What's the best "swim city" in the USA?
According to the third-annual study and ranking commissioned by USA Swimming and Speedo USA, the San Jose-Santa Clara, Calif. area ranks first, followed by Ann Arbor, Mich.; Connecticut's Greater Bridgeport area; Austin, Texas; and Madison, Wisc.
Each city's ranking is based on an aggregate score in categories including percentage of active swimmers and swim clubs, swim team growth, number of accessible pools and volume of top-level swimmers from the area. Cities in the top 50 had a metro area population of 250,000 or higher.
Long known as a swimming hotbed, the Santa Clara-San Jose area boasts 64 pools, and the Santa Clara Swim Club is one of the most successful swim teams nationwide, with its swimmers winning 80 Olympic medals, including 51 gold, 17 silver and 12 bronze, during its proud history. Swimming legends Mark Spitz and Donna de Varona also grew up in the area.
"It is a great honor for San Jose-Santa Clara to earn recognition as America's Top Swim City. Aquatics has a deep history here, and the passion and commitment for aquatic sports is really a fabric of our community," Santa Clara Swim Club Head Coach John Bitter said. "Our future is incredibly bright, including the new Haines International Swim Center, and our outstanding partnership with the city of Santa Clara will lead to more successes for America's Top Swim City in the future."
1 San Jose-Santa Clara, CA
2 Ann Arbor, MI
3 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
4 Austin-Round Rock, TX
5 Madison, WI
6 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
7 Raleigh-Cary, NC
8 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
9 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN
10 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
11 Trenton-Ewing, NJ
12 Lincoln, NE
13 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL
14 Colorado Springs, CO
15 Denver-Aurora, CO
16 Durham, NC
17 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
18 Anchorage, AK
19 Baltimore-Towson, MD
20 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
21 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN
22 Lexington-Fayette, KY
23 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
24 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA
25 Richmond, VA
26 Columbus, OH
27 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
28 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
29 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, CA
30 Jacksonville, FL
31 Tallahassee, FL
32 Pittsburgh, PA
33 Boulder, CO
34 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
35 Huntsville, AL
36 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
37 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
38 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
39 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
40 Provo-Orem, UT
41 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
42 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
43 Holland-Grand Haven, MI
44 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
45 Roanoke, VA
46 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA
47 Atlantic City, NJ
48 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN
49 New Haven-Milford, CT
50 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
![IPSSA’s incoming President Michael Denham [left], Rose Smoot, IPSSA Executive Director [center] and the outgoing President, Todd Starner [right].](https://img.aquamagazine.com/files/base/abmedia/all/image/2024/04/New_IncomingPres_MikeDenham_RoseSmoot_outgoing_president_ToddStarner_IMG_3920_copy.662682e0cbd3a.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&rect=0%2C345%2C3024%2C1701&w=250)
