Pittsburgh ranks high as football fan-friendly locale

In a head-to-head matchup, Pittsburgh beats Boston and Denver, but falls short of edging out Cincinnati.

And in a surprising upset, Baltimore doesn’t make the top 20.

This isn’t the standings for the American Football Conference, but a new list by Apartment Guide — ranking the best cities for gridiron fans.

Pittsburgh came in at No. 4.

The Steel City also bested the Dallas Cowboys and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.

The ranking scored cities based on the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment and cost of living, average ticket price, regular season and Super Bowl wins, as well as stadium distance from downtown and the team fandom rank.

The list is full of upsets.

The Dallas Cowboys’ No. 1 fandom rank, for example, wasn’t enough to put “America’s team” into the top 10. Dallas came in at No. 14. All of Brady’s rings didn’t help Beantown, either, which was ranked 25th-best football city for renters.

Given that 40% of the ranking was based on cost of living, Apartment Guide managing editor Brian Carberry said the results favoring Midwestern and Rust Belt towns weren’t too surprising. Indianapolis, Green Bay and Cincinnati take the top three spots.

As a city, Pittsburgh goes the whole nine yards, Carberry said.

Super Bowl titles?

Check.

Fan rank?

Check.

“Pittsburgh checks all the buckets that would be favorable for a fan,” Carberry said.

So while the average ticket price in Cleveland is nearly $40 cheaper than in the ‘Burgh, Pittsburgh was ranked friendlier to football renters. (Cleveland ranked No. 13.)

Writer Michael Hochman notes, “If there’s one thing this top 10 list proves is that struggling franchises in struggling industrial cities can overcome economic downturns, overmatched coaches, crumbling stadiums and franchise-changing injuries.”

Click here to read the full report.