Six American cities have hosted the Olympics. Los Angeles (twice), Atlanta and St. Louis have all held Summer Olympics, while Salt Lake City, Lake Placid (twice) and Squaw Valley have hosted Winter Olympics.
Los Angeles and Salt Lake City will both be Olympic hosts again in the near future, with Los Angeles getting the 2028 Summer Olympics and Salt Lake City having been tabbed for the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Both events are coming back to American soil very soon, which means the US may have to wait a little while to see the Olympics return. But when it finally does, which American city is most likely to land the next Olympics?
“A Summer Olympics in Washington D.C. might be nauseatingly patriotic, but the logistics would make sense”
To answer that question – and to put together a theoretical odds board of the top contenders – we’ve scoured the web for tidbits about past Olympic bids and speculation about other cities that have expressed interested in hosting.
The odds displayed are purely speculative and intended for entertainment purposes only.
Next U.S. City to Land Olympics Odds
| Next US City to Land Olympics |
Odds |
Implied Probability |
| Washington D.C. |
+300 |
25.00% |
| San Francisco |
+500 |
16.67% |
| Dallas |
+800 |
11.11% |
| Denver |
+1000 |
9.09% |
| Seattle |
+1200 |
7.69% |
| Boston |
+1500 |
6.25% |
| Chicago |
+2000 |
4.76% |
| New York City |
+2000 |
4.76% |
Next U.S. City to Land Olympics Odds Analysis
Washington D.C. | +300 | Implied Probability: 25.00%
Washington D.C. has expressed interest in hosting the Olympics twice in the past (for both the 2012 and the 2024 games), and for good reason.
It’s the American capital city, it features multiple landmarks that would look great as television backdrops and it’s in a high-population area with several major airports.
A Summer Olympics in Washington D.C. might be nauseatingly patriotic, but the logistics would make sense.
San Francisco | +500 | Implied Probability: 16.67%
San Francisco was also interested in hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics, but Boston was chosen as the preferred American bid for those games (Boston would later withdraw, paving the way for Los Angeles to get the 2028 Summer Olympics).
San Francisco would have the benefit of drawing on the entire Bay Area for sports venues to use for the games, and on the high-tech firms of Silicon Valley for sponsorship dollars.
Dallas | +800 | Implied Probability: 11.11%
The large Dallas metropolitan area has no shortage of existing venues for hosting Summer Olympics events, including the massive AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) to use for the opening and closing ceremonies plus the track and field events.
Plus, after hosting Olympics in Los Angeles and Atlanta in recent decades you’d get some Texas-style variety for the games. The only downside? Texas-style heat.
Next U.S. City to Land Olympics Odds Sleeper
Denver | +1000 | Implied Probability: 9.09%
Denver has actually landed an Olympics before – it was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics but withdrew its bid after voters rejected the games in a referendum.
Those games went to Innsbruck, Austria, instead, and Colorado has watched neighboring Utah host the Winter Olympics once (soon to be twice) since then.
If there’s another American bid for the Winter Olympics, Denver seems like the best choice.
Next U.S. City to Land Olympics Odds: Washington D.C. gets the nod as the favorite
Major American cities like New York City and Chicago will surely come up in Olympic bid conversations once again in the years ahead, while Seattle could get some interest as at least a Winter Olympics host in the future (nearby Vancouver, Canada has hosted in the past).
Even Miami has been discussed before as a potential Olympics host, although the humidity in that part of the country in the summer can get ugly.
However, for our theoretical odds board here it’s Washington D.C. that gets the nod as the favorite, edging out San Francisco and Dallas along with sleeper contender Denver.
Yes, there would be security concerns around the White House, Capitol Building, and National Mall if the district hosted an event as massive as the Olympics, but the federal government would surely splash some money in its own backyard to help.
Disclaimer: The odds displayed for entertainment, political, and other non-sporting events on this page are purely speculative and intended for entertainment purposes only. These are not real betting markets offered by licensed operators. Please note that the odds above have been generated by Oddspedia for this article only. They are not necessarily reflective of the actual probability of the event occurring and it is not possible to place a wager on this event through Oddspedia. Any implied probabilities derived from these odds are not based on professional bookmaking standards and should not be used for actual wagering decisions. Please gamble responsibly with licensed providers.
