This is a list of urban areas in the United States and Canada categorized by the number of major professional sports teams in their urban areas.

Major professional sports leagues

The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions of team sports in the two countries. Although individual sports such as golf, mixed martial arts, tennis, and auto racing are also very popular, the term is usually limited to team sports.

The term "major league" was first used in 1921 in reference to Major League Baseball (MLB), the top level of professional baseball. Today, in addition to MLB, other major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada are the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL) and the National Hockey League (NHL). These four leagues are also commonly referred to as the "Big Four". Each is the richest professional club competition in its respective sport worldwide. The best players can become cultural icons in both countries and elsewhere in the world, because the leagues enjoy a significant place in popular culture in the U.S. and Canada. The NFL and NHL each have 32 teams, while the MLB and NBA each have 30 teams.

Baseball, football, and ice hockey have had professional leagues for over 100 years; early leagues such as the National Association, Ohio League and National Hockey Association formed the basis of the modern MLB, NFL, and NHL, respectively. Basketball is a relatively new development; the NBA evolved when the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America merged, taking on its current form in 1949. The fifth biggest professional sports league is Major League Soccer (MLS), which also has 30 teams. While soccer is very popular globally, it had struggled to become established in the U.S. and Canada, with several professional leagues starting and folding before MLS was founded in 1996. The Canadian Football League (CFL), a much smaller league (9 teams), was founded in 1958 and is popular in Canada. All six of these leagues draw 15,000 or more fans in attendance per game on average as of 2015. This list includes a ranking by teams in the Big Four (B4) and a separate ranking including MLS and CFL teams called the Big Six (B6).

The most recent market to receive a new Big Four team is Salt Lake City, Utah, in which the NHL's Utah Mammoth made its debut in the 2024–25 season. The largest urban area without a team in one of the Big Four leagues is the 31st-ranked Austin region, though it does have an MLS team. The largest urban area without a team in one of the Big Six leagues is the 39th-ranked Hampton Roads region.

Teams by urban area The following list contains all urban areas in the United States and Canada containing at least one team in any of the six major leagues. The number of teams in the Big Four leagues (B4) (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) and the Big Six leagues (B6) (aforementioned leagues plus MLS and CFL) are included in the table below. No urban area has teams in all six leagues, as NFL teams are exclusively in the United States and CFL teams are exclusively in Canada. There are currently 12 urban areas (11 in the United States and 1 in Canada) with teams in five of the six leagues (MLB, MLS, NBA, NHL, and NFL (United States) or CFL (Canada)).

Urban area Country Pop.rank Population (2025 est.) B4 NFL MLB NBA NHL B6 MLS CFL New York City United States 1 20,892,000 9 11 Los Angeles United States 2 15,582,000 8 10 Chicago United States 3 8,790,000 5 6 Washington–Baltimore United States 4 7,636,000 6 7 Boston–Providence United States 5 7,375,000 4 5 Dallas–Fort Worth United States 6 6,980,000 4 5 Houston United States 7 6,804,000 3 4 Toronto Canada 8 6,400,000 3 6 San Francisco Bay Area United States 9 6,376,000 4 5 Miami–Fort Lauderdale United States 10 6,129,000 4 5 Philadelphia United States 11 5,697,000 4 5 Atlanta United States 12 5,495,000 3 4 Phoenix United States 13 4,600,000 3 3 Detroit United States 14 4,143,000 4 4 Montreal Canada 15 4,029,000 1 3 Seattle United States 16 3,952,000 3 4 Orlando United States 17 3,204,000 1 2 Tampa Bay Area United States 18 3,180,000 3 3 San Diego United States 19 3,053,000 1 2 Minneapolis–Saint Paul United States 20 2,904,000 4 5 Denver United States 21 2,892,000 4 5 Vancouver Canada 22 2,833,000 1 3 Cleveland United States 23 2,642,000 3 3Salt Lake City United States 24 2,455,000 2 3 Las Vegas United States 25 2,260,000 2 2 Charlotte United States 26 2,214,000 2 3 United States 27 2,193,000 2 3 San Antonio United States 28 2,101,000 1 1 Portland United States 29 2,076,000 1 2 Sacramento United States 30 1,970,000 2 2 Austin United States 31 1,957,000 0 1 Kansas City United States 32 1,788,000 2 3 Indianapolis United States 33 1,757,000 2 2 Cincinnati United States 34 1,712,000 2 3 Pittsburgh United States 35 1,700,000 3 3 Calgary Canada 36 1,593,000 1 2 Raleigh United States 37 1,585,000 1 1 Columbus United States 38 1,583,000 1 2 Edmonton Canada 40 1,333,000 1 2 Jacksonville United States 41 1,325,000 1 1 Milwaukee United States 42 1,284,000 2 2 Nashville United States 43 1,195,000 2 3 Ottawa Canada 44 1,187,000 1 2 Memphis United States 47 1,024,000 1 1 Oklahoma City United States 48 1,007,000 1 1 Buffalo United States 51 950,000 2 2 New Orleans United States 52 920,000 2 2 Winnipeg Canada 55 858,000 1 2 Green Bay United States 329,375 1 1 Regina Canada 255,395 0 1 Totals 124 32 30 30 32 163 30 9

Notes

Teams by state/province/district

StateProvinceDistrict Pop. rank Big fourteams (B4) NFL MLB NBA NHL Big sixteams (B6) MLS CFL California 1 15 19 Texas 2 8 11 Florida 3 9 11 New York 4 8 9 Ontario 5 4 8 Pennsylvania 6 7 8 Illinois 7 5 6 Ohio 8 6 8 Georgia 9 3 4 North Carolina 10 3 4 Michigan 11 4 4 New Jersey 12 3 4 Quebec 14 1 3 Washington 15 3 4 Arizona 16 3 3 Massachusetts 17 4 5 Tennessee 18 3 4 Indiana 19 2 2 Maryland 20 3 3 Missouri 21 4 5 Wisconsin 22 3 3 Colorado 23 4 5 Minnesota 24 4 5 British Columbia 27 1 3 Louisiana 28 2 2 Alberta 30 2 4 Oregon 31 1 2 Oklahoma 32 1 1 Utah 34 2 3 Nevada 36 2 2 Kansas 39 0 1 Manitoba 47 1 2 Saskatchewan 48 0 1 Washington, D.C. – 3 4 34 states/provinces/districts 124 32 30 30 32 163 30 9

Notes

See also U.S. cities with teams from four major league sports List of auto racing tracks in the United States by city List of professional golf tournaments in the United States by city List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada Major professional sports teams in the United States and Canada List of top level minor league sports teams in the United States by city List of soccer clubs in the United States by city

References

External links North American Pro Sports Teams – Lists every league that has operated in Canada and/or the United States. Grouped by city.