WalletHub, a personal finance company that also specializes in data and surveys, released its annual list of the best football cities in America, and after placing No. 1 last year, Pittsburgh retained the title as the No. 1 football city in America.
Pittsburgh was named the best pro football city and No. 12 for college football out of 250 U.S. cities. Pittsburgh edged Dallas, Green Bay, Boston and Kansas City, which rounded out the top five. None of those cities ranked within the top 200 for college football.
Wallethub wrote that the engagement of Steelers fans on social media and gate revenue helped the team come in as the No. 1 football city in the country.
“When it comes to the NFL specifically, the Pittsburgh Steelers have some of the most engaged football fans in the country in terms of social media likes and followers per capita. Pittsburgh has some of the most loyal fans, too, as evidenced by ticket revenues, social media engagement, and the home team’s ability to outperform its roster’s payroll.”
There’s no doubt that the Steelers have one of the most engaged fan bases in the league, and it extends beyond Pittsburgh, as they’re a national brand with a wide following. But the fans in Pittsburgh show up at Acrisure Stadium and the fans also travel well, taking over road venues.
Some of the criteria that was looked at included the number of NFL teams in the city, the performance of the city’s NFL teams, the number of world championships for each franchise, the number of Hall of Fame head coaches for each franchise, and the number of division championships.
With the Steelers having six Super Bowl rings and two Hall of Fame head coaches in Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll, in addition to 24 division championships, it helps elevate Pittsburgh to the top of the rankings.
While team success is a factor, the Steelers failed to rank in the top five of best-performing NFL teams. Kansas City was No. 1, Dallas was No. 2, Buffalo was No. 3, San Francisco was No. 4, and Philadelphia was No. 5. The Cowboys haven’t had much recent success, and especially not in the postseason, so Dallas being at No. 2 is a bit of a surprise in the study.
But with historical team success being a factor, the Steelers have vaulted Pittsburgh to the top as the best football city in America for seven years running now, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the city make it eight next year.
