Population History of NBA Cities

The NBA has operated in markets ranging from some of North America's largest cities to comparatively small communities. This table shows how the populations of NBA cities have changed over time and provides historical context for the growth, decline and relocation of professional basketball markets.

The figures represent the population of the city itself rather than the population of the surrounding metropolitan area. That distinction is important when comparing markets because municipal boundaries vary significantly from one city to another.

Professional basketball has also operated in a number of cities that no longer have NBA franchises. Some were major league markets that lost teams through relocation, while others were much smaller cities that played an important role during the early years of professional basketball.

These cities include former homes of NBA franchises as well as communities represented in the BAA and NBL during the period that helped form the modern NBA.

City population and NBA market size are not the same measurement. A city's official population counts residents within its municipal boundaries, while an NBA market generally extends throughout a much larger metropolitan region and television market.

This is particularly important when comparing cities such as Boston, Miami, Atlanta and Salt Lake City with cities whose municipal boundaries encompass a much larger geographic area. A city can therefore rank relatively low in municipal population while still belonging to a large metropolitan market.

Historical population changes can also help explain the evolution of the NBA. Early professional basketball included teams in relatively small cities such as Anderson, Sheboygan, Moline and Waterloo, while the modern league is concentrated primarily in major metropolitan markets.

Several NBA cities experienced enormous population growth during the second half of the twentieth century. Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and other Sun Belt markets became substantially larger as the NBA expanded geographically.

Other traditional basketball cities experienced population declines within their municipal boundaries even while remaining major metropolitan areas. Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee and several former NBA cities illustrate why city population alone should not be used to measure the economic strength of a professional sports market.

The historical figures are most useful as a look at how the cities themselves changed during different periods of NBA history.

A dash indicates that a population figure is not listed for that city and decade in this dataset. It should not be interpreted as a population of zero.

Brooklyn is shown separately because the Nets play in Brooklyn even though Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Toronto and Vancouver are Canadian cities and are included alongside the United States markets represented in professional basketball.

Population figures are city populations rather than metropolitan-area or television-market populations.

If you notice an incorrect population figure, missing historical figure or other error, please send the information and a reliable source when available.

Send corrections, additions and updates to:
Rednecksbasketball@yahoo.com

Submissions will be reviewed before changes are made to the NBAHoopsOnline historical records.