Key Findings & Data Snapshot

1

Vancouver Leads the Globe

Vancouver ranks No. 1 globally with a Fan Experience Score of 82.2 out of 100, driven by elite walkability, the highest hotel density and strong nearby bar density in the index.

Score 82.2 / 100
2

Canada Claims the Top Two Spots

Canada takes both #1 and #2 globally, with Vancouver first and Toronto second. Seattle is the highest-ranked U.S. host city, placing third overall.

Global #1 & #2
3

Seattle Tops All U.S. Cities

Seattle leads the U.S. ranking with a global-index score of 57.3, ahead of Atlanta and Los Angeles when the global table is filtered to U.S. host cities.

U.S. Score 57.3
4

Atlanta: Fastest Stadium Trip

Atlanta has the shortest downtown-to-stadium transit time at just 27 minutes, though its overall score is held back by safety and hot-weather factors.

27-Min Trip
5

Miami Ranks Last Among U.S. Cities

Miami finishes last among U.S. host cities, with low walkability, limited nearby bar and hotel density, and one of the hottest matchday temperature profiles in the index.

U.S. Rank #11
6

Kansas City: Hardest Draw Globally

Kansas City ranks last globally with a score of 16.7, driven by long travel times, low walkability and very limited nearby hotel density.

Score 16.7 / 100
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Data Snapshot

2026 World Cup Fan Experience Index

A quick visual summary of the biggest ranking stories across the global and U.S. host-city results.

No. 1 global host city

82.2
Vancouver

Leads all 16 host cities, with BC Place scoring strongest across the index.

No. 1 U.S. host city

57.3
Seattle

Ranks first among U.S. hosts and third globally.

Canada top-two finish

#1 & #2
Vancouver Toronto

Take the first two global places out of 16 host cities.

Lowest global score

16.7
Kansas City

Ranks 16th globally, mainly due to travel and density challenges.

Source: Action Network analysis of 16 FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities. Scores shown out of 100.

Expert quote
“For traveling fans, the game itself is only 90 minutes, but everything around it can define the entire trip. The biggest mistake fans can make is planning around the host city name alone. A stadium two hours from downtown, limited bars nearby or 94-degree heat can quickly change the experience. This index puts the full matchday picture in one place, from travel time and cost to safety, atmosphere and hotel access, so fans know what to expect before they book and can make the most of whichever city they visit.”

Action Network spokesperson

01Global ranking

Global Fan Experience Ranking

Vancouver is the clear winner in the global table, finishing 19 points ahead of Toronto and nearly 25 points ahead of Seattle. The Canadian host city performs especially well on walkability, hotel density, bar density and matchday weather.

The global ranking also shows how different matchday strengths can offset weaknesses. Mexico City and Monterrey score well on cost, while Atlanta benefits from the shortest listed travel time to the stadium. However, cities with long transit routes, lower walkability, low nearby hotel density or hotter weather tend to drop down the final table.

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Global Ranking

2026 World Cup Global Host-City Ranking

View the global ranking as either a chart or a sortable interactive table.

Global host-city ranking

Scores are normalized across all 16 host cities using the full weighted index.

Score out of 100

Score out of 100: Higher scores indicate a stronger overall fan experience across accessibility, cost, atmosphere, safety, weather and hotel access.

