Missouri Ranks # 27 As The “Best Sports State” In National Ranking

With 80 of the top 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in 2024 being sports-related, it’s safe to say that Americans can’t get enough of their favorite sports.

That’s according to Nielsen data and a smilehub.org study that used 20 key metrics…including sports interest and success, sports careers and income, and access to sports…to determine which states are the best, and worst, for sports lovers.

In the study, Missouri ranked near the middle at number-27.

New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii were identified as the worst states for sports lovers while Illinois, New York and Ohio were identified as the best.

Full Report:

With Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week festivities beginning on July 11, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Sports & Recreation and the Best States for Sports Lovers in 2025.

To highlight the most sports-loving states, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states based on 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of sports charities per capita to the number of professional team championship wins to revenue from sports betting per capita.

Key Stats

• Ohio has the most sports bars per capita – 24.2 times more than Alaska, which has the fewest sports bars.
• Florida has the most sports clubs per capita – 12.5 times more than Arkansas, which has the fewest sports clubs.
• California has the most sporting goods stores per capita – 5.4 times more than North Dakota, which has the fewest stores.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://smilehub.org/blog/best-states-for-sports-lovers/139