Fun Freetime - New study reveals Las Vegas is the second best US city for gaming enthusiasts

 A new study reveals that Las Vegas, Nevada, is America's second best city for gamers.

The findings also come as travel demand for international gaming conventions grows rapidly, with flight searches spiking to cities hosting major events. One example is San Diego, where searches rose 167% in September 2024 compared with the previous month, ahead of TwitchCon.

The study, conducted by online gaming site Casino Days, analyzed data from Fancons.com, LinkedIn, and Foursquare's map API to measure the number of gaming cafés, game stores, conventions (2024-2025), and gaming-related job opportunities across 125 of the most populated US cities. These factors were equally weighted, and the resulting index was then used to rank the cities and highlight the best places for gaming enthusiasts.

 

Las Vegas' findings

Las Vegas, Nevada comes in second with a score of 6.81 out of 10. The city has the highest density of gaming cafés and game stores in the study, with 65 gaming cafés (9.83 per 100,000 residents), and 56 game stores (8.47 per 100,000 residents). It hosted four gaming conventions in the past two years, including the LVL UP Expo in April and the Sonic Neon Summit in June, which corresponds to 0.61 per 100,000 residents. Las Vegas also offers strong career prospects, with 541 gaming-related jobs, the third highest on the list, which equals 82 per 100,000 residents, nearly double the national average of 45.

 

Top 10 US cities for gaming enthusiasts
Rank	City	State	Gaming cafés per 100,000 residents	Game stores per 100,000 residents	Conventions per 100,000 residents	Gaming jobs per 100,000 residents	Final score (out of 10)
1	Atlanta	Georgia	3.92	4.11	1.96	158	7.01
2	Las Vegas	Nevada	9.83	8.47	0.61	82	6.81
3	Orlando	Florida	5.61	7.17	1.25	97	6.42
4	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	4.95	5.61	0.66	142	5.79
5	Denver	Colorado	7.12	6.00	0.28	62	4.69
6	New Orleans	Louisiana	4.67	8.51	0.55	30	4.62
7	Anaheim	California	4.41	9.40	0.59	7	4.48
8	Huntsville	Alabama	1.33	2.66	1.77	66	4.26
9	Tampa	Florida	3.97	5.70	0.50	71	4.23
10	Boston	Massachusetts	3.06	4.44	0.61	97	4.20
n/a	United States		2.01	3.76	0.24	45.15	n/a

 

Atlanta, Georgia, ranks first with a score of 7.01 out of 10 thanks to the highest concentration of gaming job opportunities in the study, with 158 per 100,000 residents, well above the national average of 45 job opportunities per 100,000 residents. Georgia’s capital also leads in conventions, hosting 10 between 2024 and 2025 so far (1.96 per 100,000 people), a whopping eight times the national average of 0.24 per 100,000 residents. Atlanta’s conventions include Dragon Con, held annually over Labor Day weekend and one of the largest multi-media popular culture conventions in the world. Atlanta also fosters a strong gaming community with 3.92 gaming cafés and 4.11 game stores per 100,000 residents, for a total of 20 gaming cafés and 21 game stores.

Orlando, Florida claims third place with a score of 6.42 out of 10. The city scores well across the board, with 18 gaming cafés (5.61 per 100,000 residents), 23 game stores (7.17 per 100,000 residents), and 4 conventions (1.25 per 100,000 residents). All of these are above the national averages of 2.01, 3.76, and 0.24 per 100,000 residents. Among the conventions held in Orlando is MegaCon Orlando, the largest fan con event in North America, celebrating comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming, and cosplay. The city also offers 97 gaming-related job opportunities per 100,000 residents, for a total of 310.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania secures fourth place with a score of 5.79 out of 10. The city has 142 gaming-related job opportunities per 100,000 residents (total 432), the third highest job concentration in the study, as well as 4.95 gaming cafés (total 15) and 5.61 game stores per 100,000 people (total 17). All these figures are above the national averages, with gaming-related job opportunities nearly three times the national average of 45.

