Whether they’re watching at home, a sports bar or lucky enough to snag a ticket on the 50-yard line, millions of Americans will be tuning in for Super Bowl.
Everyone from die-hard NFL fans to Super Bowl commercial watchers will be anticipating this year’s game, but which cities provide the ultimate Super Bowl viewing experience for football fans?
In order to find the most ideal cities to watch this year’s game, NJ.bet, an online casino and betting offers site, conducted an analysis of key factors in cities across the country to determine the top 30 best cities to watch the Super Bowl.
Our analysis included five equally weighted metrics, including pizza accessibility (number of pizza restaurants), number of bars and sports bars, number of liquor stores, game day travel safety (traffic fatalities) and fan enthusiasm (Google searches related to the Super Bowl).
Each city within our analysis had a population of at least 300,000 or more.
Where are the Best Cities to Watch Super Bowl?
#1 Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is known to many as Sin City, but considering Vegas lands at No. 1 on our list, the city could easily take on the moniker of “Super Bowl City.” Whether you plan to watch the game at home, at a bar or at a Super Bowl party, Vegas has all ends covered. The city is home to 59.4 pizza restaurants per 100,000, which gives fans plenty of options for game day delivery.
Vegas is also home to the most bars per 100,000 people in the nation, which is probably a stat that won’t surprise anyone. Overall, Vegas has 164.7 bars per 100,000 residents, according to Yelp data. That’s more than 1,000 places to pull up a bar stool, grab a cold one and watch the game.
NFL fans in Vegas also appear to be clamoring for the game. The city ranks No. 5 for cities with the most Google searches for “Super Bowl” during the months of January and February.
#2 Atlanta, Georgia
With 125.7 bars per 100,000 residents, there’s no shortage of places in Atlanta to catch the game if you don’t plan on watching it at home. But if staying at home is more of your style, the city has plenty of options to pick up a case of cold beer with 16.1 liquor stores per 100,000 residents.
Whether you’re planning on watching the game at home or at a bar, you’re most likely to feel the Super Bowl energy in the air in Atlanta. Anticipation for the game is at a fever pitch. The city ranks No. 1 in the nation for the most “Super Bowl” searches on Google during the months of January and February.
#3 Miami, Florida
Not only has Miami hosted the Super Bowl more times than any other city (11), but it also ranks in the top five on our list of best cities to watch the game this year. Several factors helped Miami land high on our list, including the city’s enthusiasm for the game (75,016 searches for the Super Bowl per 100,000 residents) as well as ranking within the top 10 in the nation for most bars per 100,000 (108.2), according to Yelp data.
And with 52.1 pizza places per 100,000, you’ll have plenty of options for a pie, which is a good thing considering Super Bowl Sunday is one of the busiest days of the year for pizza delivery.
#4 San Francisco, California
We head to the West Coast to find the No. 4 city on our list, San Francisco.
When it comes to ideal environments to watch the Super Bowl, San Francisco has a little bit of everything. Watching the game at home? The city ranks No. 7 for most pizza restaurants per 100,000 and No. 3 for most liquor stores per 100,000. Heading out for the game? The city ranks No. 7 on our game day travel safety ranking with 2.3 traffic fatalities per 100,000 during the month of February. Anticipation for the game in San Francisco is also high. The city ranks in the top 10 for residents searching for the Super Bowl on Google during the months of January and February.
#5 Washington, D.C.
Rounding out the top five best cities to watch Super Bowl 2023 is the nation’s capital.
Overall, D.C. ranks No. 3 for safest road conditions with 1.8 traffic fatalities per 100,000 during the month of February. There’s also no shortage of options for pizza (36.7 pizza restaurants per 100,000) as well as bars (111 per 100,000) and liquor stores (31.9 per 100,000).
Elsewhere, Denver ranks No. 6 followed by Seattle (No. 7); Baltimore (No. 8); Portland (No. 9) and Minneapolis (No. 10).
Worst Cities to Watch Super Bowl 2023
Like the Super Bowl, our list has both winners and losers. And unfortunately, Memphis takes the top spot for the worst city to watch the game this year.
When it comes to game day travel, the city ranks at the top of the list for the least safe conditions with 10.5 traffic fatalities per 100,000 during the month of February. And when it comes to pizza, the options are slim in Memphis as the city only has 13.1 pizza restaurants per 100,000, which is less than 100 pizza places within the entire city, according to Yelp data.
Even though the Phoenix area is hosting this year’s Super Bowl, the city is surprisingly not ideal for those watching the game from outside of State Farm Stadium. Overall, Phoenix is home to only 11.1 pizza restaurants per 100,000 and 23.3 bars per 100,000. Compare that with Vegas, which has 164.7 bars per 100,000 or Atlanta’s 125.7 per 100,000. The roads aren’t particularly safe either in Phoenix with 7.9 traffic fatalities per 100,000. Overall, Phoenix ranks No. 6 for the least safe roads on our list of cities.
Elsewhere, Jacksonville, Florida ranks No. 3 on the list of worst cities to watch the game followed by Albuquerque (No. 4) and Oklahoma City (No. 5).
Super Bowl LVII: Game Day Anticipation
Our analysis also looked at Super Bowl anticipation in each city by looking at Google searches related to “Super Bowl” during the months of January and February. Overall, Atlanta tops the list with 80,970 searches per 100,000. Miami, Cleveland, Minneapolis and Vegas round out the top five.
Super Bowl Spending
From pizza and wings to beer and cocktails, Americans will be filling up on food and drinks during this year’s Super Bowl. But how much do they plan to spend?
According to our nationwide survey of NFL fans, respondents said they expect to spend an average of $61 on food and drinks while watching the game. Overall, more than one-third (36%) said they plan to cut back on spending this year due to inflation.
With all that imbibing taking place, 46% of respondents said the Super Bowl should be moved from its traditional Sunday timeslot to Saturday. Until that happens, fans should remember that the game clocks in at nearly four hours, so it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Methodology
To determine our ranking, we analyzed cities across the country with a population of 300,000 or more via the U.S. Census Bureau. We compared these cities across five equally weighted variables: number of pizza restaurants per 100,000, number of bars and sports bars per 100,000, number of liquor stores per 100,000, traffic fatalities (vehicle and pedestrian) per 100,000 as well as number of Google searches related to “Super Bowl” per 100,000.
Traffic fatalities include both vehicle and pedestrian fatalities during the month of February from 2016-2020, which was the most recent data available. Google search analysis includes the months of January and February from 2021, which is the most recent data available.
Each variable was graded on a 100-point scale. To determine an overall score, each city’s weighted average was calculated across all metrics.
Pizza Restaurants (Per 100,000): 20 points
Bars and Sports Bars (Per 100,000): 20 points
Liquor Stores (Per 100,000): 20 points
Traffic Fatalities (Per 100,000): 20 Points
Google Searches Related to Super Bowl (Per 100,000): 20 Points
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): 2006-2019 and 2020 Annual Report File (ARF); Yelp; Google Ads.
In December 2022, we surveyed 1,100 Americans who regularly watch the NFL. 49% of respondents were male, 49% were female and 1% were non-binary. The average age of respondents was 42 years old.
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