No matter which way you look at it, pickleball is growing like crazy! Part of what makes this sport so popular is the migration of tennis players to pickleball, and many of those idle courts around the US are being converted over.
There are several ways to rank popularity. You could look at the total number of active players, total places to play (number of pickleball courts), or other metrics, but this list below looks at the court density per capita measured as the total number of courts for every 10,000 residents in the city. While some of these cities were expected since they are known hubs for pickleball, there were a few states that showed up a few times in the top 10 that took me by surprise.
For example, I wouldn’t have guessed the Nebraska or Virginia has so many courts – they are not mentioned often compared to Florida, which some people refer to as the “pickleball capital”.
No matter how you slice the numbers, pickleball is booming. If you are looking for places to play click here: places2play.org
Top US Cities for Pickleball (Court Density by Population)
This list is based on statistics from 2018 gathered by The Trust for Public Land. To see the updated list scroll down to the embedded graph based on the latest survey.
Seattle, Washington
The first city on the list is not a huge surprise for anyone that knows the origins of pickleball as the sport was invented on Bainbridge Island, just off the coast, and connected to Seattle by ferry. And in the Seattle–Tacoma metropolitan area, including Kent, WA, you’ll also find the home or Pickbleball Inc. and Pickleball Station, one of the many places to play indoor pickleball.
In 2018, Seattle, WA, had the largest number on this list, with 2.6 pickleball courts per 10,000 residents.
St. Paul, Minnesota
MN is known for its snowy winters, so it’s common sense that indoor pickleball is popular here. But if you’ve been to the Twin Cities you know there are a ton of parks, and a LOT of tennis courts and summer is a great time to play here. Just bike around the city lakes, and you’ll see a lot of (mostly empty) tennis courts. Many of those are prime for converting to pickleball.
There has also been a flurry of new courts added in the surrounding suburbs such as Eden Prairie, Bloomington, and Minnetonka. Woodbury Pickleball Club plays at Shawnee Park.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison Friends of Pickleball has recently grown to be the Capital Area Pickleball Association, to promote the sport in the greater Madison area (Dane County). Garner Park is the home of Madison’s dedicated pickleball courts in addition to a number of tennis courts lined for pickleball throughout the city with over 20 places to play in the Madison area listed.
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Pickleball has been written up in the local press and some dubbing nearby Williamsburg, Virginia as “Pickleburg”, the area has seen a huge growth in courts and participation with places2play listing 15 locations in Virginia Beach alone.
Omaha, Nebraska
The City of Omaha Parks and Recreation has a dedicated pickleball page, the local community has an active Facebook page and local tournaments it’s a thriving place to play pickleball.
Lincoln, Nebraska
With the local Cornhusker State Games and State Games of America, Lincoln makes another Nebraska entry on the list. Check out all the places to play in Nebraska as per the USAPA.
Chesapeake, Virginia
Deep Creek Community Center and the River Crest Community Center are among the places to play in Chesapeake, and the city also organizes the Chesapeake Super Pickleball Challenge Tournament.
Plano, Texas
High Point Park Tennis Center, Bear Creek Park, and Watauga Community Center are listed on yelp as some of the best places to play, and three courts on a newly surfaced gym court Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in nearby Flower Mound, TX offer locals there another opportunity to play indoors.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Can you think of a more beautiful place to hang out in the sun with an ocean breeze and play your favorite sport? Luckily for locals, pickleball is thriving in Honolulu an on the island of O’ahu in general. Heading to the islands for vacation, check out Hawaii-Pickleball-Oahu on Facebook to connect to play with locals and check out the list of places to play in Hawaii here.
Arlington, Virginia
Virginia makes its third appearance on the list showing that the sport has crossed the US from coast to coast, considering its beginnings on the west coast in 1965. Luckily for players in the area, there are plenty of places to play, and within a short trip, there are plenty of other places to play in the state. Virginia is for pickleball-lovers!
Graph of Pickleball Courts/Residents (Updated)
Here’s the embedded graph from for most current data.
No Arizona or Florida cities on this? Surprising.
The way this was put together is soooo wrong. For instance Virginia Beach is a literal pickleball desert. Only one place with more than 1 or 2 courts and that place is indoors. I love Virginia Beach but I wouldn’t retire there as there is just no pickleball
Yes, how about The Villages, FL.
Did you consider “The Villages” Florida which is legally a city besides a retirement community …
Thanks
This list is absolutely outrageous!! Having lived in Seattle for 40 years, I can guarantee Seattle is not only NOT the best place to play pickleball, it is THE WORST.
Let’s take a look at the actual courts that are being counted here. The majority of which were not built for pickleball. A broken down parking lot with a net thrown on should not qualify as a Pickleball Court.
The only places I could find – and I DID my homework were either Senior living centers’ indoor basketball courts with curtains or one designated court in the back of a tennis pro shop. We drove for hours around the Puget Sound and came up with not ONE real pickleball facility. Not one!
Seattle is my favorite place for a lot of other reasons, however, pickleball is the last bragging right the city has. The best skyline? Yes, that is true. Not pickleball!!
This article is obviously thrown together by someone who didn’t actually visit any of these supposed pickleball courts.
Hi Katie,
It’s great to see from your response that you’ve obviously very passionate about pickleball!
Just for clarification, our intention wasn’t to list the “best” cities.