1
VancouverBC Place
82.2
2
TorontoBMO Field
63.2
3
SeattleLumen Field
57.3
4
Mexico CityEstadio Azteca
46.3
5
AtlantaMercedes-Benz Stadium
43.6
6
MonterreyEstadio BBVA
41.1
7
Los AngelesSoFi Stadium
37.6
8
DallasAT&T Stadium
32.7
9
BostonGillette Stadium
32.7
10
HoustonNRG Stadium
28.3
11
GuadalajaraEstadio Akron
27.6
12
San FranciscoLevi's Stadium
24.9
13
New York/NJMetLife Stadium
24.2
14
PhiladelphiaLincoln Financial Field
24.0
15
MiamiHard Rock Stadium
19.1
16
Kansas CityArrowhead Stadium
16.7
Click headers to sort
Fan Experience Score heat map Low
High
Rank ↕ Host City ↕ Stadium ↕ Fan Experience
Score (0–100) ↕		 Travel Time
(min) ↕		 Walkability
Score (0–100) ↕		 Avg Meal Cost
(USD) ↕		 Avg Beer Price
(USD) ↕		 Nearby Bar Density
(places/sq. mi.) ↕		 Soccer Fields
(per 100k residents) ↕		 Safety
Score ↕		 Avg Matchday
Temp (°F) ↕		 Nearby Hotel Density
(places/sq. mi.) ↕
1VancouverBC Place82.23698$21.92$5.8412.7790.1457.1770.33.71
2TorontoBMO Field63.24979$18.27$6.5819.9816.5956.4077.41.10
3SeattleLumen Field57.34589$21.00$8.0013.3711.4544.6774.12.51
4Mexico CityEstadio Azteca46.39484$11.62$3.371.311.1533.5375.01.03
5AtlantaMercedes-Benz Stadium43.62779$25.00$6.506.2626.2235.8687.61.70
6MonterreyEstadio BBVA41.111647$14.52$2.900.579.9752.0192.90.67
7Los AngelesSoFi Stadium37.65146$25.00$8.000.3214.8346.0680.62.02
8DallasAT&T Stadium32.710256$20.00$7.250.7420.3448.5994.11.06
9BostonGillette Stadium32.710744$25.00$8.000.2831.7359.7480.30.11
10HoustonNRG Stadium28.38731$21.00$6.000.9517.6136.9591.41.31
11GuadalajaraEstadio Akron27.616812$13.07$2.900.6414.7237.5780.60.32
12San FranciscoLevi's Stadium24.911242$26.50$8.001.1343.2739.4780.60.67
13New York/NJMetLife Stadium24.212240$25.00$8.000.461.6949.1283.70.64
14PhiladelphiaLincoln Financial Field24.06619$21.00$6.002.5110.4634.5286.20.11
15MiamiHard Rock Stadium19.111129$30.00$8.000.0737.6346.7088.10.11
16Kansas CityArrowhead Stadium16.713615$25.00$7.000.2128.6541.4087.60.21

Source: Action Network analysis. Scores are shown out of 100. Lower-is-better metrics are inverted in the weighted index.

Global Top 5

Top 5 Cities in Focus

A closer look at the strengths that push the leading global host cities up the Fan Experience Index.

1

Vancouver

Score 82.2
98 walkability 36 min trip 3.71 hotel density 70.3°F matchday temp

What it means for fans: Vancouver combines the easiest stadium-area movement with strong nearby hotel access, giving visiting fans a more compact and convenient matchday base.

2

Toronto

Score 63.2
19.98 bar density 79 walkability 49 min trip

What it means for fans: Toronto’s biggest edge is the social scene around the stadium area, with the highest nearby bar density in the global table.

3

Seattle

Score 57.3
89 walkability 13.37 bar density 2.51 hotel density

What it means for fans: Seattle is the best U.S. all-rounder, pairing a walkable stadium setting with strong pre- and post-match options nearby.

4

Mexico City

Score 46.3
84 walkability $11.62 meal cost $3.37 beer price

What it means for fans: Mexico City shines on affordability and walkability, making it a strong value option despite a longer listed stadium trip.

5

Atlanta

Score 43.6
27 min trip 79 walkability 26.22 soccer fields per 100k

What it means for fans: Atlanta offers the quickest downtown-to-stadium trip in the index, which helps offset tougher weather and safety metrics.

02U.S. ranking

U.S. Host City Ranking

When the 11 U.S. host cities are ranked using the same global-index scores, Seattle leads with a score of 57.3. Its high walkability, strong bar density, relatively mild weather and hotel availability near Lumen Field make it the strongest U.S. fan experience in the data.