Denver, Colorado completes the top five with a score of 4.69 out of 10, featuring 7.12 gaming cafés and 6 game stores per 100,000 residents. While Denver saw fewer gaming conventions per capita than the top three cities (only 2 between 2024 and 2025, resulting in 0.28 conventions per 100,000 residents), its 62 gaming-related job opportunities per 100,000 people (total 444) help maintain its top five standing. While this figure is lower than other cities in the top five, it’s still above the national average.

 

Bottom 5 US cities for gaming enthusiasts
Rank	City	State	Gaming cafés per 100,000 residents	Game stores per 100,000 residents	Conventions per 100,000 residents	Gaming jobs per 100,000 residents	Final score (out of 10)
1	Yonkers	New York	n/a	0.48	n/a	5	0.07
2	McKinney	Texas	n/a	1.41	n/a	12	0.44
3	Fayetteville	North Carolina	0.48	0.95	n/a	22	0.60
4	Toledo	Ohio	0.75	0.75	n/a	33	0.78
5	Durham	North Carolina	1.01	0.68	n/a	32	0.82

 

Yonkers, New York ranks last with a score of 0.07 out of 10. The city has no gaming cafés, only 1 game store (0.48 per 100,000 residents), no gaming conventions were held over the last two years, and only 10 gaming-related job opportunities (5 per 100,000 residents). This is 9 times lower than the national average of 45 opportunities per 100,000 residents.

McKinney, Texas places second-to-last with a score of 0.44 out of 10. The city lacks any gaming cafés and has only 10 game stores (1.41 per 100,000 residents). On top of this, no gaming conventions were held between 2024 and 2025 and there are just 25 gaming-related job opportunities (12 per 100,000 people).

Fayetteville, North Carolina ranks third from the bottom with a score of 0.6 out of 10. The city offers only 1 gaming café (0.48 per 100,000 residents) and 2 game stores (0.95 per 100,000 residents). No gaming conventions and only 22 gaming-related job opportunities per 100,000 people further explain its low ranking (total 47).

Toledo, Ohio places fourth from the bottom with a score of 0.78 out of 10. There are 0.75 gaming cafés and 0.75 game stores per 100,000 residents in the city, and while Toledo has held no gaming conventions in the last two years, it provides 33 gaming-related job opportunities per 100,000 people, the highest among other bottom-ranked cities.

Durham, North Carolina rounds out the bottom five with a score of 0.82 out of 10. The city has 1.01 gaming cafés, 0.68 game stores per 100,000 residents, no gaming conventions, and 32 gaming-related job opportunities per 100,000 people.

 

The study also reveals that southern states have strong representation in the top 10, with five cities from four states from the region making the list: Atlanta, Orlando, New Orleans, Huntsville, and Tampa, in Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. Moreover, cities hosting gaming conventions perform better overall, with all top 10 cities hosting at least one major gaming event in 2024-25.

 

Ross Parkhill, Chief Executive Officer at Casino Days, commented on the findings, "These findings highlight how some of the strongest gaming hubs are outside the usual tech hotspots. Atlanta, for example, has a mix of retail stores, cafés, conventions, and a thriving job market that make it a real community for gamers. Las Vegas is another interesting case, as the city has built on its casino heritage to grow a lively video gaming scene. One of the main deal breakers is conventions, as cities that host them more often see a stronger gaming culture and a lift for local businesses at the same time. Travel patterns also reflect this, with flight searches to destinations hosting global gaming events, such as TwitchCon in San Diego, rising sharply around convention dates."

 

 

Sources:

• LinkedIn
• Fancons.com – Conventions schedule
• Foursquare's map API
• Skyscanner – Video Game Travel & Tourism in 2025

 

Methodology:

• The study ranks the 125 most populated US cities to determine the best destinations for gamer geeks.
• Four factors were used to rank the cities:
  • Gaming cafés per 100,000 residents
  • Game stores per 100,000 residents
  • Conventions during 2024 and 2025 per 100,000 residents
  • Gaming-related job listings per 100,000 residents
• While the number of gaming cafés and game stores were sourced from Foursquare's map API, the number of conventions were sourced from Fancons.com, and the gaming-related job listings from LinkedIn.
• All factors were assigned the same weighting and turned into an indexed scale from 0 to 10, with 10 representing the highest value and 0 representing the lowest.
• Cities were then ranked from highest to lowest final score.