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 fourth largest crowds of any professional sports league in North America, ranking behind the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the Canadian Football League. Similar to the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, attendance is based on the number of tickets distributed.

During the 2025 regular season, MLS had an average attendance of 21,988 spectators, which is a 5.4% lower than the record high (23,234) reached in 2024. Total attendance also declined from the record set in 2024 to 11,213,880 fans. Despite these reduced numbers, the average attendance has increased 60 percent from the record low of 13,756 set in 2000 and the total attendance is almost quintuple the league's lowest-ever season, 2002, which had 2.2 million total spectators for the then-12 teams.

Up to 19 MLS franchises averaged more than 20,000 spectators per match in 2025. Atlanta United FC had the highest average attendance of any team, at 43,992, and was followed by Seattle Sounders FC, Charlotte FC and the new club San Diego FC. San Jose Earthquakes (+12%), Columbus Crew (+10%) and Chicago Fire FC (+10%) saw the biggest increases, while FC Dallas (-42%), LA Galaxy (-23%) and Sporting KC (-22%) saw the biggest declines. That dramatic decrease for the Texan franchise was due to the renovation of their stadium.

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.