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The 25 Best Cities in America for Karate (2026)

Not the most dojos — the best training-here math. We scored every US city of 50,000+ with at least 3 karate dojos on two things that actually matter when you live there: how many dojos you have per 100k residents, and how good those dojos are (median Google rating across the city's dojos). Multiply the two and you get this list. Updated 2026-07-19.

The ranking

Sarasota, Florida is the best city in America for karate — 8 dojos for 58k people (13.8 per 100k) with a median rating of 5★, edging out Lebanon, Tennessee (9.7 per 100k at 5★). Notice what's missing: the megacities. Density per resident is a mid-size-city game, and quality travels with it — every city on this list beats most major metros on both dials. 11 states place at least one city.

#CityDojosPopulationPer 100kMedian ratingScore
1 Sarasota, FL 8 57,764 13.8 5★ 68.6
2 Lebanon, TN 5 51,501 9.7 5★ 48.1
3 Collierville, TN 5 51,951 9.6 4.7★ 45.2
4 Joplin, MO 5 53,605 9.3 4.8★ 44.8
5 Clifton, NJ 8 90,322 8.9 5★ 44.3
6 Rockville, MD 6 68,417 8.8 4.8★ 42.1
7 Doral, FL 7 83,625 8.4 5★ 41.9
8 Boynton Beach, FL 7 83,095 8.4 4.8★ 40.4
9 Union, NJ 5 63,171 7.9 5★ 39.6
10 Hendersonville, TN 5 63,947 7.8 5★ 39.1
11 Gallatin, TN 4 52,489 7.6 5★ 38.1
12 Brentwood, CA 5 66,286 7.5 5★ 37.7
13 Summerville, SC 4 52,625 7.6 5★ 37.6
14 Wayne, NJ 4 54,096 7.4 5★ 37
15 Kissimmee, FL 6 84,756 7.1 4.9★ 34.7
16 DeSoto, TX 4 56,711 7.1 4.8★ 33.9
17 Greenville, SC 5 74,371 6.7 5★ 33.6
18 Wilmington, DE 5 73,176 6.8 4.9★ 33.5
19 Winter Haven, FL 4 59,975 6.7 5★ 33.3
20 Gardena, CA 4 58,921 6.8 4.8★ 32.9
21 Frederick, MD 6 89,537 6.7 4.9★ 32.8
22 Arlington Heights, IL 5 75,596 6.6 5★ 32.7
23 Pawtucket, RI 5 76,996 6.5 5★ 32.5
24 Mission Viejo, CA 6 91,601 6.6 4.9★ 32.1
25 Cedar Park, TX 5 78,380 6.4 5★ 31.9

Local angle for every row: "Sarasota ranks #1 nationally for karate" is a data-backed sentence, and so is every other rank on the list. Click any city for its full dojo lineup.

Cite this data

Suggested attribution: “The 25 Best Cities in America for Karate” — KarateClasses.net, 2026, linked to https://www.karateclasses.net/karate-stats/best-cities/. The tables are CC BY 4.0: chart them, quote them, publish them — just link back. Want a custom cut (by state, metro, or discipline)? Email us.

Download the full CSV Data updated 2026-07-19

Methodology: dojo counts and Google ratings from our continuously maintained national directory (4,577 karate dojos, 161,340 customer reviews; only genuine karate schools with a karate class on the schedule). Eligibility: city population ≥ 50,000 (US Census 2024 estimates) and ≥ 3 dojos. Score = (dojos ÷ population × 100,000) × median Google rating of the city's dojos. Cities are rolled up by the city name dojos list on their address, so suburbs score separately from their metro anchor. More lenses: America's Karate Capitals (raw counts and per-capita), the state stats hub, and the best-rated dojos by state.