As the eyes of the sporting world turn to the pandemic-delayed Summer Olympics in Tokyo, BeenVerified examined which US states and cities have bragging rights for producing the most summer Olympic athletes in the history of the Games.
In our analysis, BeenVerified also looked at the birthplaces of US summer Olympians dating back to 1896, when the first games were held in Athens, Greece, to determine which states and hometowns earned the most medals—either in individual events or as members of medalist teams—in the past 28 summer Games.
Key takeaways
Olympians and medals by state
- California and New York produced the most summer Olympians. Top states that were the birthplace of future Olympians are California (1,237) and New York (794), followed by Pennsylvania (483), Illinois (445), New Jersey (311), Massachusetts (302), Texas (286), Ohio (275), Missouri (242) and Michigan (202).
- California and New York also brought home the most medals. Top 10 birthplace states that saw their native sons and daughters on the medals podium were California (954), New York (436), Pennsylvania (267), Illinois (263), Ohio (231),Texas (203), New Jersey (166), Missouri (146), Massachusetts (134) and Michigan (130).
- Florida and Washington punch above their weight for gold medals. Two new states—Florida and Washington—enter the historic top 10 for gold medal count. Gold totals: California (467), New York (214), Ohio (125), Illinois (116), Pennsylvania (108), Texas (104), New Jersey (84), Florida (67), Michigan (62) and Washington (60). Of the 50 states, North Dakota is the only state to not be the birthplace of a gold medalist.
- By population, Hawaii is the top Summer Olympics state. Looking at historic population levels in the 125 years since the first summer Games, the top state producing an Olympian per 100,000 residents is Hawaii (10.7), followed by California (7.5), Massachusetts (6.2), New Jersey (5.66), Missouri (5.59), New York (5.5), Washington (5.4), Oregon (5.2), Illinois (4.9) and Montana (4.86).
Birthplace state | Total medals | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|---|
California | 954 | 467 | 269 | 218 |
New York | 436 | 214 | 135 | 87 |
Pennsylvania | 267 | 108 | 77 | 82 |
Illinois | 263 | 116 | 70 | 77 |
New Jersey | 166 | 84 | 44 | 38 |
Massachusetts | 134 | 52 | 38 | 44 |
Texas | 203 | 104 | 56 | 43 |
Ohio | 231 | 125 | 53 | 53 |
Missouri | 146 | 49 | 43 | 54 |
Michigan | 130 | 62 | 34 | 34 |
Washington | 105 | 60 | 19 | 26 |
Florida | 108 | 67 | 24 | 17 |
Indiana | 77 | 41 | 20 | 16 |
Wisconsin | 77 | 39 | 23 | 15 |
Minnesota | 47 | 22 | 12 | 13 |
Georgia | 84 | 52 | 18 | 14 |
Virginia | 62 | 34 | 14 | 14 |
Oregon | 54 | 25 | 17 | 12 |
Iowa | 58 | 29 | 16 | 13 |
Maryland | 86 | 51 | 16 | 19 |
Connecticut | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 |
Kansas | 47 | 23 | 12 | 12 |
Louisiana | 44 | 27 | 10 | 7 |
Oklahoma | 47 | 24 | 10 | 13 |
Hawaii | 57 | 22 | 23 | 12 |
Colorado | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 |
Mississippi | 57 | 31 | 16 | 10 |
North Carolina | 47 | 24 | 13 | 10 |
Arizona | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 |
Kentucky | 44 | 23 | 10 | 11 |
Alabama | 59 | 36 | 10 | 13 |
Nebraska | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 |
Tennessee | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 |
Utah | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
South Carolina | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 |
Arkansas | 29 | 20 | 2 | 7 |
New Hampshire | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
Rhode Island | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Montana | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
Maine | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 |
New Mexico | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
South Dakota | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
Nevada | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
West Virginia | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 |
Delaware | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Idaho | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Vermont | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Alaska | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
North Dakota | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Wyoming | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Olympians and medals by city
- New York and Chicago are the top birthplaces for Summer Olympians. These cities gave birth to the most future Olympians: New York (345), Chicago (216), Philadelphia (198), Los Angeles (186), St. Louis (150), San Francisco (99), Boston (95), Washington (87), Brooklyn (81) and Detroit (79).
- New York and Los Angeles have produced the most medalists. Native sons and daughters bringing home the most gold, silver or bronze medals originally hailed from New York (162), Los Angeles (129), Chicago (121), Philadelphia (107), St. Louis (82), San Francisco (62), Washington (58), Baltimore (57), Cincinnati (56) and Detroit (53).
