Fun Freetime - Best Cities for Pickleball

 

With a 311% explosion in participation over 3 years, which U.S. cities are most pickleball-obsessed? To celebrate the USA Pickleball National Championships from Nov. 15 to 23, Lawn Love looks ahead to rank the Best Cities for Pickleball in 2026. It’s not all fun and games — there’s real money on the line for professional players. Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) collectively paid out over $30 million in prize money and earnings to professional picklers in 2024.  To rank the cities, we considered access to pickleball courts and tournaments, the size of the local pickleball community — from Meetup groups to MLP teams — and local interest in the sport from Google searches, among 11 total metrics.

10 Best Cities for Pickleball in 2026  New York Houston Chicago Miami Atlanta Las Vegas Charlotte, NC Cincinnati Mesa, AZ Los Angeles   Key Insights: Despite the game’s West Coast origins — invented in 1965, just outside of Seattle (No. 14) — East Coast cities dominate the pickleball scene, with only Las Vegas (No. 6) and Mesa, Arizona (No. 9) landing in the top 10.  New York (No. 1) dinks to the top — nearly 18 points ahead of Houston (No. 2) — acing access to pickleball courts, tournaments, clubs, and teams. NYC leads the major leagues with 2 premier-level teams — New York Hustlers and Brooklyn Pickleball Team.  Pickleball passion is evident in cities like Plantation, Florida (No. 251), Albany, New York (No. 255), and Hartford, Connecticut (No. 345), all scoring among the top 100 cities for Popularity. However, these cities finish in the bottom half of our ranking due to a lack of court access.

Read the full story here: https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-playing-pickleball-usa/  Other helpful links: Full ranking: Best cities for pickleball Key insights: Court-side view Smash stats: Pickleball metric spotlights Methodology Pickleball holidays and home courts   Why is Lawn Love ranking the Best Cities for Pickleball in 2025? Pickleball is moving indoors for winter in many areas, but come springtime, your backyard can serve as the stadium for your neighborhood’s next big lawn pickleball match. Lawn Love pros can help maintain an even playing field on your lawn.  More from Lawn Love: 9 Backyard Games That Won’t Ruin Your Lawn How to Protect Your Lawn While Entertaining Outdoors 6 Best Grasses for High-Traffic Areas Cities Where Lawn Care Services Cost the Most Green Best Cities for Training Your Dog