US Live Events Density Index

95,802 upcoming events analyzed 357 US metro areas ranked Data snapshot: July 24, 2026 (365-day window) Download CSV Methodology

Which US city has the most live events?

Las Vegas, NV has the most live events in the United States, with 13,419 ticketed events scheduled across 142 venues in the 12 months from July 24, 2026. New York, NY ranks second at 12,617 events— remarkable given the Las Vegas, NV metro holds 8.3× fewer residents.

Counts are upcoming ticketed event listings in our licensed catalog (theatre, concerts, sports, comedy and more), aggregated by Census metro area—full methodology below.

How do the top 50 US markets rank by upcoming events?

The table ranks the top 50 of 357 qualifying US metro areas by absolute upcoming-event count—Las Vegas, NV (13,419) through New Orleans, LA (368). Click a column header to re-sort by venues, population, or events per 100,000 residents.

Rank Market Upcoming events (12 mo) Venues Metro population (2024) Events / 100K Top categories
1 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 13,419 142 2,398,871 559.4 Theatre 48%, Concerts 25%, Comedy 11%
2 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 12,617 218 19,940,274 63.3 Theatre 71%, Concerts 16%, Comedy 4%
3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 2,944 134 12,927,614 22.8 Concerts 51%, Theatre 30%, Sports 11%
4 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 2,801 134 9,408,576 29.8 Concerts 39%, Theatre 30%, Comedy 12%
5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 2,084 68 6,436,489 32.4 Concerts 34%, Theatre 33%, Comedy 21%
6 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 2,004 91 8,344,032 24.0 Concerts 40%, Theatre 25%, Sports 17%
7 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 1,979 65 6,330,422 31.3 Theatre 38%, Concerts 36%, Comedy 16%
8 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 1,694 66 5,186,958 32.7 Concerts 40%, Theatre 40%, Comedy 13%
9 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 1,660 69 5,025,517 33.0 Concerts 50%, Theatre 32%, Sports 8%
10 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 1,655 79 4,648,486 35.6 Concerts 50%, Theatre 24%, Comedy 19%
11 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 1,599 63 6,411,149 24.9 Concerts 45%, Theatre 29%, Comedy 12%
12 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 1,482 68 4,145,494 35.7 Concerts 45%, Sports 17%, Comedy 16%
13 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 1,423 54 3,052,498 46.6 Concerts 56%, Theatre 22%, Comedy 11%
14 Branson, MO 1,236 8 56,744 2,178.2 Concerts 57%, Theatre 21%, Special Events 17%
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 1,219 51 3,757,952 32.4 Concerts 49%, Theatre 25%, Sports 13%
16 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 1,201 41 1,300,762 92.3 Theatre 43%, Concerts 40%, Sports 9%
17 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 1,166 57 2,150,553 54.2 Concerts 65%, Theatre 17%, Sports 11%
18 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1,141 53 2,537,904 45.0 Concerts 58%, Comedy 22%, Theatre 14%
19 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 1,071 53 7,796,182 13.7 Concerts 42%, Theatre 31%, Sports 11%
20 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 1,050 34 2,940,513 35.7 Theatre 58%, Concerts 22%, Comedy 14%
21 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 1,036 44 3,298,799 31.4 Concerts 52%, Comedy 24%, Theatre 13%
22 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 953 55 6,457,988 14.8 Concerts 35%, Theatre 33%, Sports 18%
23 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN 924 41 2,174,833 42.5 Concerts 33%, Theatre 30%, Comedy 21%
24 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 914 33 2,302,815 39.7 Theatre 35%, Concerts 32%, Comedy 14%
25 St. Louis, MO-IL 853 44 2,811,927 30.3 Concerts 43%, Comedy 20%, Theatre 20%
26 Pittsburgh, PA 829 35 2,429,917 34.1 Concerts 39%, Theatre 22%, Comedy 20%
27 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 820 34 4,400,578 18.6 Concerts 46%, Theatre 25%, Sports 16%
28 Kansas City, MO-KS 799 41 2,253,579 35.5 Concerts 32%, Comedy 22%, Theatre 22%
29 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 793 36 3,424,560 23.2 Concerts 30%, Comedy 29%, Theatre 22%
30 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 784 34 2,883,370 27.2 Concerts 42%, Comedy 22%, Theatre 17%
31 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 753 52 2,550,637 29.5 Concerts 57%, Theatre 23%, Sports 10%
32 Columbus, OH 744 42 2,225,377 33.4 Concerts 31%, Theatre 27%, Comedy 22%
33 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 698 27 1,574,452 44.3 Concerts 41%, Theatre 31%, Comedy 14%
34 Cleveland, OH 630 27 2,171,877 29.0 Concerts 33%, Theatre 33%, Comedy 21%
35 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 610 33 4,744,214 12.9 Concerts 48%, Theatre 15%, Sports 14%
36 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 598 29 2,859,024 20.9 Concerts 48%, Theatre 29%, Comedy 12%
37 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 565 33 2,763,006 20.4 Concerts 46%, Theatre 25%, Sports 13%
38 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 538 27 2,463,127 21.8 Concerts 41%, Comedy 25%, Theatre 16%
39 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 532 25 1,995,484 26.7 Concerts 35%, Sports 26%, Theatre 20%
40 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 523 23 1,160,172 45.1 Theatre 32%, Concerts 30%, Comedy 19%
41 Raleigh-Cary, NC 516 24 1,562,009 33.0 Concerts 35%, Comedy 31%, Theatre 21%
42 Oklahoma City, OK 436 20 1,497,821 29.1 Concerts 36%, Theatre 31%, Comedy 22%
43 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 435 15 1,169,048 37.2 Theatre 45%, Comedy 20%, Sports 18%
44 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 424 17 753,913 56.2 Concerts 33%, Theatre 28%, Sports 19%
45 Richmond, VA 418 23 1,370,165 30.5 Concerts 45%, Comedy 29%, Theatre 17%
46 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 400 22 913,485 43.8 Concerts 30%, Comedy 30%, Theatre 22%
47 Urban Honolulu, HI 382 10 998,747 38.2 Theatre 70%, Concerts 17%, Comedy 10%
48 Omaha, NE-IA 380 18 1,001,010 38.0 Concerts 35%, Comedy 25%, Theatre 24%
49 Jacksonville, FL 378 26 1,760,548 21.5 Concerts 41%, Comedy 22%, Theatre 18%
50 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 368 26 966,230 38.1 Theatre 44%, Concerts 44%, Sports 8%

