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South Carolina College Town Named Best Sports City In America

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…

South Carolina Sports

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.

(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

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 SteelersPhoto by Joe Sargent/Getty Images
  1. Pittsburgh, PA
  2. Dallas, TX
  3. Green Bay, WI
  4. Boston, MA
  5. Los Angeles, CA
  6. New York, NY
  7. Miami, FL
  8. New Orleans, LA
  9. Cincinnati, OH
  10. Indianapolis, IN

Top 10 Cities For Basketball Fans

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers
  1. Los Angeles, CA
  2. Boston, MA
  3. Salt Lake City, UT
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Philadelphia, PA
  6. Miami, FL
  7. San Antonio, TX
  8. Washington, DC
  9. Houston, TX
  10. Oklahoma City, OK

Best Small Sports Cities

Clemson Football(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
  1. Clemson, SC
  2. West Point, NY
  3. Fayette, MS
  4. State College, PA
  5. Hanover, NH
  6. Princeton, NJ
  7. Morgantown, WV
  8. Buies Creek, NC
  9. Stanford, CA
  10. Stillwater, OK
  11. East Lansing, MI
  12. Kingston, RI
  13. Hamilton, NY
  14. Boone, NC
  15. Oxford, MS
  16. Chapel Hill, NC
  17. Conway, SC
  18. Fairfield, CT
  19. Starkville, MS
  20. 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

Detroit Lions v Green Bay PackersWesley Hitt/Getty Images
  1. Green Bay, WI
  2. Buffalo, NY
  3. Glendale, AZ
  4. Salt Lake City, UT
  5. Tuscaloosa, AL
  6. Orlando, FL
  7. Ann Arbor, MI
  8. Tallahassee, FL
  9. Durham, NC
  10. Baton Rouge, LA
  11. Fargo, ND
  12. Norman, OK
  13. Birmingham, AL
  14. South Bend, IN
  15. Provo, UT
  16. Cambridge, MA
  17. New Haven, CT
  18. Athens, GA
  19. Charleston, SC
  20. 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

Super Bowl LVI - Los Angeles Rams v Cincinnati Bengals
  1. Los Angeles, CA
  2. Boston, MA
  3. New York, NY
  4. Pittsburg, PA
  5. Dallas, TX
  6. Miami, FL
  7. Philadelphia, PA
  8. Denver, CO
  9. Washington, DC
  10. Atlanta, GA
  11. San Francisco, CA
  12. Cincinnati, OH
  13. Seattle, WA
  14. Chicago, IL
  15. Kansas City, MO
  16. Indianapolis, IN
  17. Minneapolis, MN
  18. New Orleans, LA
  19. Houston, TX
  20. 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

Bowl Games North South Carolina(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Total Score: 22.57

Football: 31

Basketball: 52

Baseball: 45

Soccer: 43

Hockey: 450

29. Glendale, AZ

Arizona Cardinals(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Total Score: 25.09

Football: 13

Basketball: 450

Baseball: 450

Soccer: 450

Hockey: 19

28. Charlotte, NC

Hornets

Total Score: 26.31

Football: 25

Basketball: 25

Baseball: 75

Soccer: 41

Hockey: 450

27. Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas Raiders(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Total Score: 27.27

Football: 23

Basketball: 252

Baseball: 73

Soccer: 40

Hockey: 18

26. Tampa, FL

Tampa(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Total Score: 27.3

Football: 21

Basketball: 228

Baseball: 89

Soccer: 102

Hockey: 8

25. Cleveland, OH

Chicago Cubs v Cleveland Indians(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Total Score: 28.49

Football: 26

Basketball: 20

Baseball: 11

Soccer: 112

Hockey: 450

24. Detroit, MI

Glendale(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Total Score: 29.67

Football: 30

Basketball: 23

Baseball: 22

Soccer: 38

Hockey: 3

23. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore Ravens(Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)

