• 11. San Jose, CA
• 12. Chicago, IL
• 13. Los Angeles, CA
• 14. New York, NY

Best City vs. Worst City: 49x Difference

Orlando city, Florida vs. New York city, New York

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In-Depth Look at the Cities for Soccer Fans

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, one of the founding cities for Major League Soccer (MLS), is the best city for soccer fans overall. It has two MLS teams, the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. It also has one National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, Angel City FC. Having lots of teams is good for soccer fans because it provides more chances to watch and can help people build a sense of loyalty to their favorite team.

Los Angeles teams have won the MLS Cup championship seven times, more than any other city, with six of those wins coming from the LA Galaxy, including the most recent in 2024 and one from Los Angeles FC. The city’s MLS teams are also worth an average of more than $1 billion each.

While the city’s women’s teams don’t have as much success as the men’s, the NWSL is also a lot newer than MLS.

For those who want to enjoy soccer at the collegiate level, L.A. is home to three men’s NCAA teams and three women’s NCAA teams. The men’s teams have collectively won four championships, and so have the women’s teams.

Orlando, FL

Orlando, FL, is the second-best city for soccer fans, and it’s home to the Orlando City SC MLS team and Orlando Pride NWSL team. Orlando City SC has yet to win an MLS cup, while Orlando Pride has earned one NWSL championship, an achievement shared by only a handful of teams.

The Orlando Pride also have the second-best overall winning percentage in the NWSL, the most engaged fans on social media and the seventh-highest popularity in terms of Google searches.

Orlando has one NCAA men’s team and one NCAA women’s team. Neither the men nor the women have won a championship.

Seattle, WA

Seattle is the third-best city for soccer fans, and it’s actually one of the newer cities involved in the sport, with the Seattle Sounders FC joining MLS in 2007. The city also has the Seattle Reign FC, which was one of the original members of the NWSL.

Seattle Sounders FC has one of the best winning percentages in MLS, and has won the MLS Cup twice. And while Seattle Reign FC doesn’t have any NWSL championships to its name, it still has one of the best overall winning percentages in the league.

In addition, Seattle’s MLS and NWSL teams are both among the most popular teams in their leagues when it comes to Google searches.

Finally, Seattle has two men’s NCAA soccer teams and two women’s teams, though none of these teams have won a championship.

Ranking by City Size

Ask the Experts

For additional insight into soccer-related issues and trends, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. Click on the experts’ profiles below to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What are the biggest issues facing U.S. soccer today?
2. What is the long-term outlook for professional soccer in the U.S.?
3. To what extent has U.S. soccer embraced fantasy sports, including the daily-fantasy model?
4. What, in your mind, makes a good soccer fan?
5. If your child were an elite youth soccer player, would you encourage them to pursue the MLS/NWSL or a premier international league?

Ask the Experts

Dr. Katie Flanagan
Sport Management Professor – Florida State University
Read More

Dr. Terry Shannon
Associate Professor of Sport Management – Oral Roberts University
Read More

Lee H. Igel
Professor, Tisch Institute for Global Sport, School of Professional Studies – New York University
Read More

Dr. John Drea and Thomas Drea
Dr. John Drea - Emeritus Professor, Illinois College and Western Illinois University & Thomas Drea - Graduate Student, University of Illinois
Read More

Mike Lorenc
Clinical Assistant Professor, Sport Management Program – University of Michigan
Read More

Dr. Simon Licen
Associate Professor in Sport Management, Washington State University
Read More

Methodology

In order to determine the best cities for soccer fans, WalletHub compared 302 of the most populated U.S. cities across five divisions: 1) MLS (Division I Men’s), 2) NWSL (Division I Women’s), 3) USL (Division III Men’s), 4) College Soccer (Division I Men’s) and 5) College Soccer (Division I Women’s). For our sample, we chose cities with at least one college or professional soccer team.

We evaluated the five divisions using 52 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 soccer fans. In order to determine the weight for each division, we surveyed the top-performing five teams in each division’s Facebook account, summed the number of “Likes” and calculated the proportion that each league represented in total. The weight attributed to each division is therefore based on its popularity.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the cities in our sample.

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

Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the schedules 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.

MLS (Div. I Men’s) – Total Points = 55

• Number of Teams: Full Weight (~6.47 Points)
• Performance Level: Full Weight (~6.47 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 Championship Wins: Full Weight (~6.47 Points)
• Number of Regular Season Conference (2 conferences) Titles: Half Weight (~3.24 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches who Conducted the Team: Half Weight (~3.24 Points)
• Franchise Value: Half Weight (~3.24 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the team’s estimated value in millions of dollars.
• Minimum Season-Ticket Price: Full Weight (~6.47 Points)
• Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~6.47 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers and the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2015-16 to 2024-25): Half Weight (~3.24 Points)
• Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~3.24 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.
• Attendance: Half Weight (~3.24 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing average home-fan attendance by arena capacity.
• Popularity Index: Half Weight (~3.24 Points)

NWSL (Div. I Women’s) – Total Points = 25

• Number of Teams: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Performance Level: Full Weight (~3.13 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 Championship Wins: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Number of Regular Season League Titles: Half Weight (~1.56 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches who Conducted the Team: Half Weight (~1.56 Points)
• Minimum Season-Ticket Price: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers and the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2015-16 to 2024-25): Half Weight (~1.56 Points)
• Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~1.56 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.
• Attendance: Half Weight (~1.56 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing average home-fan attendance by arena capacity.
• Popularity Index: Half Weight (~1.56 Points)

USL (Div. III Men’s) – Total Points = 10

• Number of Teams: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)
• Performance Level: Full Weight (~1.25 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 Championship Wins: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)
• Number of Regular Season Conference (2 conferences) Titles: Half Weight (~0.63 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches who Conducted the Team: Half Weight (~0.63 Points)
• Minimum Season-Ticket Price: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)
• Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers and the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2015-16 to 2024-25): Half Weight (~0.63 Points)
• Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~0.63 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.
• Attendance: Half Weight (~0.63 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing average home-fan attendance by arena capacity.
• Popularity Index: Half Weight (~0.63 Points)

College Soccer (Div. I Men’s) – Total Points = 5

• Number of Teams: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
• Performance Level: Full Weight (~0.71 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 Championship Wins: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
• Number of Conference Regular Season Titles: Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches who Conducted the Team: Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
• Minimum Season-Ticket Price: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
• Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers and the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2015-16 to 2024-25): Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
• Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.

College Soccer (Div. I Women’s) – Total Points = 5

• Number of Teams: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
• Performance Level: Full Weight (~0.71 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 Championship Wins: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
• Number of Conference Regular Season Titles: Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
• Number of Hall of Fame Head Coaches who Conducted the Team: Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
• Minimum Season-Ticket Price: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
• Fan Engagement: Full Weight (~0.71 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by adding the number of Twitter followers and the number of Facebook “Likes” per capita.
• Number of Coaches in Past 10 Seasons (Seasons 2015-16 to 2024-25): Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
• Stadium Capacity: Half Weight (~0.36 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated by dividing stadium capacity by city population.

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of August 14, 2025 from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Collegiate Athletic Association, ESPN, Soccer Stadium Digest, National Soccer Hall of Fame, FlashScore, Google Trends, MLS, Forbes, each team’s website and each team’s social media accounts.

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