Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
On the ball: World Cup 2026 final score
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ delivered a clear spending boost to US host cities, led by traveling fans.
August 2026
Key takeaways
- The FIFA World Cup 2026™ boosted local spending, led by traveling fans, according to Bank of America credit and debit card data. Over the tournament, card spending in host cities rose around 5% year-over-year (YoY), with the strongest gains coming from non-locals, whose spending was up more than 17% YoY. Restaurants and bars were the clearest beneficiaries as fans splashed out on hospitality.
- Kansas City got the golden boot, recording a 7% rise in card spending. But gains were broadly shared across host cities, with Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Miami and New York/New Jersey also enjoying substantial boosts. Host cities generally experienced stronger growth in restaurant and bar spending than non-host cities, particularly during the knockout stages.
- For small businesses in these host cities, we find that local hotels as well as restaurants and bars in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Boston, New York/New Jersey and San Francisco all saw relatively stronger sales in June. And while the World Cup clearly gave a lift to local economies, the effect on overall US consumer spending and GDP appears to have been more modest. This reflects the sheer size of the US and a likely reallocation of spending from non-host to host cities.
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