Which US cities have the most live events per capita?

Las Vegas, NV has the most live events per capita among major US markets: 559.4 upcoming events per 100,000 metro residents. That is 6.1× the rate of the runner-up, Salt Lake City, UT (92.3 per 100K). This ranking covers metro areas with at least 250,000 residents and 10+ active venues.

Per-capita rank Market Events / 100K Upcoming events Metro population (2024)
1 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 559.4 13,419 2,398,871
2 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 92.3 1,201 1,300,762
3 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC 78.4 324 413,391
4 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 63.3 12,617 19,940,274
5 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 59.7 361 604,962
6 Asheville, NC 56.8 240 422,333
7 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 56.2 424 753,913
8 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 54.2 1,166 2,150,553
9 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 53.6 200 372,989
10 Portland-South Portland, ME 52.3 299 571,534
11 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 49.8 309 620,522
12 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 46.6 1,423 3,052,498
13 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 45.1 523 1,160,172
14 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 45.0 1,141 2,537,904
15 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 44.3 698 1,574,452

Which small markets punch above their weight?

Branson, MO—a metro area of just 56,744 residents—lists 1,236 upcoming ticketed events, or 2,178.2 per 100,000 residents. That is 3.9× the rate of Las Vegas, NV, the per-capita leader among large markets. These markets sit below the 250,000-resident floor of the per-capita ranking, so they are reported here separately.

