List of U.S. and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports teams explained

This is a list of urban areas in the United States and Canada categorized by the number of major professional sports teams in their urban areas.

Major professional sports leagues

See main article: Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions of team sports in the two countries. Although individual sports such as golf, mixed martial arts, tennis, and auto racing are also very popular, the term is usually limited to team sports.

The term "major league" was first used in 1921 in reference to Major League Baseball (MLB), the top level of professional American baseball. Today, the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada are Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL) and the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] These four leagues are also commonly referred to as the "Big Four". Each is the richest professional club competition in its respective sport worldwide. The best players can become cultural icons in both countries and elsewhere in the world, because the leagues enjoy a significant place in popular culture in the U.S. and Canada. The NFL and NHL each have 32 teams, and the MLB and the NBA each have 30 teams.

Baseball, football and hockey have had professional leagues for over 100 years; early leagues such as the National Association, Ohio League and National Hockey Association formed the basis of the modern MLB, NFL and NHL respectively. Basketball is a relatively new development; the NBA evolved when the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America merged, taking on its current form in 1949. The fifth biggest professional sports league is Major League Soccer (MLS), which will have 30 teams when the 2025 season begins. While soccer is very popular globally, it had struggled to become established in Canada and the United States with several professional leagues starting and folding before MLS was founded in 1996. The Canadian Football League (CFL), a much smaller league (9 teams), was founded in 1958 and is popular in Canada. All six of these leagues draw 15,000 or more fans in attendance per game on average as of 2015. This list includes a ranking by teams in the Big Four (B4) and a separate ranking including MLS and CFL teams called the Big Six (B6).

The most recent market to receive a new Big Four team is Salt Lake City, Utah, in which the NHL's Utah Hockey Club made its debut in the 2024–25 season. The largest urban area without a team in one of the Big Four leagues is the 31st-ranked Austin region, though it does have an MLS team. The largest urban area without a team in one of the Big Six leagues is the 38th-ranked Virginia Beach-Norfolk region.

Teams by urban area

The following list contains all urban areas in the United States and Canada containing at least one team in any of the six major leagues. The number of teams in the Big Four leagues (B4) (NFL[2], MLB[3], NBA[4], and NHL[5]) and the Big Six leagues (B6) (aforementioned leagues plus MLS[6] and CFL)[7] are included in the table below. No urban area has teams in all six leagues, as NFL teams are exclusively in the United States and CFL teams are exclusively in Canada. There are currently 12 urban areas (11 in the United States and 1 in Canada) with teams in five leagues, excluding the gridiron football league of the other country.

Urban areaCountryPop.
rank		Population
(2023 est.)[8] 		B4NFLMLBNBANHLB6MLSCFL
New York CityUnited States121,396,000911
Los AngelesUnited States215,587,000810
Washington-BaltimoreUnited States47,853,00067
ChicagoUnited States38,954,00056
BostonUnited States57,429,00045
Dallas–Fort WorthUnited States66,979,00045
San Francisco Bay AreaUnited States76,844,00045
Miami–Fort LauderdaleUnited States106,139,00045
PhiladelphiaUnited States115,795,00045
Minneapolis–Saint PaulUnited States222,796,00045
DenverUnited States252,308,00045
DetroitUnited States144,258,00044
Toronto–HamiltonCanada86,837,00036
HoustonUnited States96,703,00034
AtlantaUnited States125,702,00034
SeattleUnited States154,001,00034
PhoenixUnited States134,617,00033
Tampa Bay AreaUnited States173,203,00033
ClevelandUnited States212,871,00033
PittsburghUnited States331,738,00033
CharlotteUnited States202,879,00023
Salt Lake CityUnited States242,463,00023
United States272,247,00023
Kansas CityUnited States321,794,00023
CincinnatiUnited States351,698,00023
NashvilleUnited States421,195,00023
Las VegasUnited States262,260,00022
SacramentoUnited States301,976,00022
IndianapolisUnited States341,733,00022
MilwaukeeUnited States411,302,00022
BuffaloUnited States51949,00022
New OrleansUnited States52906,00022
MontrealCanada163,750,00013
VancouverCanada232,484,00013
OrlandoUnited States193,075,00012
PortlandUnited States282,117,00012
ColumbusUnited States361,599,00012
CalgaryCanada391,349,00012
EdmontonCanada431,186,00012
OttawaCanada451,087,00012
WinnipegCanada61774,000 12
San DiegoUnited States183,078,00011
San AntonioUnited States292,088,00011
RaleighUnited States371,588,00011
JacksonvilleUnited States401,306,00011
MemphisUnited States471,060,00011
Oklahoma CityUnited States481,013,00011
Green BayUnited States328,26811
AustinUnited States311,943,00001
ReginaCanada249,21701
Totals12432303032162299
Notes

Teams by state/province/district

State
Province
District		Pop. rankBig four
teams (B4)		NFLMLBNBANHLBig six
teams (B6)		MLSCFL
California11518
Florida3911
Texas2811
New York4 89
Pennsylvania678
Ohio868
Illinois756
Ontario548
Massachusetts1745
Colorado2345
Minnesota2445
Missouri2145
Michigan1144
New Jersey1234
Washington, D.C.3align=center 4
Georgia934
Tennessee1834
Washington1534
North Carolina1034
Arizona16333
Maryland2033
Wisconsin2233
Alberta3024
Utah3423
Indiana1922
Louisiana2822
Nevada362align=center 2
Quebec1413
British Columbia2713
Oregon3112
Manitoba4712
Oklahoma3211
Kansas3901
Saskatchewan4801
34 states/
provinces/
districts		12432303032162299
Notes

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Everson. Darren. The Four Sports Commissioners Weigh In. D9. The Wall Street Journal. May 7, 2009. March 29, 2011.
  2. Web site: NFL Football Teams. NFL Enterprises. NFL.com. July 27, 2020.
  3. Web site: MLB Team Contact Information. MLB Advanced Media. MLB.com. July 27, 2020.
  4. Web site: Team Index. NBA Media Ventures. NBA.com. July 27, 2020.
  5. Web site: Teams. NHL Enterprises. NHL.com. July 27, 2020.
  6. Web site: Clubs. Major League Soccer. November 18, 2016.
  7. Web site: CFL.ca – Official site of the Canadian Football League. Canadian Football League. January 18, 2016.
  8. Web site: Demographia World Urban Areas – 19th Annual Edition. https://web.archive.org/web/20161227053418/http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf. December 27, 2016. August 2023. February 11, 2023. Demographia.

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