Reviewed by: Nathan Watson
See where Birmingham ranks among the best cities for sports fans
Reading time: 2 minutes
When you think of the place to be for sports, cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or even Tuscaloosa and Auburn may come to mind.
But what about Birmingham?
A recent study from WalletHub, a personal finance company, ranked the “best sports cities” based on the total percentage of people in the cities who say they follow specific sports, each weighted based on their prevalence in the U.S.:
- Football: 60%
- Baseball: 14%
- Basketball: 13%
- Soccer: 7%
- Hockey: 6%
The results were categorized based on the population of each city, putting Birmingham in the midsize cities category. Here’s how the cities stack up:
- Green Bay, Wisconsin — 34.17
- Buffalo, New York — 29.25
- Glendale, Arizona — 22.08
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama — 21.26
- Salt Lake City, Utah — 20.99
- Ann Arbor, Michigan — 19.41
- Tallahassee, Florida — 17.96
- Durham, North Carolina — 17.81
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana — 17.49
- Athens, Georgia — 17.48
- Fargo, North Dakota — 16.47
- New Haven, Connecticut — 16.45
- South Bend, Indiana — 16.30
- Birmingham, Alabama — 16.20
- Norman, Oklahoma — 15.83
- Cambridge, Massachusetts — 15.77
- Dayton, Ohio — 15.35
- Provo, Utah — 15.07
- Richmond, Virginia — 15
- Toledo, Ohio — 14.77
Not bad, Birmingham! Here’s how the Magic City holds up compared to other Alabama cities:
- #4 midsize: Tuscaloosa — 21.26
- #14 midsize: Birmingham — 16.20
- #20 small: Jacksonville — 15.97
- #25 small: Troy — 15.64
- #42 midsize: Montgomery — 12.21
- #44 midsize: Mobile — 12.71
- #54 midsize: Huntsville — 10.55
- #109 small: Auburn — 11.56
- #125 small: Florence — 10.28
- #205 small: Madison — 1.30
Do any of these rankings surprise you? Do you think Birmingham should be higher (or lower) on the list? Tag us @bhamnow on Facebook and Instagram and let us know!