Atlanta ranks second among U.S. cities thanks to its 27-minute listed stadium travel time and strong walkability, while Los Angeles takes third. At the bottom, Miami and Kansas City face the toughest fan-experience profile among U.S. hosts, with lower walkability and limited nearby stadium-area density.

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U.S. Ranking

2026 World Cup U.S. Host-City Ranking

View the U.S.-only ranking as either a chart or a sortable interactive table.

U.S. host-city ranking

Scores use the same global index scale, filtered to U.S. host cities only.

Score out of 100

Score out of 100: U.S. rankings use the same global index scores, filtered to U.S. host cities only.

1
SeattleLumen Field
57.3
2
AtlantaMercedes-Benz Stadium
43.6
3
Los AngelesSoFi Stadium
37.6
4
DallasAT&T Stadium
32.7
5
BostonGillette Stadium
32.7
6
HoustonNRG Stadium
28.3
7
San FranciscoLevi's Stadium
24.9
8
New York/NJMetLife Stadium
24.2
9
PhiladelphiaLincoln Financial Field
24.0
10
MiamiHard Rock Stadium
19.1
11
Kansas CityArrowhead Stadium
16.7
Click headers to sort
Fan Experience Score heat map Low
High
Rank ↕ Host City ↕ Stadium ↕ Fan Experience
Score (0–100) ↕		 Travel Time
(min) ↕		 Walkability
Score (0–100) ↕		 Avg Meal Cost
(USD) ↕		 Avg Beer Price
(USD) ↕		 Nearby Bar Density
(places/sq. mi.) ↕		 Soccer Fields
(per 100k residents) ↕		 Safety
Score ↕		 Avg Matchday
Temp (°F) ↕		 Nearby Hotel Density
(places/sq. mi.) ↕
1SeattleLumen Field57.34589$21.00$8.0013.3711.4544.6774.12.51
2AtlantaMercedes-Benz Stadium43.62779$25.00$6.506.2626.2235.8687.61.70
3Los AngelesSoFi Stadium37.65146$25.00$8.000.3214.8346.0680.62.02
4DallasAT&T Stadium32.710256$20.00$7.250.7420.3448.5994.11.06
5BostonGillette Stadium32.710744$25.00$8.000.2831.7359.7480.30.11
6HoustonNRG Stadium28.38731$21.00$6.000.9517.6136.9591.41.31
7San FranciscoLevi's Stadium24.911242$26.50$8.001.1343.2739.4780.60.67
8New York/NJMetLife Stadium24.212240$25.00$8.000.461.6949.1283.70.64
9PhiladelphiaLincoln Financial Field24.06619$21.00$6.002.5110.4634.5286.20.11
10MiamiHard Rock Stadium19.111129$30.00$8.000.0737.6346.7088.10.11
11Kansas CityArrowhead Stadium16.713615$25.00$7.000.2128.6541.4087.60.21

Source: Action Network analysis. Scores are shown out of 100. U.S. rankings use the same global index score scale, filtered to U.S. host cities only.

U.S. Top 5

Top 5 Cities in Focus

The leading U.S. host cities use the same global-index score scale, filtered to the American venues.

1

Seattle

Score 57.3
89 walkability 45 min trip 13.37 bar density 2.51 hotel density

What it means for fans: Seattle gives fans the strongest U.S. blend of walkability, nearby bars, hotel availability and manageable stadium access.

2

Atlanta

Score 43.6
27 min trip 79 walkability 6.26 bar density

What it means for fans: Atlanta’s short stadium journey makes it one of the easiest U.S. cities for getting from downtown to kickoff.

3

Los Angeles

Score 37.6
51 min trip 2.02 hotel density 80.6°F matchday temp

What it means for fans: Los Angeles benefits from better hotel availability than many U.S. hosts, though the lower walkability score keeps it behind Seattle and Atlanta.

4

Dallas

Score 32.7
56 walkability $20 meal cost 20.34 soccer fields per 100k

What it means for fans: Dallas has some cost and soccer-culture strengths, but longer travel time to the stadium area limits the overall matchday profile.

