HONOLULU (KHON2) — A new report ranks the best to worst states for sports lovers; and, it turns out, Hawaiʻi is not just at the bottom of the list. It is the bottom. Out of all 50 states, Hawaiʻi ranked dead last in the 2025 report on the best states for sports lovers.
The numbers speak for themselves. Hawaiʻi ranked 50th across all three major categories: Sports Interest and Success, Sports Careers and Income and Access to Sports. Its total score was 8.86. The next-lowest state, Alaska which scored 13.81.
The report used 20 metrics to measure each state’s connection to sports. These included things like sports-related charities, the number of professional and college teams, sports bar locations, sports jobs and even search engine interest in home workout gear.
The result was a detailed look at which states offer the most, and least, for sports lovers. Here’s what we found in the report.
No spark in sports interest
Hawaiʻi showed the lowest ranking in Sports Interest and Success. This category included the number of professional and college teams, championship wins, stadium capacities and even sports-related Google searches. It also looked at the number of sports bars per capita using Buffalo Wild Wings as a proxy.
In all of those areas, Hawaiʻi came in last at #50.
Limited sports career paths
In the Sports Careers and Income category, Hawaiʻi again ranked 50th. This part of the report measured how many sports-related degrees are awarded; how many sports jobs exist per capita, whether sports betting is legal; and how much money is made from it.
The data placed Hawaiʻi at the very bottom with no tie and no cushion.
Barriers to access
Access to Sports was also a challenge. Hawaiʻi scored the lowest rank in this category as well. The report looked at things like summer camps, recruiting events, sporting goods stores, sports scholarships, sports clubs and NAIA member schools per capita.
On each of these measures, Hawaiʻi was outpaced by every other state in the country and again ranked at #50.
Nationwide love for sports but not in Hawaiʻi
The report noted that residents of the United States show their passion for sports in many ways. “Of the top 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in 2024, 80 were accounted for by sports-related programming,” the report said as it cited Nielsen data.
That passion did not seem to show up in Hawaiʻi’s rankings. Every state ranked higher with Hawaiʻi coming in, again, at #50.
You can click here to read the full report.
The final list showed Ohio at #1 with a score of 55.41. Hawaiʻi ended with 8.86.