Of the 165 small cities, Storrs It is ranked 17th. Hampden It is ranked 29th. Fairfield Next up is number 30. New Britain is ranked 45th.
Hartford ranked first among mid-sized cities in USL fan engagement, sixth in USL stadium capacity, 15th in lowest season ticket price, and 20th in the performance level of its USL team, Hartford Athletic. Of all cities included in the rankings (including the nation's largest cities), Hartford ranked 46th, ranking in the top 50. The top large cities were Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Orlando, Washington DC, Kansas City, Missouri, New York, Atlanta, Miami, and Cincinnati. Boston was 16th.
“America has a late bloomer but clear passion for soccer,” said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. University of Michigan assistant professor Mike Lorenz added, “While soccer's long-term outlook remains very bright, U.S. soccer faces several challenges. It will continue to compete for the attention (and wallets) of U.S. fans not only with domestic sports (football, basketball, soccer, baseball) but also with established international soccer leagues and teams.”
In the ranking analysis, large cities are those with a population of 300,000 or more, medium-sized cities are those with a population of 100,000 to 300,000, and small cities are those with a population of less than 100,000. Data used to create the rankings was collected by WalletHub as of April 23, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Collegiate Athletic Association, ESPN, Football Stadium Digest, National Football Hall of Fame, FlashScore, Google Trends, MLS, Forbes, each team's website, and each team's social media accounts.