Of all the things you need to know in your life, this probably ranks in the bottom five. As such, it’s perfect for ComposeMD. Here are the NFL metro areas by population, using 2020 Census data and a sortable table that looks better if you view your phone horizontally. (Reminder: There are 32 teams in 30 metro areas.) I threw in a couple bonus columns to make the exercise slightly less useless.
| Metro Area | Metro Area Population in Millions (2020) | Number of Major Sports Teams (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) | One Unimportant Fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (Falcons) | 6.1 | 3 | Birthplace of Coca-Cola |
| Baltimore (Ravens) | 2.8 | 2 | Birthplace of the six-pack |
| Boston (Patriots) | 4.9 | 4 | Home of Dunkin' |
| Buffalo (Bills) | 1.2 | 2 | Site of one of four presidential assassinations (William McKinley) |
| Charlotte (Panthers) | 2.7 | 2 | Home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame |
| Chicago (Bears) | 9.5 | 5 | Birthplace of the Twinkie |
| Cincinnati (Bengals) | 2.2 | 2 | Claimed by some as the home of cornhole |
| Cleveland (Browns) | 2.2 | 3 | Birthplace of Superman (the idea) |
| Dallas (Cowboys) | 7.6 | 4 | Home of 7-Eleven |
| Denver (Broncos) | 3.0 | 4 | Smallest metro area with all four major sports |
| Detroit (Lions) | 4.4 | 4 | Original home of Kmart |
| Green Bay (Packers) | 0.3 | 1 | About half the size of the Wichita, Kansas, metro area |
| Houston (Texans) | 7.1 | 3 | "Houston" was one of the first words spoken from the moon |
| Indianapolis (Colts) | 2.1 | 2 | Site of Elvis Presley's last concert |
| Jacksonville (Jaguars) | 1.6 | 1 | Home of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band |
| Kansas City (Chiefs) | 2.2 | 2 | Home of Hallmark |
| Las Vegas (Raiders) | 2.3 | 2 | Founded in 1905 (with explosive growth since then) |
| Los Angeles (Chargers, Rams) | 13.2 | 8 | Birthplace of the internet (UCLA) |
| Miami (Dolphins) | 6.1 | 4 | Technically home of the first Burger King |
| Minneapolis (Vikings) | 3.7 | 4 | Birthplace of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz |
| Nashville (Titans) | 2.0 | 2 | Home to CoreCivic, one of the largest private prison companies in the US |
| New Orleans (Saints) | 1.0 | 2 | Birthplace of jazz |
| New York (Giants, Jets) | 20.1 | 9 | Metro area is more populated than 47 US states |
| Philadelphia (Eagles) | 6.2 | 4 | Home of Wawa |
| Phoenix (Cardinals) | 4.8 | 4 | Most days of triple-digit weather in the US |
| Pittsburgh (Steelers) | 2.5 | 3 | Production location of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood |
| San Francisco (49ers) | 4.7 | 5 | Supposed birthplace of the fortune cookie |
| Seattle (Seahawks) | 4.0 | 3 | Home of Costco |
| Tampa (Buccaneers) | 3.2 | 3 | Site of a tiny park owned by Cuba |
| Washington, DC (Commanders) | 6.3 | 4 | The city is larger than two US states but has zero senators |
If you made it this far, it might be time to reevaluate the priorities in your life.
4 Responses
I love unimportant tidbits, thank you. When will MLS start to get some respect?
I love random tidbits too! MLS is headed in that direction – their annual revenue is somewhere in the $1.5 billion range (compared to the fourth sport, NHL, which is like $5 billion). Some sites have started listing the big five sports (rather than the traditional four). I just wanted to limit the amount of research I had to do 🙂
Good stuff! And you’re right a waste of time. But like it!
Thanks
Thank you! Appreciate it. Nothing wrong with wasting a little time…lol.