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The Top 10 Best Cities for College Basketball Fans

It’s no coincidence that these cities are home to schools with high-performing teams.
ByCaLea Johnson|
The UCLA Bruins have long been a college basketball powerhouse.
The UCLA Bruins have long been a college basketball powerhouse. | Geoff Stellfox/GettyImages

March 16, 2025, marks the start of March Madness, the basketball tournament in which 68 teams compete in seven rounds for the NCAA championship. Although the name initially had nothing to do with college basketball, fans of the sport get hyped when March comes around. The personal finance website WalletHub determined the best cities for college basketball enthusiasts. 

To compile the list below, data analysts compared 296 U.S. cities with at least one Division 1 college team. Nine weighted metrics, including the number of coaches in the past season and performance levels of Division 1 college basketball teams, were used to determine the best and worst cities for fans. Each indicator was measured using a 100-point grading system, with 100 being the most ideal for college basketball devotees. After WalletHub data analysts calculated every city’s average, they determined and ranked final scores.

According to the study, many of the best cities for college basketball fans are in parts of the Midwest, much of the Northeast, and all over the Southeast. That said, Los Angeles comes out on top with a score of 58.55. The UCLA Bruins have won the most NCAA championship wins since 1938. The City of Angels boasts one of the highest amount of Hall of Fame coaches (four) compared to any other city.

Next up is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a score of 57.19. The city has six Division 1 teams (the La Salle Explorers, Penn Quakers, Saint Joseph‘s Hawks, Temple Owls, Villanova Wildcats, and Drexel Dragons), topping every other city. It also ties Los Angeles with four Hall of Fame coaches.

Storrs, Connecticut, rounds out the top three cities for college basketball fans. Storrs is home to one of the best-performing college basketball teams—the UConn Huskies—so it’s no surprise the city also has some of the most engaged college basketball fans.

You can find the top 10 list of the best cities for college basketball fans below, and view the full list on the WalletHub website.

1. Los Angeles, California
2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Storrs, Connecticut
4. Durham, North Carolina
5. Lexington, Kentucky
6. Lawrence, Kansas
7. East Lansing, Michigan
8. Chapel Hill, North Carolina
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Boston, Massachusetts

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