New York metro area touts $3.5 billion impact from World Cup, silent on full costs from transit overruns and hosting FIFA

On July 19, 80,663 packed MetLife Stadium to watch Argentina and Spain fight for the World Cup.

And they weren’t alone: tens of thousands more filled bars and watch parties across New York and New Jersey, from a 50,000-person free viewing on Central Park’s Great Lawn to Times Square, where Argentina supporters staged a fan takeover the night before kickoff.

And that was just the region: Millions more watched from bars, living rooms, and fan zones across the rest of the country and the world.

It turns out all the hubbub the World Cup created appeared to bring in a pretty penny for the region.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup generated $3.5 billion in total economic output for the New York and New Jersey region, according to a final analysis shared with Fortune by the FIFA World Cup 2026 New York New Jersey Host Committee—beating the tournament’s own pre-event projection of $3.3 billion.

The report, conducted by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, found the $1.9 billion in direct spending during the tournament rippled out to $3.5 billion in total economic activity once indirect and induced effects were counted.

More than 645,000 fans attended the region’s eight matches, including the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium, while another 626,300 non-local visitors traveled to New York or New Jersey for Official Fan Events and related programming.

Together they spent $1.7 billion in the regional economy; the Host Committee, FIFA, and other stakeholders added another $286 million in operational spending.

That’s not the end of it.

The tournament also led to the creation of 27,424 total jobs, including nearly 18,000 directly tied to World Cup operations and visitor spending.

Food and beverage businesses saw the largest employment gain, at roughly 4,500 total jobs, followed by transportation and lodging at about 4,400 and 4,000 jobs, respectively.

Those jobs translated into $1.4 billion in total labor income.

The tax revenue, however, told a smaller story.

Of the $3.5 billion in total economic impact, $759.2 million flowed back to government coffers as tax revenue, about 22 cents of every dollar the tournament generated, split between $414.2 million for state and local governments and $344.9 million federal.