New York’s Most Popular Sports Teams

New York’s Most Popular Sports Teams
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Fact Checked by Michael Peters

Home in name to some of American sport’s most successful franchises, from the Yankees to the Giants, the state of New York has millions of dedicated fans hoping to celebrate their team’s success. And since January, fans have been putting big money behind those favorites with New York sports betting.

But which New York teams are officially the most popular, and is it always the ‘bigger’ franchises?

To determine the most popular teams in New York, we analyzed the number of Google searches each recorded over the last 12 months. We then calculated the average monthly volume and ranked the top 15 franchises. Read on to see where your team places!

1. Buffalo Bills — 1,514,000 (monthly searches)

Ranked as New York’s most popular sports team, we have the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, with a staggering 1.5 million Google searches each month.

The Bills naturally lead the way as the most popular franchise in Buffalo, with more than 375,000 Google searches there, alongside Rochester (1st - 113,100), Syracuse (1st - 29,900), Albany (1st - 13,000), Cheektowaga (1st - 65,900), and Schenectady (1st - 11,100), where they also sit on top.

While the Bills have never won the Super Bowl, they’re among the NY NFL betting favorites for this year’s championship.

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2. New York Yankees — 708,000 (monthly searches)

In second, with more than 708,000 Google searches each month, we have Major League Baseball’s most decorated team. By city, the Yankees are the most popular franchise in NYC, as well as Yonkers (1st - 11,000), New Rochelle (1st - 5,500), and Mount Vernon (1st - 3,700).

Despite not playing in the World Series since 2009, the Yankees have won a record 27 World Series titles and have established a strong following in New York MLB betting.

3. New York Rangers — 387,000 (monthly searches)

New York’s third most popular sports team is the NHL’s Rangers, with 387,460 Google searches per month. While not placing as the top team in any of the state’s cities, the Rangers are the second-most popular team in Yonkers (2nd - 7,900) and New Rochelle (2nd - 4,300).

With the season starting in October, the Rangers are outsiders for Stanley Cup success, but will be hoping to get off to a good start on their quest for a fifth title.

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4. New York Mets — 372,000 (monthly searches)

Contenders for this season’s World Series, the New York Mets are the city’s second-most popular baseball team, with just over half the monthly Google searches of the Yankees. Across the state, the Mets are particularly popular in their home city of NYC, with 159,000 searches (4th), as well as Yonkers (4th - 5,700).

5. Brooklyn Nets — 347,000 (monthly searches)

In fifth with almost 350,000 Google searches a month, we have New York’s most popular basketball team, the Brooklyn Nets, who also place among the most-searched-for teams in NYC (2nd - 237,800), Yonkers (3rd - 6,500) and Mount Vernon (3rd - 3,300).

The Nets are considered contenders for their first NBA Championship, but they will have to overcome the likes of the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors if they want to taste success.

New York’s Most Popular Teams by City

New York City

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 265,000
2 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 238,000
3 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 174,000
4 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 159,000
5 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 147,700
6 🏈 N.Y. Giants 117,200
7 🏈 Buffalo Bills 90,100
8 🏈 N.Y. Jets 78,800
9 ⚽️ NYC FC 44,400
10 🏒 N.Y. Islanders 27,000


Buffalo

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 🏈 Buffalo Bills 375,700
2 🏒 Buffalo Sabres 93,400
3 🥍 Bufalo Bandits 28,300
4 ⚾️ Buffalo Bisons 27,000
5 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 18,800
6 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 8,000
7 🏈 N.Y. Giants 6,100
8 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 6,000
9 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 5,500
10 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 5,500


Yonkers

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 11,000
2 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 7,900
3 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 6,500
4 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 5,700
5 🏈 N.Y. Giants 5,600
6 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 5,500
7 🏈 Buffalo Bills 4,500
8 🏈 N.Y. Jets 4,300
9 ⚽️ NYC FC 2,200
10 🏒 N.Y. Islanders 1,600


Rochester

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 🏈 Buffalo Bills 113,100
2 ⚾️ Rochester Red Wings 39,100
3 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 15,700
4 🏒 Buffalo Sabres 15,600
5 🏈 N.Y. Giants 7,600
6 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 6,500
7 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 5,200
8 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 4,900
9 🏒 Rochester Americans 4,200
10 🏈 N.Y. Jets 4,100


Syracuse

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 🏈 Buffalo Bills 29,900
2 ⚾️ Syracuse Mets 25,700
3 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 11,600
4 🏒 Syracuse Crunch 8,000
5 🏈 N.Y. Giants 6,400
6 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 5,200
7 🏒 Buffalo Sabres 5,000
7 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 4,400
9 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 4,100
10 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 4,000


Albany

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 🏈 Buffalo Bills 13,000
2 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 8,600
3 🏈 N.Y. Giants 6,400
4 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 4,500
5 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 4,200
6 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 3,400
7 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 3,900
8 🏈 N.Y. Jets 3,300
9 🏒 Buffalo Sabres 2,300
10 🏀 Albany Patroons 1,800


New Rochelle

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 5,500
2 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 4,300
3 🏈 N.Y. Giants 3,400
4 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 3,400
5 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 3,200
6 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 3,000
7 🏈 Buffalo Bills 2,180
8 🏈 N.Y. Jets 2,600
9 🏒 N.Y. Islanders 1,200
10 ⚽️ NYC FC 1,100


Cheektowaga

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 🏈 Buffalo Bills 65,900
2 🏒 Buffalo Sabres 18,100
3 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 5,100
4 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 3,100
5 🏈 N.Y. Giants 2,400
6 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 2,200
7 🏈 N.Y. Jets 2,100
8 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 2,000
9 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 1,900
10 🏒 N.Y. Islanders 900


Mount Vernon

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 3,700
2 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 3,400
3 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 3,300
4 🏈 N.Y. Giants 2,700
5 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 2,400
6 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 2,000
7 🏈 Buffalo Bills 2,000
8 🏈 N.Y. Jets 1,600
9 ⚽️ NYC FC 600
10 ⚽️ N.Y. Red Bulls 600


Schenectady

Rank Team Avg. Monthly Search Volume
1 🏈 Buffalo Bills 11,100
2 ⚾️ N.Y. Yankees 7,400
3 🏈 N.Y. Giants 4,600
4 🏀 Brooklyn Nets 3,400
5 ⚾️ N.Y. Mets 3,300
6 🏒 N.Y. Rangers 3,300
7 🏀 N.Y. Knicks 3,000
8 🏈 N.Y. Jets 2,900
9 🏒 Buffalo Sabres 2,200
10 🏒 N.Y. Islanders 1,000


Watching sports is one of New Yorkers’ most popular pastimes, so it should come as no surprise to see such staggering search volumes for each of the state’s most popular teams.

No matter your favorite team, for all the best NY betting promos visit EmpireStakes.com.

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Editorial Staff

The experts at EmpireStakes who bring you the latest updates in New York sports betting as well as the state's casinos. We pull together decades of experience to give you analysis as well as comparisons of the best NY online gambling apps.

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