Market Metro population (2024) Upcoming events Events / 100K
Branson, MO 56,744 1,236 2,178.2
Cedar City, UT 65,936 153 232.0
New Philadelphia-Dover, OH 92,048 133 144.5
Medford, OR 221,331 289 130.6
St. George, UT 207,943 183 88.0

What kinds of events dominate each market?

In Las Vegas, NV, Theatre listings make up 48% of the 13,419 upcoming events. In New York, NY, Theatre leads with 71% of 12,617 listings. Each row of the main table shows its market's top three categories, so you can separate theatre towns from sports towns at a glance.

How is this index calculated?

The index counts upcoming ticketed event listings in the licensed Ticket Evolution catalog that powers this site—102,159 US events within 365 days of July 24, 2026—grouped into US Census metro areas (CBSAs). It is recomputed as a deliberate, dated refresh, never on autopilot: the snapshot date above is the single source for every number on this page.

What this index measures (and what it does not)

This index measures events listed in our licensed Ticket Evolution catalog, not every live event in America. The catalog skews toward professionally ticketed venues and resale-market inventory; markets where fewer brokers list inventory will under-count relative to their true event calendar. Treat the numbers as a consistent, reproducible sample of the ticketed-events market—the same yardstick applied to every city—rather than a census of all live entertainment.

Why metro-area population (not city limits)?

Per-capita rates divide by Census CBSA (metro-area) population, never city-limits population. Venue addresses routinely sit in small satellite cities: SoFi Stadium is in Inglewood, CA (city population ~107K) but serves the 12.9M-person Los Angeles metro; MetLife Stadium is in East Rutherford, NJ (population ~10K) but serves the 19.9M-person New York metro. City-limits denominators would make those rankings meaningless, so every venue is mapped to its metro area.

Data sources

  • Event listings: Licensed Ticket Evolution catalog (upcoming ticketed event listings), snapshot 2026-07-24, window 2026-07-24 to 2027-07-24.
  • Population: US Census Bureau, 2024 Population Estimates (as of July 1, 2024), on 2023 OMB CBSA delineations (public domain; retrieved 2026-07-22).

Mapping venues to metro areas

Venue city/state pairs are matched to CBSAs deterministically: first against a hand-reviewed override table (each entry asserts the venue city's county, and the county's CBSA comes from the Census delineation file—so a bad entry cannot invent a mapping), then against the principal-city names in official CBSA titles. In this snapshot, 900 of 1,909 venue cities mapped, covering 95,802 of 102,159 events (93.8%). Unmapped cities are excluded and counted—never guessed: 1,009 mostly-rural localities holding 6,357 events (6.2%) are outside any Census CBSA or could not be mapped with confidence.

Thresholds and exclusions

  • Ranked markets: Census CBSA with >= 2 mapped venues holding upcoming events.
  • Per-capita ranking: Additionally requires CBSA population >= 250,000 AND >= 10 mapped venues (breadth floor — a single prolific theater must not define a market's per-capita rate).
  • Small-market outliers: CBSA population below 250,000 with >= 100 events (reported outside the per-capita ranking).
  • Excluded listings: 3 postponed events; 75 season-ticket bundle listings (packages, not event dates); non-US venues (Census comparability).
  • An "event" is one scheduled, individually ticketed event date; multi-performance runs (residencies, theatre seasons) count each listed date.

Every published number is reproducible from the dated snapshot by a versioned build command in our codebase; the census inputs are committed with their vintage. This is edition v1 of the index, focused on event density and volume. Last updated July 24, 2026.

Can I cite or republish this data?

Yes—the index is free to cite, chart, or republish with attribution to CheapTicketsASAP (Creative Commons BY 4.0). Journalists and researchers can download the full table as CSV (the file carries a plain-text source line), or copy the embed snippet below for the top-10 table.

The snippet's source link is a plain brand link marked rel="nofollow". If you write about this data, an editorial link to the index page is appreciated but never required.

2026 Cheap Tickets ASAP. All Rights Reserved.
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