WalletHub Ranks Kansas City 13th Best Sports City
WalletHub's 2026 report compared 399 U.S. cities across more than 50 metrics covering football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Baseball
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WalletHub released its 2026 ranking of the best sports cities in the United States. Kansas City placed 13th overall with a total score of 34.27, ranking 8th in football and 9th in soccer.
Why it matters
The ranking weighs team counts, championships, ticket prices, stadium capacity, fan engagement and search interest, offering a snapshot of how sports fandom and access compare across cities. Kansas City and St. Louis both appear in the study's results.
Kansas City ranked 13th overall with a total score of 34.27 out of the 399 cities compared, placing 8th in football and 9th in soccer while ranking 450th in hockey. The sport-by-sport placements show a wide spread between its strongest and weakest categories.
The players
WalletHub
WalletHub is a personal finance website that publishes consumer rankings and comparative studies covering cities, financial products and related topics.
The details
WalletHub's study compared 399 cities across football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey using metrics such as team counts, championships, ticket prices, stadium capacity, social media engagement, league statistics and Google Trends. St. Louis ranked 8th among mid-size cities and 43rd overall.
Timeline
2026: WalletHub releases its 2026 best sports cities report.
Season Trajectory
The ranking extends WalletHub's recurring city-comparison series into sports, measuring fan infrastructure rather than competitive records. It shows that cities with major-league franchises across several sports score highest, while smaller markets rank lower in hockey and baseball.
Fans in Kansas City and St. Louis can use the sport-by-sport placements to gauge which local teams are best supported by the city's infrastructure. The ranking does not indicate ticket availability for any specific game.
The takeaway
The ranking shows that a city's sports standing depends heavily on which sport is measured, so a strong football market can coexist with a weak hockey presence. Readers comparing cities should look at sport-specific results rather than only the overall score.
Further reading
Explore more baseball coverage to see how cities like Kansas City fit into the broader sports landscape.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Kansas City Star.
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