Prairie State Wire

Chicago came in 27th among the 245 cities examined in a new study by the WalletHub website showing which cities are most friendly to fans of either professional football or college football games.

The city that is home to the Chicago Bears earned a total score of 30.98 out of 100 in the analysis, which ranked the cities based on 21 measures favorable to football fans. Chicago came in 26th in the pro football division and 236th for college football.

Among the categories examined in the WalletHub analysis were the number of NFL and college teams in each city, stadium capacity, fan engagement, ticket prices and team performances.

The cities finishing first and second in the study were Pittsburgh and Dallas, with the former earning the top score of 62.58. 

Nationwide, football remains the favorite sport among Americans, with a popularity exceeding basketball, soccer and baseball combined, the researchers said. In total, 62% of Americans say they’re either fans or quasi-fans of the sport, the study said. 

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The Top-50 U.S. Cities for Football Fans

Rank	City	Overall Score	Pro Football	College Football
1	Pittsburgh, PA	62.58	1	7
2	Dallas, TX	56.06	2	236
3	Green Bay, WI	55.57	3	236
4	Boston, MA	53.57	4	189
5	Los Angeles, CA	48.77	5	47
6	New York, NY	48.76	6	32
7	Miami, FL	45.89	11	28
8	New Orleans, LA	45.43	7	171
9	Cincinnati, OH	44.9	16	12
10	Indianapolis, IN	43.18	13	143
11	Kansas City, MO	43.17	8	236
12	San Francisco, CA	43.11	9	236
13	Glendale, AZ	42.87	10	236
14	Buffalo, NY	42.22	14	178
15	Denver, CO	41.81	12	236
16	Baltimore, MD	39.98	15	222
17	Seattle, WA	39.98	18	184
18	Minneapolis, MN	39.65	17	213
19	Philadelphia, PA	39.29	24	10
20	Atlanta, GA	37.38	21	100
21	Tampa, FL	36.66	19	225
22	Washington, DC	36.62	23	119
23	Las Vegas, NV	36.16	20	226
24	Nashville, TN	35.97	22	170
25	Charlotte, NC	32.47	27	183
26	Cleveland, OH	32.06	25	236
27	Chicago, IL	30.98	26	236
28	Tuscaloosa, AL	30.58	31	1
29	Houston, TX	30.17	30	25
30	Detroit, MI	29.27	28	236
31	Clemson, SC	28.53	31	2
32	Jacksonville, FL	27.47	29	236
33	Fayette, MS	25.72	31	3
34	Fargo, ND	23.76	31	4
35	State College, PA	22.1	31	5
36	Tallahassee, FL	21.95	31	6
37	West Point, NY	21.13	31	8
38	Norman, OK	21.08	31	9
39	Boone, NC	20.99	31	11
40	Athens, GA	20.6	31	13
41	Baton Rouge, LA	20.52	31	14
42	Hanover, NH	20.46	31	15
43	Princeton, NJ	20.22	31	16
44	Stanford, CA	20.08	31	17
45	Provo, UT	19.76	31	18
46	Hamilton, NY	19.49	31	19
47	Stillwater, OK	19.44	31	20
48	San Diego, CA	19.39	31	21
49	Richmond, KY	19.1	31	22
50	Williamsburg, VA	18.99	31	23

Source: WalleltHub.com