NFL venue data
The Highest-Elevation NFL Stadiums, Ranked
By OverUnderWeather Research Desk
The highest NFL stadium is Denver's Empower Field at Mile High at about 5,280 feet. Then the list falls off a cliff: #2 Las Vegas is more than 3,200 feet lower and plays under a fixed roof, and 26 of the 30 stadiums sit below 1,000 feet. Below, every stadium ranked, with its roof type — because a roof decides whether elevation is the only thing that matters.
The short answer
Empower Field at Mile High, Denver: about 5,280 feet. Open air.
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas: about 2,060 feet, under a fixed roof.
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City: about 800 feet — 4,480 feet below Denver.
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans: slightly below sea level.
All 30 NFL stadiums ranked by elevation
Elevation above sea level at each stadium's own coordinates, from our stadium database.
| # | Stadium | Roof | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Broncos · Denver, CO | Open | 5,279 ft |
| 2 | Las Vegas Raiders · Las Vegas, NV | Fixed dome | 2,060 ft |
| 3 | Arizona Cardinals · Glendale, AZ | Retractable | 1,132 ft |
| 4 | Atlanta Falcons · Atlanta, GA | Retractable | 1,033 ft |
| 5 | Minnesota Vikings · Minneapolis, MN | Fixed dome | 850 ft |
| 6 | Kansas City Chiefs · Kansas City, MO | Open | 801 ft |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers · Pittsburgh, PA | Open | 748 ft |
| 8 | Indianapolis Colts · Indianapolis, IN | Retractable | 741 ft |
| 9 | Carolina Panthers · Charlotte, NC | Open | 699 ft |
| 10 | Cleveland Browns · Cleveland, OH | Open | 646 ft |
| 11 | Green Bay Packers · Green Bay, WI | Open | 636 ft |
| 12 | Dallas Cowboys · Arlington, TX | Retractable | 630 ft |
| 13 | Buffalo Bills · Orchard Park, NY | Open | 600 ft |
| 14 | Detroit Lions · Detroit, MI | Fixed dome | 600 ft |
| 15 | Chicago Bears · Chicago, IL | Open | 587 ft |
| 16 | Cincinnati Bengals · Cincinnati, OH | Open | 541 ft |
| 17 | New England Patriots · Foxborough, MA | Open | 430 ft |
| 18 | Tennessee Titans · Nashville, TN | Open | 367 ft |
| 19 | Washington Commanders · Landover, MD | Open | 289 ft |
| 20 | Baltimore Ravens · Baltimore, MD | Open | 184 ft |
| 21 | Los Angeles Rams & Chargers · Inglewood, CA | Fixed canopy | 125 ft |
| 22 | Philadelphia Eagles · Philadelphia, PA | Open | 108 ft |
| 23 | New York Giants & Jets · East Rutherford, NJ | Open | 98 ft |
| 24 | San Francisco 49ers · Santa Clara, CA | Open | 59 ft |
| 25 | Seattle Seahawks · Seattle, WA | Open | 56 ft |
| 26 | Houston Texans · Houston, TX | Retractable | 49 ft |
| 27 | Miami Dolphins · Miami Gardens, FL | Open | 36 ft |
| 28 | Jacksonville Jaguars · Jacksonville, FL | Open | 30 ft |
| 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Tampa, FL | Open | 26 ft |
| 30 | New Orleans Saints · New Orleans, LA | Fixed dome | -20 ft |
Rams and Chargers share SoFi Stadium; Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium, so 32 teams play in 30 stadiums. Snapshot taken 16 October 2026.
Why Denver stands alone
Air gets about 3% thinner for every 1,000 feet you climb. At Mile High the air is roughly 15–17% thinner than at sea level, so a kicked or thrown ball meets noticeably less drag. In Kansas City, the next-highest open-air stadium, the difference from sea level is only about 3% — too small to show up in a normal game. In our Denver altitude study, kickers made 68.0% of 50+ yard field goals at Mile High versus 62.4% at other outdoor stadiums.
What a roof changes — and what it doesn't
Five of the top eight stadiums have a roof. A roof cannot change air pressure, so a ball in Las Vegas still flies in air about 7% thinner than at sea level. What a roof removes is the weather: no wind, no rain, no cold. Those usually matter far more than 2,000 feet of elevation. See our guide to NFL dome and retractable-roof stadiums for how indoor games score against the closing total.
Temperature moves the real altitude
Cold air is denser and warm air is thinner, so the same stadium plays differently in September and December. A hot early-season afternoon in Denver makes the air even thinner than the elevation suggests; a frozen December night brings it back toward normal. Elevation is the fixed baseline — check the NFL weather page for the kickoff temperature and wind.
College football goes much higher: nine college stadiums sit above Denver, led by Wyoming at 7,205 feet. See the highest college football stadiums.
Method and sources
Elevations are the figures at each stadium's coordinates in our NFL stadium database, converted from metres to feet. Air-density figures are standard atmosphere values. Kicking figures come from our published Denver study. By the OverUnderWeather Research Desk.
Where this is applied
These findings feed the game-time read on every NFL venue page, using the same sample-size and significance rules published here.
OverUnderWeather Research Desk
Independent data analysis on public sports and weather records. Studies match historical game outcomes to archived game-window weather, apply pre-set sample and significance rules, and publish null results when that is what the data show. Editorial policy and corrections log.
Cite this research
Free to republish with a visible credit and a link to this page. Ready-made citations below — click to copy.
Frequently asked
What is the highest-elevation NFL stadium?
Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, home of the Broncos, at about 5,280 feet (1,609 m) — one mile above sea level. It is the only NFL venue above 2,100 feet.
What is the second-highest NFL stadium?
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas at about 2,060 feet. It has a fixed roof, so the ball never meets outside wind or weather. The highest open-air stadium after Denver is Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City at about 800 feet.
What is the lowest NFL stadium?
The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, which sits slightly below sea level (about -20 feet). The lowest open-air stadiums are Raymond James Stadium in Tampa (about 26 feet) and EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville (about 30 feet).
Does a roof cancel out altitude?
Not the thin air — a roof does not change air pressure, so a ball in Las Vegas still meets about 7% less drag than at sea level. What a roof removes is wind, rain and cold, which are usually much bigger effects on a game than 2,000 feet of elevation.
Do kicks really fly further in Denver?
Yes. In our Denver study, kickers made 68.0% of 50+ yard field goals at Mile High versus 62.4% at other outdoor venues, and teams attempt far more long kicks there.