The geography of the North American game
MLS, through the years.
Thirty-one seasons. A changing soccer map. Explore the closest clubs to U.S. counties and a slice of southern Canada, from the original ten to today.
Explore the SoccerMapd mapLoading the county map…
The clubs in 1996
Select a crest to highlight its regions.
Find soccer around you today.
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Looking beyond MLS? Explore the USL history map for Championship, League One and League Two, including announced 2027–2028 expansion.
What “closest” means. Each U.S. county or Canadian census division is assigned to the active MLS club with the shortest great-circle distance from its geographic centroid to the club's home-city center. These are approximate city-level anchors, not precise stadium coordinates or driving distances. Clubs sharing an anchor share multi-color striped regions. When neighboring club colors are too similar, an alternate solid color makes their regions easier to distinguish. The legend shows the colors used on the map. Logos label regions; their placement is not a location pin.
The geography stays still. All seasons use the same 3,142 U.S. Census 2017 counties and county equivalents, via us-atlas, plus Statistics Canada's 2021 census divisions within the displayed part of southern Canada. The U.S. coverage includes all 50 states and Washington, D.C.; U.S. territories are excluded. Alaska and Hawaii are insets, but distances use their actual locations. Canadian MLS clubs are eligible from their first MLS season.
Canada is a cropped view. The map shows part of southern Canada, not the whole country. A division crossing the map's edge keeps its full geographic centroid in the distance calculation; only its drawing is clipped. U.S. county counts and Canadian division counts are reported separately, and Canadian totals refer only to divisions included in this view. Colors show proximity, not fan allegiance, broadcast rights or official club territories.
The league changes. Membership, names and crests follow the selected season. Midseason identity changes use the later identity for that season. City anchors reflect documented home-city moves; temporary match venues and individual fixtures are not modeled. The source notes record the era choices and simplifications.
- MLS: a history of league expansion
- County boundaries: Census / us-atlas
- Canadian divisions: Statistics Canada & notes
- Historical sources & notes
- Club logo credits
Geography calculated independently. Club marks belong to their respective owners. History reviewed September 11, 2026.
Crest sources: MLS and its clubs, Wikimedia, SportsLogos.Net, Logos Download and SportsLogoHistory.com. Individual asset sources and historical-era notes are linked above.