The Best U.S. Cities To Watch the Super Bowl, Ranked
Every year, over 100 million Americans tune in to the Super Bowl, making it the United States’ premier sporting spectacle. But where you watch can make all the difference, whether you’re cheering from a packed sports bar or streaming the big game comfortably at home.
Cloudwards recently released a study identifying the best U.S. cities for enjoying Super Bowl Sunday. Cloudwards’ team analyzed 100 major metro areas across four essential dimensions: Football culture, social viewing environments (sports bar density and beer pricing), food delivery options, and home streaming capabilities.
Key Super Bowl Findings
There’s nothing better than gathering to watch the Super Bowl, whether chowing down on chicken wings and downing beer mugs at a sports bar or hosting with boxes of pizza and packs of beer at home. But some Super Bowl parties rank higher in some regions than others.
Five of the top 10 cities in the study are located in the South or Southwest, with Atlanta, Georgia, claiming the top spot. These Southern and Southwestern cities combine a strong NFL presence, abundant social venues, and favorable fast food delivery infrastructure.
Three of the top five social viewing environments belong to Northeastern cities, with Jersey City, New Jersey, at No. 1, Newark, New Jersey at No. 2, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at No. 3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ranked 71st in social environment, despite the passionate Philadelphia Eagles fanbase, showing how varied the Northeast’s infrastructure can be, despite geographic proximity.
The highest-ranked cities show strength across various categories as opposed to dominating a single metric. Atlanta, Glendale, Arizona, and New Orleans, Louisiana, all rank in the top 25 for at least three of the four categories. Single-category specialists like Orlando, Florida, which is fourth in both social and food, but 34th in culture, settle for a lower position.
Houston, Texas, ranks No. 1 in football culture but sits at No. 12 due to a surprisingly low density of sports bars. It’s a similar case for football-loving Indianapolis, which fell due to its poor performance in other categories.
The notable insights from Cloudwards’ Super Bowl analysis are as follows.
1. Southern Powerhouses: The South and Southwest claim five of the top 10 positions, with Atlanta, Georgia, securing the No. 1 ranking.
2. Northeast Paradox: Northeastern cities lead the social viewing category (Jersey City, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania take the top three spots), yet only Pittsburgh appears in the overall top 10 list.
3. Balanced Excellence: Cities at the top excel across multiple categories rather than specializing in a single strength.
4. Football Culture: Houston, Texas, ranks No. 1 for football passion but drops to No. 12 overall due to an unexpectedly low concentration of sports bars.
5. Bars and Beer: Jersey City, New Jersey, dominates social viewing with outstanding sports bar availability, but lands at No. 15 overall due to lower football enthusiasm.
6. Food and Delivery: Las Vegas, Nevada, claims the top spot for food delivery services, but ranks 16th overall due to a middling football culture.
7. Internet Speed: Kansas City, Missouri, boasts the nation’s best streaming infrastructure at No. 1 but finishes at No. 24 overall, while Atlanta, Georgia, ranks No. 99 in internet speed, yet still claims the top position.
Top 25 U.S. Cities To Watch the Super Bowl
Cloudwards ranked 100 U.S. cities in total, but has only included the top 25.
The top 25 cities are as follows:
1. Atlanta, Georgia
2. Glendale, Arizona
3. New Orleans, Louisiana
4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
5. Tampa, Florida
6. North Las Vegas, Nevada
7. Minneapolis, Minnesota
8. Cincinnati, Ohio
9. Arlington, Texas
10. Cleveland, Ohio
11. Denver, Colorado
12. Houston, Texas
13. Baltimore, Maryland
14. Orlando, Florida
15. Jersey City, New Jersey
16. Las Vegas, Nevada
17. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
18. Newark, New Jersey
19. Chicago, Illinois
20. Indianapolis, Indiana
21. St. Louis, Missouri
22. Anaheim, California
23. Santa Ana, California
24. Kansas City, Missouri
25. Nashville, Tennessee
