The 2026 World Cup is on its way to North America, but which cities will draw the biggest crowds? We count down all the top hotspots for World Cup action.
For the first time in over 30 years, the World Cup is set to be hosted in North America in 2026. After Argentina won their third trophy at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium in 2022, the next edition of the competition will be split between more host countries than ever before. Games will be played from stadiums across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, but which cities are likely to draw in the biggest crowds?
We examined all the stadiums that will host games at the 2026 World Cup and ranked them based on the extent to which the event will benefit the city. To do this, we assigned each city a score out of 100, determined by its stadium capacity, hotel availability, online fan interest, and the number of international tourists.
Ready to see which cities topped our list? Read on to see the areas that will benefit the most from hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
1. New York City, NY & East Rutherford, NJ
As the biggest city in America, it’s no surprise that New York is likely to see the biggest crowds across the 2026 World Cup. The catch, though, is that there are technically no games being hosted in the city.
MetLife Stadium, which is home to both the New York Giants and the New York Jets, is actually based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Since it’s only five miles west of NYC, the venue has been used to host a variety of events for locals since it replaced the Giants Stadium in 2010. It boasts the largest capacity in the USA, with 82,500 seats, making it a highly sought-after venue for live sports.
With an estimated 9.525 million international visitors each year, and 191 hotels available for the first of eight game days, New York City (and East Rutherford by association) tops our list with an overall score of 68.31 out of 100. MetLife Stadium is also the chosen venue for the final of the World Cup, so all eyes will be on the city at the climax of the competition.
2. Los Angeles, CA
Another top tourist destination, Los Angeles, takes home a silver medal in our rankings with a final score of 54.02 out of 100. With 4.43 million visitors from abroad each year, it’s the third biggest city on our list for international tourism. It’s also one of the cities with the most online interest surrounding the World Cup, as we found 23,460 searches for the competition in the city between May and July 2025.
LA’s SoFi Stadium is already an established name in the NFL, as it’s the home of both the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. With 94% of hotels in the city already booked for the first game day, it’s sure to be a busy venue across the eight matches it will host next year. Its 70,240 capacity is sure to provide an electric atmosphere.
3. Atlanta, GA
Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with a maximum capacity of 71,000, is set to host eight games across the 2026 edition of the World Cup. While the city doesn’t draw as many international tourists as other areas on our list (900,000 per year), its airport is one of the busiest in America, with 108 million passengers passing through annually and generating substantial revenue.
Fans of the Atlanta Falcons will already be familiar with the venue, which opened in 2017. Although it’s typically associated with the NFL, our data shows that the area has the second-highest number of searches for the World Cup in the USA. With 29,800 queries between May and July 2025, and 96% of hotels already booked for Atlanta’s first game, tickets are sure to be a hot commodity. The city finishes third on our list with a total score of 53.19 out of 100.
4. Miami, FL
Known for its nightlife, beaches, and mansions, Miami is a top tourist destination in the USA, with 5.161 million people visiting from other countries each year. The city is also home to the two-time Super Bowl champions, the Miami Dolphins. Their home ground of Hard Rock Stadium is set to host seven World Cup games, with 95% of the city’s hotels booked for its first match, and enough room for 64,767 fans in its seats.
Miami also received 821,000 Google searches for travel-related queries between May and July 2025, so anyone looking to get involved in some sports tourism next year will be in luck. Its final score of 51.94 out of 100 places it at #4 on our list of cities that will benefit the most from the World Cup.
5. Seattle, WA
Although Seattle is only hosting six World Cup games (the joint-fewest in the USA), the city has the most online buzz surrounding the competition. 51,310 people made World Cup-related searches about the city between May and July 2025 – more than 10,000 searches ahead of the second-most Googled city on our rankings.
Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, will open its 68,740-person capacity stands to fans across the tournament, and a massive 97% of the city’s hotels are already booked for the opening game. Scoring 47.35 out of 100 overall on our list, Seattle rounds out our top five.
6. Houston, TX
Just missing out on a spot in the top five, Houston has already begun to show its interest in the World Cup, with 20,530 searches for the tournament in the city between May and July 2025. NRG Stadium, which typically hosts the Houston Texans, will be used to host seven games in the city. Houston already receives around 956,000 international visitors per year, so the area is no stranger to hosting large crowds.