5

Boston

Score 32.7
59.74 safety 31.73 soccer fields per 100k 80.3°F matchday temp

What it means for fans: Boston performs well on safety and soccer-culture indicators, but lower nearby hotel and bar density makes the stadium area less compact for visitors.

03Score drivers

What Separates the Best Host Cities?

The strongest cities do not just perform well in one area. Vancouver combines elite walkability, a cooler matchday temperature profile and the best hotel density in the analysis, while Toronto stands out for nearby bar density and Seattle performs strongly across the U.S. set.

The data also shows why affordability alone is not enough. Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara are among the most affordable cities for food and beer, but lower stadium-area density and longer travel times prevent them from topping the overall table.

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Metric Standouts

The Fan Experience Factors Behind the Rankings

Best-in-class host cities by individual fan-experience metric.

Best walkability

98

Vancouver has the highest stadium-area Walkability Score in the index.

Vancouver98
Seattle89
Mexico City84

Higher is better.

Fastest stadium trip

27m

Atlanta has the shortest listed downtown-to-stadium transit trip.

Atlanta27 min
Vancouver36 min
Seattle45 min

Shorter is better, so the quickest journey gets the longest bar.

Best fan-social scene

19.98

Toronto has the highest nearby bar density within the stadium-area measure.

Toronto19.98
Seattle13.37
Vancouver12.77

Higher is better. Density is shown as places per sq. mi.

Lowest beer price

$2.90

Monterrey and Guadalajara have the lowest average beer price in the data.

Monterrey$2.90
Guadalajara$2.90
Mexico City$3.37

Lower is better, so the cheapest price gets the longest bar.

Best hotel density

3.71

Vancouver has the highest nearby hotel density within the stadium-area measure.

Vancouver3.71
Seattle2.51
Los Angeles2.02

Higher is better. Density is shown as places per sq. mi.

Highest safety score

59.74

Boston has the highest safety score in the dataset.

Boston59.74
Vancouver57.17
Toronto56.40

Higher is better.

Source: Action Network analysis. Metric leaders are based on raw stadium-level inputs before weighted index scoring.

04Methodology

Methodology

The Fan Experience Index ranks all 16 FIFA 2026 host cities using objective, stadium-level data across five categories: accessibility, cost, atmosphere, safety and weather, and hotel access. Each metric is normalized to a 0–10 scale using min-max normalization, then weighted and summed to create a final Fan Experience Score out of 100.

Lower-is-better metrics, including travel time, meal cost, beer price and matchday temperature, are inverted so lower raw values improve a city’s score. Stadium-level data is used throughout so the ranking reflects the actual matchday area rather than the broader branded host city.

Accessibility25%

Measures how simple it is for fans to get to and move around the stadium area.

  • Travel time: estimated city-center-to-stadium journey time.
  • Walkability: how easy the surrounding area is to navigate on foot.
Cost20%

Tracks the everyday matchday spending fans are most likely to feel.

  • Meal cost: average price of a casual meal in the host area.
  • Beer price: average beer cost, with lower prices improving the score.
Atmosphere20%

Looks at the social and soccer culture around the matchday area.

  • Bar density: nearby bars and pub-style venues per sq. mi.
  • Soccer fields: local soccer footprint per 100,000 residents.
Safety & Weather20%

Balances general safety conditions with expected summer matchday heat.

  • Safety score: overall city safety indicator used for comparison.
  • Matchday temp: average expected temperature around game day.
Hotel Access15%

Shows how much accommodation choice fans have close to the stadium.

  • Hotel density: nearby hotel options per sq. mi.
  • Stadium-area measure: focuses on the matchday base, not the wider city.
Final Index Score0–100

Rolls the five weighted categories into one overall fan experience score.

  • Normalize: each metric becomes a 0–10 score, with lower-is-better values inverted.
  • Combine: category scores are weighted and scaled into the final 0–100 index.