Season 36 Jeopardy! contestants - where they're from

The main table includes all players who made their first appearance on Jeopardy! in 2019-20. Thus, they don't take into account:

The contestants in the 2020 College Championship are credited in the main table according to their given hometowns, not the location of their schools; a separate table at the bottom lists the school locations.

What's here:

A side-by-side comparison of players by media market data for Seasons 33, 34, 35, and 36.

Both challengers have hailed from the same media market on three occasions this season: September 26, October 9, and March 18 (all Washington, DC).

(Credits: Zap2it & TitanTV for TV schedules for each market; John Coryat (yes, that's actually the last name) for ZIP code maps; ThinkTV for a listing of Canadian market sizes, enabling me to rank them properly with the U.S. markets; and Ads for Carts for the lookup tools I use for both American and Canadian DMAs.)

Market size ranks are updated for 2019-20 (source: Nielsen Media Research).

Complete for all of Season 36 (2020-06-12), including the separate table for the Tournament of Champions, and a separate table for the College Championship contestants by location of their schools.

Contestants by media market

RankMarketStationPlayersRegularCollegeTeachers
1New YorkWABC444202
7Washington (Hagerstown)WJLA393621
2Los AngelesKABC302910
6San Francisco-Oakland-San JoseKGO201910
9Boston (Manchester)WBZ201802
3ChicagoWLS181512
4PhiladelphiaWPVI111010
13Seattle-TacomaKOMO10901
14DetroitWDIV7601
17DenverKDVR6510
18Orlando-Daytona Beach-MelbourneWFTV6411
36West Palm Beach-Fort PierceWPBF6501
15Minneapolis-St. PaulKARE5410
29San DiegoKNSD5500
40AustinKXAN5500
Toronto / Hamilton4400
10AtlantaWXIA4400
16Miami-Fort LauderdaleWPLG4310
Vancouver / Victoria4400
22Portland, ORKATU4400
26BaltimoreWBFF4400
34Columbus, OHWBNS4400
37CincinnatiWXIX4400
79Portland-AuburnWMTW4400
23St. LouisKSDK3300
27Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville)WTVD3300
48LouisvilleWLKY3300
96Burlington-PlattsburghWPTZ3300
5Dallas-Fort WorthKTXA2110
19Cleveland-Akron (Canton)WOIO2200
28NashvilleWZTV2101
30Salt Lake CityKJZZ2200
33Hartford & New HavenWTNH2200
35MilwaukeeWDJT2200
41JacksonvilleWTLV2110
44Birmingham (Anniston & Tuscaloosa)WIAT2200
Ottawa / Gatineau2200
51MemphisWREG2200
Calgary / Lethbridge2200
58TulsaKTUL2200
60Wilkes Barre-Scranton-HazletonWBRE2200
69Roanoke-LynchburgWDBJ2101
76Rochester, NYWROC2200
112LansingWILX2200
11Phoenix (Prescott)KTVK1100
21CharlotteWCNC1100
24PittsburghWPXI1100
25IndianapolisWTHR1010
31San AntonioKENS1100
38Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-AndersonWLOS1100
39Las VegasKLAS1100
42Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport NewsWVEC1100
46Albuquerque-Santa FeKRQE1100
50New OrleansWVUE1100
52BuffaloWIVB1100
54Richmond-PetersburgWRIC1100
56Providence-New BedfordWPRI1100
59Albany-Schenectady-TroyWTEN1100
61KnoxvilleWBIR1100
62Little Rock-Pine BluffKATV1010
65Tucson (Sierra Vista)KGUN1100
66HonoluluKGMB1100
70SpokaneKHQ1100
75Columbia, SCWOLO1100
78Huntsville-Decatur (Florence)WAAY1100
84Paducah-Cape Girardeau-HarrisburgWPSD1010
85Colorado Springs-PuebloKKTV1100
86ShreveportKTBS1100
94Baton RougeWBRZ1100
97Myrtle Beach-FlorenceWBTW1100
98South Bend-ElkhartWSBT1100
109Tallahassee-ThomasvilleWCTV1100
111Springfield-HolyokeWWLP1100
119MaconWMAZ1100
121Traverse City-CadillacWPBN1100
124Monterey-SalinasKSBW1001
125BakersfieldKBAK1100
138RockfordWREX1100
142LubbockKCBD1100
161BinghamtonWIVT1100
163MissoulaKPAX1100
194Greenwood-GreenvilleWXVT-LD1001

Contestants by state/province

State / ProvincePlayersRegularCollegeTeachers
California575421
New York393801
Florida191432
Illinois191612
Massachusetts181701
District of Columbia171700
Virginia161411
Maryland131111
Washington121101
Michigan111001
Pennsylvania111010
New Jersey101000
Ohio101000
Texas9810
Colorado7610
Ontario6600
Georgia5500
Minnesota5410
North Carolina5500
Tennessee5401
British Columbia4400
Maine4400
Missouri4310
New Hampshire4301
Alabama3300
Connecticut3201
Kentucky3300
Louisiana3300
Oregon3300
Alberta2200
Arizona2200
Delaware2200
Oklahoma2200
South Carolina2200
Utah2200
Vermont2200
Wisconsin2200
Arkansas1010
Hawaii1100
Indiana1010
Mississippi1001
Montana1100
Nevada1100
New Mexico1100
Rhode Island1100
West Virginia1100

2019 Tournament of Champions

RankMarketStationPlayers
10AtlantaWXIA3
1New YorkWABC1
3ChicagoWLS1
4PhiladelphiaWPVI1
13Seattle-TacomaKOMO1
15Minneapolis-St. PaulKARE1
17DenverKDVR1
18Orlando-Daytona Beach-MelbourneWFTV1
24PittsburghWPXI1
30Salt Lake CityKJZZ1
39Las VegasKLAS1
62Little Rock-Pine BluffKATV1
185Bend, ORKOHD1

Of the fifteen ToC competitors, only Eric R. Backes is billed as being from a different town than his original Jeopardy! appearance (previously Austin, TX).

2020 College Championship by school

RankMarketStationPlayersSchool
2Los AngelesKABC1Southern California
3ChicagoWLS1Northwestern
4PhiladelphiaWPVI1Princeton
15Minneapolis-St. PaulKARE1Minnesota
24PittsburghWPXI1Carnegie Mellon
25IndianapolisWTHR1Indiana
29San DiegoKNSD1UC San Diego
33Hartford & New HavenWTNH1Yale
40AustinKXAN1Texas
51MemphisWREG1Ole Miss
62Little Rock-Pine BluffKATV1Hendrix College
69Roanoke-LynchburgWDBJ1Liberty
106Johnstown-Altoona-State CollegeWATM1Penn State
109Tallahassee-ThomasvilleWCTV1Florida State
156GainesvilleWGFL1Florida