Major League Soccer attendance

Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Competition began in 1996 and attendance has been increasing rapidly since the early 2000s, making it one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world. On average, MLS draws to its games the third largest crowds of any professional sports league in North America, ranking behind the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Similar to the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, attendance is based on the number of tickets distributed.
During the 2024 regular season, MLS had an average attendance of 23,234 spectators and total attendance of over 11.45 million—both league records. The total attendance is quintuple the league's lowest-ever season, 2002, which had 2.2 million total spectators for the then-12 teams. The previous total attendance record was from 2023 with 10,900,804 spectators. The average attendance has increased 69 percent from the record low of 13,756 set in 2000. The previous average attendance record was 22,111, set during the 2023 regular season.
Atlanta United FC has the highest average attendance of any MLS team, at 46,831, and is followed by Charlotte FC and Seattle Sounders FC. The 2024 season included 213 sellouts and attendance reached 94 percent of stadium capacity, including seven matches played with attendances over 60,000; 10 clubs also tied or surpassed their previous record for average attendance. The highest increases in average attendance since 2023 are those seen by Vancouver Whitecaps FC (56%) and New England Revolution (22.2%).
On July 4, 2023, the largest standalone attendance in MLS history for a single match (82,110 spectators) was reached at the Rose Bowl where the LA Galaxy defeated Los Angeles FC 2–1. The highest average attendance during a regular season was reached in 2018 when Atlanta United matches were attended by an average of 53,002 spectators.
The following list shows the average attendances of the current 29 MLS clubs during the 2024 regular season. It also includes the average attendances of the previous 2023 regular season, the percentage changes in average attendance from 2023 to 2024, the name of each home venue, their respective capacities, and the percentages of those capacities filled by each team's average attendance during the 2024 regular season. A few teams have played some matches at venues other than the their usual ones. In these cases, their attendance percentages have always been calculated based on the capacity of their regular stadia.
Some clubs have attendances over 100% capacity. This is because the limited capacities of their usual venues are lifted for certain matches by opening additional sections. Other clubs use larger venues for certain matches that attract large attendances.
Notes
Notes
The following table compares the regular-season average attendance of MLS with the averages of other professional sports leagues in North America. All these leagues have season average attendances of at least 10,000 spectators per game.
The table below lists the highest attendances in individual games for current MLS teams that have recorded individual records. Teams that have repeated their highest attendance several times are excluded.
The table below is sorted by MLS average attendance rank, and then by MLS average attendance. It only includes regular season numbers and only professional sports leagues in North America that have season averages of at least 10,000 spectators. Those leagues are NFL, MLB, MLS, CFL, NBA, NHL, UFL and NWSL.
In 2023 and 2024, NWSL surpassed the season average of 10,000 spectators. Six of its fourteen teams, which themselves drew more than 10,000 fans per game, have been included in this table.
UFL also produced an average higher than 10,000 spectators for its 2024 season. Two of its teams, which season averages of more than 10,000, have been added as well.
College football teams, some of which outdraw some major professional teams are not listed below.
NBA and NHL attendances are for their 2023–24 regular seasons. NFL, MLB, MLS, CFL, UFL, and NWSL attendances are for their 2024 regular seasons.