We were just sharing results from a study done that listed the pickleball’s growing popularity based on court density per capita (we linked the article and embedded the graph at the end).
One of our readers thought was worth sharing but we agree, court density maybe isn’t the greatest metric to use.
As a local Seattle pickleball player, we’d love to get your expert advice on places to play so we can share with our readers – although from your response it sounds like they’re really aren’t any decent options?
Thank you for your reply to my post.
Yes, I am very passionate about pickleball AND Seattle. My husband and I retired to where we live in a community setting with 24 courts (unfortunately not in Seattle).
I agree that Seattle ranks as one of the “BEST” cities. It’s amazing how many people, who have never played in the Puget Sound area are misled to believe that Seattle offers great pickleball playing opportunities. This is quite often due to the sports inventor, Bernie McCallum, residing there.
Travel to the other half of the state and you’ll find great pickleball. In East Wenatchee, you’ll not only find a designated 8 court pickleball complex – you’ll also find some great competition for challenge play. Leavenworth also has a brand new complex of 8 designated pickleball courts.
Thank you
Thanks for the recommendations on places to play. I was curious so did a little searching and found this website that is all about playing pickleball in the Seattle area…might be useful to others:
https://timeforpickleball.com/home.html
yes St Petersburg Florida
Yes love St.Petersburg and Pickelball.💖
I’m quite surprised that AZ wasn’t on that list in the top 10 places. For one thing the weather in Arizona and Florida lends itself to playing outdoors most of the year. Numerous locations to find courts to play for free and quite a few indoor venues too. As of now I believe Florida has the most number of courts outdoors to play the sport.
Not just seniors engaging in it but a lot of newer and younger players. Some from a tennis or other sports background finding it fun as well as addicting in a very nice way. Cheers!
Seattle has many community centers with gyms marked for pickleball. The Seattle Parks and Recreation department loves to tally these “pickleball courts” even though most of them are only available one or two days a week, for a few hours, when school is in session. The resulting number of pickleball courts is impressive. The number of hours that these courts are available is dismal.
The Villages in Florida, which is one location, has over 200 courts!! East Naples Community Park in Naples, one park, has over 55 courts! There are so many places in Florida and Arizona that have more courts in a single location than probably all of the courts in your list combined.
Having lived in The Villages Florida, I can contest to the fact The Villages Florida at this point has at least 200 pickleball courts. Since it is both a retirement community and technically a US city it may get lost in the selection process ?
To match over 200 PB courts in The Villages, Florida with over 140,000 residents, Seattle fails to be the top one! Based on 20,000, The Villages has over 28 courts!!! Please explain the difference.
Perhaps The Villages are not included in the statistics because most of those courts are private.
Also the villages is a retirement compound. Over 55. Not open to everyone who is interested in the sport. It happens to be enjoyed by retirees. Also the villages comes with quite an expensive price tag. Either way, If you’re 35, you’re not going to be playing there.
Good points
Naples, FL= The Pickleball Capital of the World. Home of the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships.
Pictona at Holly Hill Florida…. Opened July 2020 with 24 Pickleball courts (all outdoor, 8 covered), senior center, kitchen and tournaments. Another whole section of courts being built now (2022), 1 or 2 will be covered with stadium seating for tournaments. Great place, reasonable prices.
Oh my goodness. I find it hard to believe you don’t mention Salt Lake City, Utah. So many free public courts and players here. Tons.
You did not mention Palm Desert CA. Great Pickleball hear at parks and clubs open to the public.
It was a good attempt but the article really only covers public courts. Privately owned but OPEN to the public added in would provide a better picture but I’m not sure if that data is easily collected.
The other thing is that CITIES aren’t necessarily the best measure as probably the majority of courts are found in suburbs surrounding the cities. Example…Richmond VA has modest PB but the surrounding residential communities have more courts than many parts of FL.
Who would be the best person to talk to about establishing a Pickleball center in the Summerville, SC area?
Thanks!
Gregg Barselou
(631) 790-9795
Arlington, VA? We have no dedicated pickleball courts. We have one cluster of 6 pickleball courts that are shared with three tennis courts using pickleball nets on wheels. Those courts have lots of cracks and face east-west. We have a total of 18 shared use outdoor courts (shared with basketball, volleyball and tennis) scattered throughout the county. Some of the dual use tennis courts use a tennis net for pickleball.
Despite the lack of courts, we have built thriving pickleball communities and have produced some skilled players. However, we are unable to host special pickleball events because of the lack of courts.
Richmond, VA has over 80 dedicated pickleball courts. Why is Richmond not on the list?
Woodbridge, VA has three venues with 6-8 dedicated pickleball courts. Players formed the Woodbridge Pickleball Club as a nonprofit organization. Because they have beautiful dedicated courts, they can host events such as socials, tournaments, camps and clinics along with drop-in play. Why are they not on the list?
Please explain how Arlington, VA was selected for your list of best places to play.
How about Griffin, GA, has around 22,000 people and a nice newer pb complex with 18 public courts. This puts Griffin in the 1st spot.
But the Villages tops any other city around. Private? What is private exactly? I lived in the northwest and most of the courts are indoors and you have to join a club to use them. Do your stats include private club courts or just courts that the city built that are free?
Where I live in the Villages, I have over 50 courts within 3 miles of my house and the number of residents around me (3 mile radius) is probably 25,000-30,000