javascript is disabled, enable it otherwise the site will not work properly!

javascript est désactivé, activez-le sinon le site ne fonctionnera pas correctement !

List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises

This is a list of metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada categorized by the number of major professional sports franchises in their metropolitan 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 American baseball. Today, the major northern North America professional team sports leagues are Major League Baseball (MLB), 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, and the MLB and the NBA each have 30 teams.

Baseball, football and 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 from the National Basketball League and its splinter group the Basketball Association of America, taking on its current form in 1949. The fifth biggest professional sports league is Major League Soccer (MLS). While soccer is very popular globally, in Canada and the United States it has struggled to become established with several professional leagues being established 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 Seattle, Washington, which saw the NHL's Seattle Kraken make their debut for the 2021-22 season. The largest urban area without a team in one of the big four leagues is the 30th-ranked Austin region, though it has a Major League Soccer team. The largest urban area without a team in one of the big six leagues is the 37th-ranked Virginia Beach-Norfolk 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) and the big six leagues (B6), and the city's teams in the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). No metropolitan area has teams in all six leagues, as NFL teams are exclusively in the United States and CFL teams are exclusively in Canada.