- New York and Los Angeles tie for most gold medals. Olympians born in New York and Los Angeles have produced 69 gold medals each, followed by Chicago (52), Philadelphia (48), Baltimore (38), San Francisco (34), Washington (31), Cincinnati (29), St. Louis (25) and Brooklyn (24).
City | Total medals | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|---|
New York, NY | 162 | 69 | 58 | 35 |
Los Angeles, CA | 129 | 69 | 36 | 24 |
Chicago, IL | 121 | 52 | 32 | 37 |
Philadelphia, PA | 107 | 48 | 28 | 31 |
St. Louis, MO | 82 | 25 | 20 | 37 |
San Francisco, CA | 62 | 34 | 13 | 15 |
Washington, DC | 58 | 31 | 14 | 13 |
Baltimore, MD | 57 | 38 | 11 | 8 |
Cincinnati, OH | 56 | 29 | 15 | 12 |
Detroit, MI | 53 | 23 | 15 | 15 |
Honolulu, HI | 48 | 18 | 18 | 12 |
Houston, TX | 48 | 18 | 15 | 15 |
Brooklyn, NY | 47 | 24 | 12 | 11 |
Boston, MA | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 |
San Diego, CA | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 |
Seattle, WA | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 |
Cleveland, OH | 37 | 23 | 8 | 6 |
Portland, OR | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 |
Long Beach, CA | 36 | 11 | 15 | 10 |
Oakland, CA | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 |
Atlanta, GA | 32 | 17 | 9 | 6 |
Pittsburgh, PA | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 |
Newark, NJ | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
Sacramento, CA | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
Dallas, TX | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 |
Indianapolis, IN | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 |
Milwaukee, WI | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
Buffalo, NY | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
Tacoma, WA | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
Modesto, CA | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 |
Pasadena, CA | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
Columbus, OH | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Madison, WI | 17 | 11 | 2 | 4 |
Newport Beach, CA | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Whittier, CA | 17 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
Denver, CO | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
Evanston, IL | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 |
Tucson, AZ | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
Dayton, OH | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
Birmingham, AL | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
Berkeley, CA | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
Salt Lake City, UT | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
Akron, OH | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
Jacksonville, FL | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
Danvers, MA | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 |
Miami, FL | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
Anaheim, CA | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
Beverly Hills, CA | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
Canandaigua, NY | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
New Orleans, LA | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
Statistics by sports, gender
- The top Olympic sport is track and field events. The most popular Olympic sport for US competitors—and the only one to be featured in every Summer Olympics—is athletics, or track and field events, such as pole vaulting and the 100-meter sprint. Since the first 1896 Games, 1,769 US athletes have competed in track and field. The second most popular sport historically for US Olympians is aquatic events (1,007) followed by rowing (631).
- The average ratio of male to female Summer Olympians is more than 3-to-1. While women have been participating in the Summer Games since 1900, their numbers historically lag behind male competitors. On average, the US sent 3.3 men for every female competitor since the first Games.
- Two states have produced more female Olympians. Alaska (six women and three men) and Idaho (nine women and seven men) are the only states to produce more women Olympians. Similarly, only three states saw female Olympians bring home more medals than men: Alaska (three medals from women versus one medal from men); Idaho (10 vs. zero); and Tennessee (23 vs. 15). Only one state, North Dakota, has never produced a female Olympian. At the city level, however, 444 US cities produced more women Olympians than male out of 2,218 birthplaces for Summer Olympics athletes.
- Female Olympians earn 24% more medals than men. While fewer in number, US women Olympians historically have earned 0.75 medals per female athlete, compared to 0.59 medals per male athlete.
