Attending an opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will cost fans anywhere from just over $600 to more than $2,000, according to a new analysis by NBC News.
The figure combines one ticket and a two-night hotel stay near each host venue. Miami emerged as the cheapest option, while New York and New Jersey ranked as the most expensive.
The tournament kicks off on June 11 and runs through July 19, marking the first time the United States has hosted the World Cup since 1994. Eleven US cities will stage matches, alongside five host cities in Mexico and Canada. The cost estimates for each US opening fixture draw on ticket and accommodation prices gathered in late May.
The analysis based hotel costs on a two-night stay at the five cheapest Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt properties within 15 miles of each World Cup venue. Ticket costs reflected the average get-in price across the resale platform SeatGeek and FIFA‘s own ticket marketplace. The approach captures the realistic entry cost for a fan booking late rather than the premium seats that dominate headlines.
Miami offered the best value on both counts. Its opening fixture, featuring Saudi Arabia against Uruguay on June 15, carried an average combined cost of $614, with hotel rooms averaging $338 and tickets $276.
At the other end of the scale, the combined cost in New York City reached $2,052, more than triple the Miami figure. The metro area recorded the priciest tickets of any host city, with an average get-in price of $1,399.
Boston posted the highest hotel average, coming in just shy of $1,000 for a two-night stay near Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots. Its combined cost stood at $1,606, level with Kansas City and just below Los Angeles at $1,621.
The most expensive ticket by some distance was for the Brazil against Morocco match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on June 13, where the get-in price approached $1,400.
The first match on US soil takes place on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the United States facing Paraguay. Tickets for that fixture were considerably cheaper than the New Jersey opener, although the Los Angeles area still ranked as the second most expensive city to attend.
The full spread underlines how much the choice of host city matters. After Miami at $614, Atlanta, San Francisco and Houston clustered between $818 and $836, followed by Seattle at $1,046 and Dallas at $1,181. Philadelphia sat at $1,321, with Boston, Kansas City, Los Angeles and New York City making up the priciest tier.
Hotel and ticket affordability did not always move together. San Francisco recorded the cheapest tickets at an average of $253, yet steeper room rates lifted its combined total to $832. Kansas City showed the reverse pattern, with hotel rooms averaging $865 despite mid-range ticket prices, a reflection of limited supply near its venue.
Ticket pricing has drawn criticism since sales opened last year. Fans have pointed to confusing and expensive ticket structures, while high transit costs in several host cities add to the bill for anyone travelling between the stadium and their accommodation. Those extras fall outside the headline totals but can reshape the real cost of a trip.
Demand for the showpiece final is already intense, even with the finalists far from decided and the match more than a month away. The average get-in price for the final at MetLife Stadium sits more than $7,000 higher than the price for the opener at the same venue.
Prices reflect data gathered in late May and are likely to shift as the tournament approaches and matchups become clearer. Group-stage fixtures are still filling out, and travel demand tends to build sharply in the final weeks before a major event. For fans weighing a trip, the analysis suggests the city they choose may matter as much as the match they watch.
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