Sporting Goods Stores by State: Every State Ranked

The U.S. has 52,444 independent sporting goods stores — 15.7 per 100,000 residents. Montana has 41.4 per 100k, 2.6× the national rate; Washington, D.C. has 5.9. All 50 states and D.C., ranked.

Published September 15, 2026 · Useful Economy Research

Sporting Goods Stores in America

52,444
sporting goods stores in the U.S.
2.2% of all independent retail
15.7
per 100,000 residents
national rate
41.4
per 100k in Montana
the densest state · 2.6× the national rate
5,451
sporting goods stores in California
the largest total of any state

Leaders and laggards

Per capita, the five states with the most sporting goods stores are Montana (41.4), Wyoming (38.7), Vermont (35.7), Alaska (31.1), New Hampshire (27.6) per 100,000 residents. The five with the fewest are New York (11.9), Virginia (11.8), Texas (11.4), Nebraska (11.1), Washington, D.C. (5.9). The gap between Montana and Washington, D.C. is 7.0×.

By raw count, California has the most sporting goods stores (5,451), followed by Florida (3,494) and Texas (3,467). Nationally, sporting goods stores are 2.2% of all 2,427,402 independent retail places counted.

Sporting Goods Stores in every state, densest to sparsest

Independent sporting goods stores per state: total count, stores per 100,000 residents, and the category's share of the state's retail.

#StateSporting Goods StoresPer 100kShare of state retail
1Montana46941.44.5%
2Wyoming22638.73.9%
3Vermont23135.73.4%
4Alaska22831.13.7%
5New Hampshire38727.62.8%
6Colorado1,56226.63.4%
7Maine36526.22.7%
8Idaho50825.93.5%
9Hawaii33223.12.7%
10Minnesota1,317232.8%
11Wisconsin1,32922.52.7%
12Oregon92921.92.6%
13North Dakota16821.42.4%
14Utah72321.23.5%
15Michigan1,904192.6%
16Kansas54618.62.5%
17Missouri1,15118.62.4%
18South Dakota16918.42.3%
19West Virginia32218.22.6%
20Iowa57017.82.2%
21Rhode Island19117.42.3%
22Pennsylvania2,21917.12.2%
23Arkansas523172.3%
24Connecticut58816.32.1%
25Massachusetts1,14316.32.1%
26Tennessee1,16016.32.1%
27Indiana1,10516.12.2%
28South Carolina858162.2%
29Washington1,24515.92.4%
30Louisiana72315.82.1%
31New Mexico33415.82.2%
32Florida3,49415.52.0%
33Delaware15915.42.2%
34Kentucky69615.42.2%
35North Carolina1,65615.32.0%
36Mississippi44615.22.1%
37Ohio1,77715.12.2%
38Alabama75714.82.1%
39Nevada46914.72.3%
40Oklahoma59514.72.1%
41Georgia1,60914.61.9%
42Arizona1,04614.12.3%
43California5,451142.0%
44Illinois1,69713.51.9%
45New Jersey1,22513.21.8%
46Maryland75512.22.0%
47New York2,33311.91.7%
48Virginia1,02811.81.8%
49Texas3,46711.41.8%
50Nebraska21911.12.0%
51Washington, D.C.405.91.1%

Rank is by stores per 100,000 residents (Census 2023 population). Share is the category's portion of the state's independent retail places. Bicycle, fishing and other specialty sub-types carry their own label in the source data and are counted separately.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the most sporting goods stores per capita?
Montana, with 41.4 sporting goods stores per 100,000 residents (469 in total) — 2.6× the national rate of 15.7. Wyoming is second at 38.7.
How many sporting goods stores are there in the United States?
52,444 independent sporting goods stores across the 50 states and D.C., or 15.7 per 100,000 residents. That is 2.2% of the 2,427,402 shoppable independent retail places counted.
Which state has the most sporting goods stores in total?
California, with 5,451 — 2.01% of its retail places. Florida (3,494) and Texas (3,467) follow.

Related reports

Where sporting goods stores are densest

All retail reports →

Data & method

  • Source: Foursquare Open Source Places (U.S. slice, Apache-2.0), counted by Useful Economy. Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2023 estimates (July 1, 2023).
  • What counts as retail: an open place carrying a Retail category label. Grocery and other food retail, pharmacies, convenience stores and fuel, liquor, cannabis, tobacco and vape, automotive, gun and hunting, adult, betting, fireworks, markets and shopping malls are excluded, so the counts describe shoppable independent storefronts rather than all commerce.
  • Counting rule: each place is counted once, under its primary retail category and the city/town label on its address. Town tables include only towns with at least five places. Per-100k figures divide by state population; city populations are not used.
  • Generated: September 15, 2026. Figures refresh when the source data is re-counted.

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