Best Cities for Hockey Fans (2026)

While hockey may not have quite the draw of football, basketball or baseball, it’s still a big money maker. In fact, NHL revenue is expected to hit a record high $6.8 billion this season, and both in-person attendance and TV ratings are breaking records this year, too.

WalletHub crunched the numbers to determine the best places for hockey enthusiasts. We ranked 75 U.S. cities based on 21 key indicators of a good hockey city. Our data set ranges from ticket prices to stadium capacity to the performance level of each city’s teams.

Main Findings

Best Hockey Cities

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of each city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for each category.

In-Depth Look at the Best Cities for Hockey Fans

Boston, MA

Boston is the best city for hockey fans, and it’s home to the Boston Bruins, which has the fifth-most regular season wins in NHL history. The Bruins have also won 20 division titles and have taken home six Stanley Cups, giving Boston the third-most of any city.

In addition, the Boston Bruins are the third-most valuable NHL team, worth $2.9 billion, and they have the fourth-most engaged fans on social media.

Boston also does well when it comes to NCAA hockey. It has three Division 1 teams, the Boston College Eagles, Boston University Terriers, and Northeastern University Huskies. Collectively, these teams have brought Boston 10 NCAA titles, the most of any city, with the wins split between Boston College and Boston University.

Detroit, MI

Detroit is the second-best city for hockey fans. It’s home to the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, which have won 11 Stanley Cups, the most of any team. They also have won 16 division titles.

The Red Wings are the seventh-most valuable team in the league, worth $2.5 billion. They also have the seventh-most engaged fans on social media, along with being the second-most popular team in NHL.

When it comes to college-level hockey, unfortunately, Detroit doesn’t have any Division 1 NCAA teams.

Denver, CO

Denver is the third-best city for hockey fans, and its NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche, has brought home three Stanley Cups, the fifth-most in the nation. The Avalanche are also popular team, and they have the 12th-most engaged fanbase when it comes to followers on social media. Denver has the 15th-biggest stadium capacity in the nation, too.

In addition, the Denver metropolitan area is home to University of Denver, which has a Division 1 NCAA hockey team, the Pioneers. It stands out for having some of the most affordable season tickets, at just $199 for the entire season.

The methodology can be found on the full version of the article on WalletHub.