Ranking the Top Eight NFL Cities Near the Appalachian Mountains

By Casey Nicholson

The NFL Playoffs are starting this weekend, with teams across the country vying for a trip to Super Bowl LX. Most people have a favorite team they root for, whether it's the team that is closest to home or a franchise you grew up rooting for. But what about folks in Appalachia? What teams do we cheer for? And, what NFL cities are considered part of the Appalachian region?

This article ranks the top eight NFL cities closest to the Appalachian Mountains, highlighting why folks living in the Appalachian region might be fans of the teams associated with each city.

8. Atlanta, Georgia

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You're not alone if you don't immediately think of Atlanta, Georgia as an Appalachian city. Culturally, Atlanta is the Deep South, not a mountain town. However, much of the state of Georgia due north of Atlanta is full of mountains and hilly terrain. Towns like Dahlonega and Helen offer up Appalachian backdrops a short drive from Atlanta, and the southernmost point of the Appalachian Trail, Springer Mountain, can be reached by car in about two hours. Culturally speaking, folks living in the mountain areas of both Georgia and nearby Alabama are likely to be Falcons fans on Sunday afternoons.

• Distance to Appalachia: Around 70 miles north to Blue Ridge Mountains

• NFL Team: Atlanta Falcons

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Atlanta Braves (MLB), Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Atlanta United FC (MLS)

  
  

7. Cleveland, Ohio

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Like Atlanta, Cleveland is Appalachia-adjacent, situated near the Allegheny Plateau which extends into parts of northeastern Ohio. You'll find plenty of folks in places like Youngstown, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia cheering on Cleveland teams, and it's a short drive from Lake Erie to Appalachian backdrops.

• Distance to Appalachia: Roughly 70 miles south to Allegheny Plateau; About 200 miles to more rugged Appalachian foothills

• NFL Team: Cleveland Browns

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Cleveland Guardians (MLB), Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)

6. Cincinnati, Ohio

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Cincinnati is yet another city that is near-but-not-in Appalachia, only this time the town is adjacent to wide swaths of Appalachian counties in both eastern Ohio and eastern Kentucky. Folks living in Cincinnati may not be able to see a mountaintop from the banks of the Ohio River, but Appalachia may nevertheless want to claim the town as its own.

• Distance to Appalachia: About 120 miles to Athens, OH or to London, KY, each in the Appalachian foothills

• NFL Team: Cincinnati Bengals

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Cincinnati Reds (MLB), FC Cincinnati (MLS)

5. East Rutherford, New Jersey

Photo by Casey Nicholson

Bergen County, New Jersey sits just across the Hudson River from New York City, a place few people would ever associate with Appalachia. And yet, East Rutherford, home to the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets, is nevertheless situated near the New York Palisades, the most prominent geological feature in the NYC metro area. To the west, you'll find the Kittatiny Mountain ridge in northern New Jersey, a place where the Appalachian Trail crosses.

• Distance to Appalachia: 64 miles to Kittatiny Mountain

• NFL Teams: New York Giants, New York Jets

• Other Pro Sports Teams: New Jersey Devils (NHL), in nearby Newark; New York Red Bulls (MLS) in nearby Harrison, NJ

4. Charlotte, North Carolina

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Yet another Appalachia-adjacent city is Charlotte, North Carolina, located in the Piedmont pleateau area of the central Carolinas. Charlotte is closer to Appalachia than other major Carolina population centers like Raleigh and Chapel Hill, and just a stone's throw from nearby King's Mountain, an outlier of the Appalachian ridgeline where an Appalachian militia from the western mountains once rallied against the British in a defining moment of the American Revolution.

• Distance to Appalachia: About 40 miles to foothills towns like Shelby and Lincolnton

• NFL Team: Carolina Panthers

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Charlotte Bobcats (NBA), Charlotte FC (MLS); Carolina Hurricanes in nearby Raleigh

3. Buffalo, New York

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Much of Upstate New York is mountainous, and a drive through the western part of the state will reveal that the scenery is every bit as Appalachian as that of West Virginia or East Tennessee. The mountain views dissipate by the time you arrive at Buffalo on Lake Erie, making it once again difficult to say that Buffalo is an outright Appalachian city. Still, Buffalo is considered a cultural hub for much of western New York State, and as such, this Appalachian-adjacent city makes it a Sunday destination for many Appalachian residents.

• Distance to Appalachia: About 60 miles to foothills towns like Ellicottville and Salamanca

• NFL Team: Buffalo Bills

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Buffalo Sabres (NHL)

2. Nashville, Tennessee

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Tennessee's state capital is about 80 miles west of the steep mountainous inclines of the Cumberland Plateau. It would take another 150 miles to drive from Nashville to Kuwohi, the tallest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Still, in the 20th Century Nashville came to be known as the home of Country Music, with much of the city's cultural ethos being influenced by Appalachian culture. For this reason, Nashville ranks higher on this list of NFL cities than some towns that are closer to the Appalachian region.

• Distance to Appalachia: About 80 miles to Cumberland Plateau; 225 miles to Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• NFL Team: Tennessee Titans

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Nashville Predators (NHL), SC Nashville (MLS)

1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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There are over 50 million people who live in the Appalachian Region, broadly defined. And yet, there is only one NFL city that is actually located within those lines, even if the culture of the city itself is a bit removed from banjos and coal country. Pittsburgh sits on the western edge of Pennsylvania, near the West Virginia panhandle. Historically, the town was the central processor of iron ore and coke from Appalachian coal mines, where steel was made that provided infrastructure for much of the United States. Today the town is the largest metropolitan area in Appalachia proper, and the only NFL city that can rightly claim to be an Appalachian city as opposed to Appalachia-adjacent.

• Distance to Appalachia: Situated in the Appalachian foothills; roughly 45 miles to more rugged peaks

• NFL Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

• Other Pro Sports Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

Conclusion

The Appalachian region stretches across nineteen states, with mountain towns featuring prominently in much of the eastern United States. This article has summarized eight NFL cities that are closest to the Appalachian region. Of course, which team you cheer for may or may not have anything to do with where you live or how close a team is to your nearest mountaintop or holler. It's nevertheless fascinating to realize that for a region that stretches from Maine to Georgia and from Mississippi to Maryland, only one NFL city is actually in the Appalachian Mountains. We're not sure what the takeaway is there, but maybe you can come up with something and let us know!