Birthplace state | Summer Olympians | Men | Women |
---|---|---|---|
California | 1,237 | 802 | 435 |
New York | 794 | 621 | 173 |
Pennsylvania | 483 | 362 | 122 |
Illinois | 445 | 343 | 102 |
New Jersey | 311 | 235 | 75 |
Massachusetts | 302 | 239 | 63 |
Texas | 286 | 199 | 87 |
Ohio | 275 | 215 | 60 |
Missouri | 242 | 207 | 35 |
Michigan | 202 | 156 | 46 |
Washington | 172 | 117 | 55 |
Florida | 157 | 96 | 61 |
Indiana | 127 | 88 | 39 |
Wisconsin | 125 | 83 | 42 |
Minnesota | 116 | 81 | 35 |
Georgia | 106 | 71 | 35 |
Oregon | 98 | 66 | 32 |
Virginia | 98 | 68 | 30 |
Iowa | 97 | 80 | 17 |
Maryland | 94 | 66 | 28 |
Connecticut | 93 | 71 | 22 |
Kansas | 87 | 76 | 11 |
Louisiana | 85 | 64 | 21 |
Oklahoma | 82 | 71 | 11 |
Hawaii | 81 | 54 | 27 |
Colorado | 76 | 48 | 28 |
Mississippi | 65 | 48 | 17 |
North Carolina | 59 | 47 | 12 |
Arizona | 57 | 35 | 22 |
Kentucky | 56 | 47 | 9 |
Alabama | 54 | 37 | 17 |
Nebraska | 49 | 43 | 6 |
Tennessee | 48 | 28 | 20 |
Utah | 42 | 30 | 12 |
South Carolina | 42 | 31 | 11 |
Arkansas | 41 | 35 | 6 |
New Hampshire | 34 | 21 | 13 |
Rhode Island | 34 | 22 | 12 |
Montana | 31 | 21 | 10 |
Maine | 29 | 19 | 10 |
New Mexico | 25 | 18 | 7 |
South Dakota | 23 | 22 | 1 |
Nevada | 21 | 14 | 7 |
West Virginia | 21 | 17 | 4 |
Delaware | 20 | 11 | 9 |
Idaho | 16 | 7 | 9 |
Vermont | 15 | 12 | 3 |
Alaska | 9 | 3 | 6 |
North Dakota | 9 | 9 | 0 |
Wyoming | 7 | 5 | 2 |
City | Summer Olympians | Men | Women |
---|---|---|---|
New York, NY | 345 | 258 | 87 |
Chicago, IL | 216 | 175 | 41 |
Philadelphia, PA | 198 | 166 | 32 |
Los Angeles, CA | 186 | 135 | 51 |
St. Louis, MO | 150 | 135 | 15 |
San Francisco, CA | 99 | 73 | 26 |
Boston, MA | 95 | 75 | 20 |
Washington, DC | 87 | 68 | 19 |
Brooklyn, NY | 81 | 81 | 0 |
Detroit, MI | 79 | 67 | 12 |
Seattle, WA | 75 | 51 | 24 |
San Diego, CA | 70 | 37 | 33 |
Honolulu, HI | 65 | 40 | 25 |
Houston, TX | 65 | 41 | 24 |
Cincinnati, OH | 61 | 41 | 20 |
Baltimore, MD | 51 | 39 | 12 |
Portland, ME | 50 | 32 | 18 |
Long Beach, CA | 48 | 29 | 19 |
Cleveland, OH | 48 | 35 | 13 |
Minneapolis, MN | 47 | 34 | 13 |
Newark, NJ | 46 | 40 | 6 |
Buffalo, NY | 40 | 34 | 6 |
Oakland, CA | 39 | 31 | 8 |
Pittsburgh, PA | 39 | 26 | 13 |
Atlanta, GA | 33 | 27 | 6 |
Dallas, TX | 33 | 22 | 11 |
Denver, CO | 32 | 17 | 15 |
Indianapolis, IN | 32 | 18 | 14 |
Milwaukee, WI | 32 | 26 | 6 |
New Orleans, LA | 31 | 26 | 5 |
Kansas City, MO | 31 | 22 | 9 |
Berkeley, CA | 28 | 17 | 11 |
Sacramento, CA | 24 | 16 | 8 |
Santa Monica, CA | 24 | 18 | 6 |
Pasadena, CA | 23 | 14 | 9 |
Louisville, KY | 23 | 17 | 6 |
Evanston, IL | 22 | 17 | 5 |
Columbus, OH | 22 | 15 | 7 |
Miami, FL | 21 | 11 | 10 |
Salt Lake City, UT | 20 | 13 | 7 |
Phoenix, AZ | 18 | 10 | 8 |
Anaheim, CA | 18 | 11 | 7 |
Toledo, OH | 18 | 16 | 2 |
Providence, RI | 18 | 13 | 5 |
Tacoma, WA | 18 | 14 | 4 |
Tucson, AZ | 17 | 9 | 8 |
Palo Alto, CA | 17 | 9 | 8 |
Yonkers, NY | 17 | 16 | 1 |
Bronx, NY | 17 | 12 | 5 |
Tulsa, OK | 17 | 15 | 2 |
Methodology
BeenVerified examined the birthplaces of all US-born Summer Olympics athletes who have competed since 1896. Totals for medalists include both individual winners and individuals participating on teams that won gold, silver or bronze medals in previous games.
Birthplace cities are based on geographical boundaries and incorporations at the time of the athlete’s birth; some cities and towns no longer exist.
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For this study, we have limited our research to only athletes who were selected or participated in past games, not those participating in the Tokyo Summer Games.
For more information, contact Kerry Sherin, kerry@beenverifiedmedia.com, or Richard Gargan, richard@beenverifiedmedia.com.
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