Eventbrite, the global marketplace of live experiences, today released a list of America’s most event-going cities and the United States of Events, a visualization of the event-going trends across America’s largest 25 cities. The company leveraged its platform of millions of events to zoom in on attendance themes across popular categories including food and drink, live music, art and fitness. Browse the United States of Events interactive to explore each city’s surprising interests, from yoga classes in San Diego to art shows in Houston to bacon events in New York City.
Overall Music Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Chicago
11. Denver
12. San Antonio
13. Boston
14. San Diego
15. Portland
16. Washington
17. San Jose
18. Seattle
19. Columbus
20. Phoenix
21. Baltimore
22. Detroit
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth
EDM Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Chicago
10. Boston
11. San Antonio
12. San Diego
13. Nashville
14. Denver
15. Portland
16. San Jose
17. Washington
18. Seattle
19. Columbus
20. Phoenix
21. Detroit
22. Indianapolis
23. Baltimore
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth
Rock n’ Roll Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Denver
11. Chicago
12. San Antonio
13. San Diego
14. Boston
15. Baltimore
16. Portland
17. Washington
18. San Jose
19. Phoenix
20. Seattle
21. Columbus
22. Detroit
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth
Hip Hop Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Dallas
6. Charlotte
7. Los Angeles
8. Philadelphia
9. Chicago
10. Nashville
11. San Antonio
12. Denver
13. Boston
14. San Diego
15. Washington
16. San Jose
17. Portland
18. Seattle
19. Phoenix
20. Baltimore
21. Columbus
22. Detroit
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth
Jazz Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Denver
11. Chicago
12. San Antonio
13. Boston
14. Portland
15. San Diego
16. Washington
17. San Jose
18. Seattle
19. Columbus
20. Detroit
21. Phoenix
22. Baltimore
23. Indianapolis
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth
Country Event Ticket Sales
1. Austin
2. San Francisco
3. Houston
4. New York City
5. Charlotte
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Philadelphia
9. Nashville
10. Denver
11. Chicago
12. San Antonio
13. Portland
14. Boston
15. San Diego
16. San Jose
17. Washington
18. Indianapolis
19. Columbus
20. Seattle
21. Detroit
22. Phoenix
23. Baltimore
24. Jacksonville
25. Fort Worth
Most Event-Going Cities in US:
1. New York City, NY
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Austin, TX
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. Chicago, IL
6. Houston, TX
7. Boston, MA
8. Dallas, TX
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. San Diego, CA
Eventbrite’s dataset reveals surprising insights that point towards the types of events that each city loves the most.
New Yorkers attended fashion shows, plays, comedy acts, and art shows two times more than the next most artsy city, Los Angeles.
Everything is big in Texas, including their appetite for live music events. Houston, Dallas and Austin all rank in the top eight cities for live music show attendance. From Rock to EDM, and even Jazz and Country, Austin’s music reputation stands true by ranking number one across the board in live music.
Californians win the race when it comes to health and fitness experiences. San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego all made the top ten cities for health and fitness attendance.
Bostonians come in strong for attendance to food and drink events, ranking fifth across the US, proving weather won’t stop Boston from indulging in a tasty time.
Chicagoans are all about the hops and hot dogs, winning out at attendance to beer festivals and tasting, and ranking fifth in stand-up comedy show attendance, busting up with laughter no matter how blustery the weather.
Recent university research indicates that experiential purchases make people happier than things, and Americans today spend on and attend more live experiences than in previous decades. Since 1987, the share of consumer spending on live experiences and events relative to total U.S. consumer spending increased 70% (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis).
As America’s largest generation, millennials are driving the experiences boom: 3 in 4 millennials (78%) would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or event over buying something desirable, and 55% of millennials say they’re spending more on events and live experiences than ever before.
Millennials interest in live experiences and their increasing ability to spend is driving the growth of the Experience Economy. See Eventbrite’s Millennials: Fueling the Experience Economy report for more information.
“Less than a decade ago, the world had never seen a mud run before, let alone a color run or zombie run. New events of all kinds are rapidly entering the scene because people want to experience more, and technology is a major driver of this growth,” said Julia Hartz, co-founder and president of Eventbrite. “The growing appetite for unique experiences presents a huge business opportunity for people to create new and exciting live events.”
