The following is a list of Major League Baseball teams by population. There are currently 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. Twenty nine of those franchisees are located in the United States, while the remaining franchise is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1] Statistics used in the table are from the United States Census Bureau's 2009 Metropolitan Statistical Area estimates and the Canada 2006 Census' 2009 projection.[2][3] The New York metropolitan area, which is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States as well as the largest MLB market, houses two MLB franchises; the New York Mets and the New York Yankees.[1][2][4] The least populous metropolitan area in the majors is the Milwaukee metropolitan area, which is the home of the Milwaukee Brewers.[1][2] According to the 2000 United States Census, the American League's total market size is 6,871,440 while the National League's is 6,094,087.[4] The average market size of the entire MLB is 5,293,083, larger than the average of the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the National Football League.[4] There are currently four metropolitan areas in North America that have another major league sports franchise and are larger than the smallest market in MLB, but do not have an MLB franchise.[4] Those metro areas are Greater Montreal the Portland metropolitan area, Metro Vancouver and the Sacramento metropolitan area.[4] While population determines market size, The New York Times and the Cincinnati Business Courier commented that it is not directly related to fan support or team contention.[5][6]

Table

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The following sortable table lists and ranks the population of metropolitan areas that have MLB franchises with the following data:

  1. The United States metropolitan population and rankings are based on a July 1, 2009 estimate by the United States Census Bureau[2]
  2. The Canadian metropolitan population and rankings are based on the Canada 2006 Census projections for the year of 2009[3]
MLB rank U.S. rank Metropolitan area Team name Team home area Metro size
1 1 New York metropolitan area Yankees Bronx, New York City 19,069,796
1 1 New York metropolitan area Mets Queens, New York City 19,069,796
2 2 Los Angeles metropolitan area Angels Anaheim, California 12,874,797
2 2 Los Angeles metropolitan area Dodgers Los Angeles, California 12,874,797
3 3 Chicago metropolitan area Cubs Chicago, Illinois 9,580,567
3 3 Chicago metropolitan area White Sox Chicago, Illinois 9,580,567
4 4 Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area Rangers Arlington, Texas 6,447,615
5 Greater Toronto Area Blue Jays Toronto, Ontario 6,054,191
5 5 Delaware Valley Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5,968,252
6 6 Greater Houston Astros Houston, Texas 5,867,489
8 7 South Florida metropolitan area Marlins Miami Gardens, Florida 5,547,051
9 8 Washington Metropolitan Area Nationals Washington, D.C. 5,476,241
10 9 Atlanta metropolitan area Braves Atlanta, Georgia 5,475,213
11 10 Greater Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts 4,588,680
12 11 Metro Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan 4,403,437
13 12 Phoenix metropolitan area Diamondbacks Phoenix, Arizona 4,364,094
14 13 San Francisco Bay Area Athletics Oakland, California 4,317,853
14 13 San Francisco Bay Area Giants San Francisco, California 4,317,853
15 15 Seattle metropolitan area Mariners Seattle, Washington 3,407,848
16 16 Minneapolis – Saint Paul Twins Minneapolis, Minnesota 3,269,814
17 17 San Diego metropolitan area Padres San Diego, California 3,053,793
18 18 Greater St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri 2,828,990
19 19 Tampa Bay Area Rays St. Petersburg, Florida 2,747,272
20 20 Baltimore Metropolitan Area Orioles Baltimore, Maryland 2,690,886
21 21 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO MSA Rockies Denver, Colorado 2,552,195
22 22 Pittsburgh metropolitan area Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2,354,957
23 24 Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan area Reds Cincinnati, Ohio 2,171,896
24 26 Greater Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio 2,091,286
25 29 Kansas City Metropolitan Area Royals Kansas City, Missouri 2,067,585
26 39 Milwaukee metropolitan area Brewers Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1,559,667

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Team-by-Team Information". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Metropolitan Statistical Area (2009 estimate)". United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Population of census metropolitan areas (2006 Census boundaries)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Baseball Markets by Al Streit". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  5. ^ Sandomir, Richard (20 October 2009). "Philly and New York prove better baseball markets than L.A." The New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  6. ^ Bill King (6 August 1999). "Study: baseball market size meaningless". American City Business Journals, Inc. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 14 September 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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