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Survey Data

Most Popular Sport by State

Holiday Calendar surveyed 4,500 Americans from Sept 15th - Sept 30th, 2024 to discover each state's most popular sport.

Most Popular Sport by State, Holiday Calendar
Most Popular Sport by State. Holiday Calendar, October 1, 2024. Free to republish with a link back.
National winner
American football
takes 27 of 50 states
American football 27
Basketball 13
Soccer 7
Ice hockey 2
Volleyball 1

The top five in every state

Ranked first through fifth, 51 states and territories.

Alabama

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Basketball
  5. 5Tennis

Alaska

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Ice hockey
  5. 5Swimming

Arizona

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Arkansas

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Baseball
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Tennis

California

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Colorado

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Baseball

Connecticut

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Tennis
  5. 5Baseball

Delaware

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Florida

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Tennis

Georgia

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Basketball
  5. 5Tennis

Hawaii

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Volleyball
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Basketball

Idaho

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Illinois

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Indiana

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Iowa

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Volleyball

Kansas

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Volleyball

Kentucky

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Louisiana

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Baseball
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Tennis

Maine

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Ice hockey

Maryland

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Massachusetts

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Ice hockey
  5. 5Golf

Michigan

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Minnesota

  1. 1Ice hockey
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Golf

Mississippi

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Baseball
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Tennis

Missouri

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Montana

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Nebraska

  1. 1Volleyball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Basketball
  5. 5Soccer

Nevada

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Baseball

New Hampshire

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Ice hockey

New Jersey

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Tennis
  5. 5Baseball

New Mexico

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

New York

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Tennis
  5. 5Golf

North Carolina

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

North Dakota

  1. 1Ice hockey
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Volleyball

Ohio

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Oklahoma

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Basketball
  5. 5Tennis

Oregon

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Basketball
  5. 5Tennis

Pennsylvania

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

Rhode Island

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Baseball

South Carolina

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Basketball
  5. 5Golf

South Dakota

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Volleyball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Baseball

Tennessee

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Baseball
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Tennis

Texas

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Utah

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Baseball

Vermont

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3American football
  4. 4Golf
  5. 5Ice hockey

Virginia

  1. 1Soccer
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Tennis

Washington

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Soccer
  3. 3Basketball
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf

West Virginia

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Baseball
  4. 4Soccer
  5. 5Golf

Wisconsin

  1. 1Basketball
  2. 2American football
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Volleyball
  5. 5Baseball

Wyoming

  1. 1American football
  2. 2Basketball
  3. 3Soccer
  4. 4Baseball
  5. 5Golf
Methodology

How we ran this poll

Every study on this site is a fresh poll. Here’s exactly how this one was run.

To determine the most popular sport in each state, Holiday Calendar conducted an online survey of 4,500 Americans between September 15th and September 30th, 2024. Respondents were recruited through a nationally representative online panel and screened to include adults aged 18 and older who reported watching, attending, or following at least one sport. The sample was stratified by state with a minimum of 55 respondents per state, and demographic quotas were applied for age, gender, and household income. Respondents were asked to identify the one sport they follow most closely, choosing from a list of 15 major professional and collegiate sports. The survey was intentionally timed to coincide with the overlap of the NFL, college football, MLB postseason, and NHL/NBA preseasons to capture preferences during peak multi-sport engagement. State-level winners were determined by plurality vote. The survey has an overall margin of error of ±1.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

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Citation
Holiday Calendar, “Most Popular Sport by State” (October 2024). https://www.holidaycalendar.io/blog/most-popular-sport-by-state

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