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The U.S. States Producing the Most Popular Sports Teams in 2025
A new study has revealed the most popular professional sports teams and which states are producing them.
The research by SportsMillions, the home of Fantasy Sports Pick’em, studied each state’s Google search behavior and professional sports teams’ Instagram engagement statistics to reveal which states produce the most popular teams, and who those teams are.
Teams were assigned points based on how high they ranked on the two main metrics and given a final score out of 100.
The 10 most popular professional sports teams in America:
| Rank | Team | Sport | Monthly Search Volume | Instagram Followers | Engagement Rate | Index Score |
| 1. | Los Angeles Lakers | NBA | 3,577,153 | 25,245,166 | 0.74% | 70.42 |
| 2. | Los Angeles Dodgers | MLB | 5,907,995 | 4,959,620 | 2.46% | 66.43 |
| 3. | New York Yankees | MLB | 6,237,297 | 3,978,739 | 2.19% | 58.99 |
| 4. | Dallas Cowboys | NFL | 8,738,085 | 4,937,620 | 0.36% | 54.75 |
| 5. | Kansas City Chiefs | NFL | 7,677,150 | 4,475,214 | 0.83% | 53.86 |
| 6. | Detroit Lions | NFL | 8,002,335 | 1,921,075 | 1.16% | 51.74 |
| 7. | Buffalo Bills | NFL | 5,319,340 | 2,178,874 | 3.59% | 51.34 |
| 8. | Golden State Warriors | NBA | 3,828,143 | 32,516,489 | 0.28% | 46.23 |
| 9. | Philadelphia Eagles | NFL | 4,379,607 | 4,594,519 | 1.51% | 43.59 |
| 10. | Inter Miami FC | MLS | 13,846 | 17,215,869 | 0.87% | 40.09 |
The LA Lakers topped the individual team rankings with an index score of 70.42 out of 100, netting 3.58 million monthly searches. The Lakers, who hold the NBA record for the longest winning streak at 33 games in a row, are the second-most-followed sports team on Instagram, with 25.2 million followers. However, they are estimated to have the highest active following of any team, at 187,000.
The LA Dodgers claim second place with 66.43 points. This score was influenced by a search volume reaching 5.91 million monthly searches, and an Instagram following of five million. On top of this, the team, which originated in Brooklyn under the name the Brooklyn Grays, had one of the highest engagement rates in the study, surpassing all other teams in the top 10, at 2.46%. The engagement rate keeps track of how many people like and comment on posts.
PHOTO: Bacon Sports Beer/Facebook
The New York Yankees claimed third position with 58.99 points out of 100, attracting the second-highest search volume of any team, at 6.24 million monthly searches. The team, which has won the most MLB world titles at 27, more than double that of their closest MLB competitor, has 4 million Instagram followers.
The Dallas Cowboys placed fourth in this study with an index score of 54.75 points. The Cowboys have the highest Google search volume of any American sports team at 8.74 million monthly searches. However, their popularity doesn’t fully cross over to social media. On Instagram, just 0.36% of their nearly 5 million followers actively engage in their posts. They have the lowest number of engaged followers in the top 10 at just over 17,000.
The Kansas City Chiefs completed the top five with 53.86 points. They have the third-highest search volume, at 7.6 million Google searches. The high search volume could be due to their recent Super Bowl victories.
The research showed big differences in how fans connect with different sports leagues across the US. NFL teams have the highest search volume, with seven NFL sports teams in the top ten for Google searches. While NBA teams showed that they have a higher total follower count overall, they fell flat when it came to engagement rates.
The findings revealed that California produces the most popular sports teams. This is due to hosting multiple popular teams across all the major sports leagues. California’s sports teams’ combined monthly search volume hit 28.65 million searches. The state scored 100 in the combined index, nearly double the score of second-place New York at 60.2. Texas trailed behind in third with 51.28 points.
The top five states producing the most popular professional sports teams:
| Rank | State | Total Monthly Search Volume | Engaged Followers for Teams In This State | Index Score |
| 1. | California | 28,649,375 | 594,024.69 | 100 |
| 2. | New York | 21,314,998 | 275,000.70 | 60.20 |
| 3. | Texas | 24,115,075 | 110,429.36 | 51.28 |
| 4. | Pennsylvania | 17,045,766 | 171,625.30 | 43.97 |
| 5. | Florida | 12,854,985 | 249,345.40 | 43.13 |
Table showing the five states with the least popular professional sports teams:
| Rank | State | Total Monthly Search Volume | Engaged Followers for Teams In This State | Index Score |
| 24. | Oklahoma | 1,811,696 | 9,098.88 | 3.42 |
| 25. | Utah | 992,664 | 2,355.47 | 1.41 |
| 26. | Oregon | 713,366 | 6,153.08 | 1.24 |
| 27. | New Jersey | 411,629 | 7,716.91 | 0.84 |
| 28. | Connecticut | 286,176 | 363.97 | 0.00 |
Only 28 states have teams playing in professional leagues.
As such, this study did not include all 50.
A spokesperson from SportsMillions commented on the findings,
“This study really does well at showing the states helping to keep sports on the map. California is by far the leader in this study. Professional sports teams in the Golden State share a following of hundreds of thousands of engaged fans across platforms.
“The teams at the top of this study are also at the top of their games. People want to watch them because each and every athlete gives every ounce of energy they have to win. They aren’t just fun to watch, but they inspire us, they show us, each and every game, what hard work and dedication can do, and that if we put in the time, results will come.
“Team sports bring people together from different countries and states in a way few other things could. You could live in Minnesota and love the LA Lakers, or live in New York and support the Golden State Warriors.”
PHOTO: Bacon Sports Beer/Facebook
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