Total Score: 29.69

Football: 16

Basketball: 78

Baseball: 19

Soccer: 94

Hockey: 450

22. Nashville, TN

Preds

Total Score: 29.97

Football: 24

Basketball: 66

Baseball: 30

Soccer: 23

Hockey: 23

21. Buffalo, NY

Buffalo Bills(Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

Total Score: 30.44

Football: 14

Basketball: 155

Baseball: 124

Soccer: 108

Hockey: 7

20. Houston, TX

John Wall(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Total Score: 30.75

Football: 29

Basketball: 9

Baseball: 17

Soccer: 15

Hockey: 450

19. New Orleans, LA

Saints

Total Score: 31.93

Football: 8

Basketball: 16

Baseball: 214

Soccer: 450

Hockey: 450

18. Minneapolis, MN

Kirk Cousins 2022Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Total Score: 32.52

Football: 18

Basketball: 28

Baseball: 9

Soccer: 245

Hockey: 49

17. Green Bay, WI

Green Bay Packers v Arizona Cardinals

Total Score: 32.76

Football: 3

Basketball: 226

Baseball: 450

Soccer: 137

Hockey: 450

16. Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis Colts(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Total Score: 33.23

Football: 10

Basketball: 21

Baseball: 33

Soccer: 35

Hockey: 450

15. Kansas City, MO

Kansas City

Total Score: 34.24

Football: 11

Basketball: 249

Baseball: 20

Soccer: 5

Hockey: 450

14. Chicago, IL

Blackhawks

Total Score: 34.55

Football: 27

Basketball: 17

Baseball: 6

Soccer: 12

Hockey: 11

13. Seattle, WA

Seattle Seahawks(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

Total Score: 35.83

Football: 17

Basketball: 144

Baseball: 21

Soccer: 2

Hockey: 21

12. Cincinnati, OH

Cincy

Total Score: 35.95

Football: 9

Basketball: 55

Baseball: 7

Soccer: 22

Hockey: 450

11. San Francisco, CA

Stephen Curry flexing in 2022Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Total Score: 36.58

Football: 12

Basketball: 4

Baseball: 8

Soccer: 202

Hockey: 450

10. Atlanta, GA

Atlanta(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Total Score: 37.34

Football: 20

Basketball: 14

Baseball: 4

Soccer: 8

Hockey: 450

9. Washington, DC

Nationals(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Total Score: 37.48

Football: 22

Basketball: 8

Baseball: 23

Soccer: 6

Hockey: 15

8. Denver, CO

Denver Broncos(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Total Score: 37.75

Football: 15

Basketball: 24

Baseball: 24

Soccer: 18

Hockey: 6

7. Philadelphia, PA

James Hardin

Username: jharden13<br>Team: Philadelphia 76er

Total Score: 38.54

Football: 19

Basketball: 5

Baseball: 18

Soccer: 16

Hockey: 14

6. Miami, FL

MiamiShutterstock

Total Score: 38.84

Football: 7

Basketball 6:

Baseball: 26

Soccer: 14

Hockey: 450

5. Dallas, TX

Atlanta Falcons v Dallas CowboysTom Pennington/Getty Images

Total Score: 42.38

Football: 2

Basketball: 18

Baseball: 313

Soccer: 19

Hockey: 17

4. Pittsburgh, PA

Penguins

Total Score: 46.48

Football: 1

Basketball: 99

Baseball: 12

Soccer: 31

Hockey: 2

3. New York, NY

Yankees(Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Total Score: 47.09

Football: 6

Basketball: 12

Baseball: 1

Soccer: 7

Hockey: 5

2. Boston, MA

Jayson Tatum(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Total Score: 50.88

Football: 4

Basketball: 2

Baseball: 5

Soccer: 13

Hockey: 1

1. Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Chargers(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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.

Melanie Day is a graduate of North Carolina State University. She has worked for Beasley since 2012 in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles in both digital and promotions. Melanie writes about a diverse range of topics some of her favorites include travel, restaurants, Taylor Swift, and college athletics. When not at work you'll find her at a country concert or NC State sporting event.