Still, with 91% of hotels booked for the 2026 World Cup’s first game in Houston, and with NRG Stadium’s 72,220-person capacity, you can expect a massive audience in the city. Its score of 44.05 out of 100 lands it at #6 on our rankings.
7. Dallas, TX
Dallas’ iconic AT&T Stadium is hosting the most World Cup games of any venue on our list, with nine fixtures scheduled. The 80,000-capacity stadium is the home of the Dallas Cowboys, but with just 92% of hotels available for the venue’s first World Cup match, the town will be pivoting from the NFL to soccer for the duration of the competition.
87 million passengers pass through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport annually, making the city a surprise tourism hotspot, as 426,500 Google searches for travelling in Dallas were made between May and June 2025. This interest from visitors is likely to translate to the World Cup, as the city ranks at #7 on our list, finishing with a score of 41.06 out of 100.
8. Toronto, ON
With a score of 39.78 out of 100, Toronto is expected to experience a significant increase in tourism due to its hosting of six World Cup games. Its stadium – Toronto FC’s BMO Field – is the smallest in the tournament, with 45,736 seats available.
However, there’s plenty of interest from fans online, with 37,900 World Cup-related searches for the city between May and July 2025 (the second most searches on our rankings). 94% of the city’s hotels have been booked for its first game, so any fans looking to attend should hurry to secure their accommodation.
9. Mexico City, MX
The only city in Mexico to land in our top ten is, fittingly, Mexico City. The capital will host five games across the tournament, with Estadio Banorte boasting the largest capacity of any host stadium (87,253).
94% of hotels in the area have been booked in advance of the first game, and with just under 1.05 million international visitors flying into Mexico City annually, there’s bound to be plenty of interest from travelers looking to catch World Cup action. Scoring 38.89 out of 100 overall, it finishes at #9 on our list.
10. Vancouver, BC
Just about making it into our top ten, Vancouver scores 32.59 out of 100 in our rankings. This puts it just ahead of other host cities such as Boston at #11 (31.01) and San Francisco at #12 (29.37).
One of two Canadian cities to host World Cup matches in 2026, Vancouver is the home of BC Place, which boasts a capacity of 54,500. The city is showing a keen interest in the competition, with 23,720 related searches between May and July 2025, and 98% of the city’s hotels have already been booked in preparation for its first match of the tournament.
Conclusion
The host cities that have been chosen for the World Cup are already some of the biggest in North America, but with the promise of soccer action from the sport’s best stars, they’re sure to bring in even more attention from tourists.
If you’re looking to bet on soccer, Betway has the best odds on all the biggest matches. Choose from a range of the most popular markets and start playing today!
Methodology:
This dataset ranks all the 2026 World Cup host cities, based on how much it will benefit each city. To do this, 8 different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalised values were then combined, to give each city a total score out of 100. The cities were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
Stadium Capacity – The official listed capacity of each host stadium.
No of Games Hosting – The number of World Cup games each city is hosting.
World Cup Related Searches – The combined number of searches between May – Jul 25, for the prompts: “(city) world cup”, “(city) world cup tickets” & “(stadium name) world cup tickets”.
Travelling Related Searches – The combined number of searches between May – Jul 25, for the prompts: “hotels in (city)” & “flights to (city)”.
Hotels Available for First Game Day – The number of hotels listed on booking.com, when searching for the first game day in each city.
% of Hotels Unavailable – The percentage of hotels listed on booking.com, that are unavailable for the first game day in each city.
No of Airport Passengers – The number of airport passengers in each cities’ major airport, as of 2024. (New York/New Jersey is a combination of John F. Kennedy International Airport & Newark Liberty International Airport).
No of International Visitors – The number of international visitors in each city, as of 2024 (Excl. Canadian, Mexican & US travellers, Vancouver & Mexican cities are approximations from available data).
The factors were weighted as follows:
Stadium Capacity – 5%
No of Games Hosting – 10%
World Cup Related Searches – 20%
Travelling Related Searches – 20%
Hotels Available for First Game Day – 15%
% of Hotels Unavailable – 10%
No of Airport Passengers – 10%
No of International Visitors – 10%
The factors were indexed as follows:
All Factors – Higher is better.
All data is correct as of September 2025. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.
Betway Sports: Stay ahead of the game with the Betway Sports app! Download it now from the Play Store or the App Store to enjoy live betting, real-time updates, and exclusive offers right at your fingertips.
