America's Sportiest Cities: Best Spots for Staying Fit

#1 – Sacramento, CA

The home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, California’s capital tops our list for the sportiest cities in America.

While it puts up great scores across the board, it ranks especially high for its 3.2 skate parks per 100,000 people, and its 2.26 volleyball nets per 20,000 people (the highest in its category out of our top 10). Sacramento is packed with outdoor sports venues and opportunities to get active too, giving it an overall index score of 44.02 on our list.

#2 – Boise, ID

With an index score of 42.79, Boise secures our second-place spot among the sportiest cities. With no major league teams franchised in the city, it might be an unexpected pick, but it proves to be a great all-rounder according to our survey.

Compared to the rest of our top 20, Boise scores above the average on tennis courts, skate parks, and outdoor fields/courts. With respectable numbers in other categories, it proves you don’t have to specialize in one area to have a great sporting community.

#3 – Norfolk, VA

Norfolk’s clear specialties give it a comfortable third place spot with an index score of 42.60; not only is Norfolk second in the whole country for its frequency of public basketball hoops, but it also takes the silver medal for tennis and pickleball courts.

These balance out to give Norfolk a high score despite some sports getting no love – we counted zero volleyball nets per 20,000 residents!

#4 – Tulsa, OK

What sport would you expect Tulsa, Oklahoma, to outrank the rest of our list in? It’s far from an obvious choice…

It’s disc golf! Our survey found that Tulsa finished in joint first place for cities with the most disc golf courses compared to their population. With 2.2 courses per 100,000 residents, it shares the top spot with Spokane, WA. 

It’s Tulsa’s 5.76 outdoor fields per 10,000 people that give it the extra edge to win our #4 spot, however - scoring 42.28 on our index of sport obsession.

#5 – St. Paul, MN

St. Paul’s sporting history is obviously closely linked with its twin city Minneapolis, which tends to steal the spotlight in many major leagues. Minnesota Wild fans will be able to tell you about St. Paul’s standing in the NHL, but the city scores especially high in a surprising category.

Did you know St. Paul has the most basketball hoops of any city in the USA compared to its population? It beats Norfolk to the top spot with a huge 22.41 hoops per 10,000 people! At that rate, maybe the Minnesota Timberwolves should move from Minneapolis…

It’s that stat that carries St. Paul to a comfortable spot in fifth, finishing with 41.80 on our index.

#6 – Richmond, VA

Richmond just about misses out on a spot in our top 5, scoring 40.31 overall; but it wins the gold in a surprising category.

Ahead of Norfolk in second, Richmond has the most tennis and pickleball courts per 20,000 people of anywhere in America – with 11.69. With back-to-back cities at the top, and Arlington in fourth place, Virginia seems to be a tennis hotspot!

#7 – Madison, WI

There are two important second-place victories that secure Wisconsin’s capital city a spot at #7 on our list of the sportiest cities.

First is its concentration of outdoor fields and courts, where Madison’s 7.05 per 10,000 residents is only beaten by Chesapeake, VA. It also finishes as a runner-up in our top 20 for volleyball nets, where its 2.22 per 20,000 residents comes close to beating Sacramento’s 2.26!

While Madison might not have an outright win in any category, it scores high enough in specific areas to earn an index score of 38.91, and land inside our top 10.

#8 – Irvine, CA

Irvine gives California its second spot in our top 10, with a total score of 38.79. It beats the top 20’s average on outdoor fields, tennis courts, volleyball nets, and basketball hoops!

Meanwhile, Irvine’s scores in other categories, such as swimming pools and skate parks, sadly bring it down a few marks, but the city still wins a close race to stay in our list.

#9 – Minneapolis, MN

The twin city of St. Paul, Minneapolis takes the #9 position with 38.45 on our rankings, putting it within one point of Irvine and Madison. It’s one of the best cities in our top 20 for skate parks, with 1.61 per 100,000 people, as well as scoring highly on our rankings of outdoor fields and courts.

#10 – Cincinnati, OH

Home of the NFL’s Bengals, Cincinnati just about clutches the final spot in our top 10 with a score of 37.84 overall. Its swimming pools are the city’s strongest suit, with 7.45 per 100,000 residents. The only city in our top 20 that beats Cincy is their fierce sporting rivals, Cleveland!

America's Sportiest Cities: #11-20

Commiserations to Laredo, TX, which just about misses our top 10 with a score of 37.72 - and beats the rest of our top 20 on skate park figures. It narrowly beats out Arlington, VA’s 37.70 and Lincoln, NE’s 36.95!

Think you love your sport as much as these cities? We’ve got all the latest betting odds on your favorite teams, and plenty of quizzes to test your knowledge on all things sport. See how your local teams fare in their upcoming matches, or see how much you really know about your players and team history.

Methodology

Using Facilities and Recreational Amenities data collected via Trust for Public Land's annual City Park Survey, we ranked cities based on how many sporting facilities they were home to. 

Each city was given a score based on how they performed in the following metrics:

• Fields and courts per 10,000 residents

• Tennis courts per 20,000 residents

• Volleyball nets per 20,000 residents

• Basketball hoops per 10,000 residents

• Skate parks per 100,000 residents

• Swimming pools per 100,000 residents

• Disc Golf per 100,000 residents 

The scores were then added up and normalized to give a final score out of 100. Data correct as of November 2024.