Season 42 Jeopardy! contestants - where they're from

The main table includes all players who made their first appearance on Jeopardy! in 2025-26. Thus, they exclude:

Jonathan Hugendubler, defending champion coming out of Season 41
The players in the "postseason" competitions, all of whom first appeared last season or earlier in this one:
- Second Chance — 27 players
- Champions Wildcard — 15 players
- Tournament of Champions — 21 players
The 18 players in the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament

"Originally from" introductions are not separated out in these statistics.

What's here:

Contestants by media market
Contestants by state/province
Second Chance
Champions Wildcard
2026 Tournament of Champions
2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament

(Credits: TitanTV for TV schedules for each market; ThinkTV for a listing of Canadian market sizes, enabling me to rank them properly with the U.S. markets; and the U.S. Census Bureau for KML files of county boundaries for use with Google Earth.)

Ranks represent market size estimates for 2024-25.

Up to date through Week 38 of Season 42 (2026-05-29).

Contestants by media market

Rank	Market	Station	Players
1	New York	WABC	33
10	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose	KGO	21
2	Los Angeles	KABC	18
8	Washington (Hagerstown)	WJLA	15
3	Chicago	WLS	13
9	Boston (Manchester)	WBZ	13
5	Philadelphia	WPVI	11
—	Toronto / Hamilton	—	7
17	Denver	KDVR	7
13	Seattle-Tacoma	KOMO	6
14	Detroit	WDIV	6
22	Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville)	WTVD	5
6	Houston	KTRK	4
7	Atlanta	WXIA	4
27	Pittsburgh	WPXI	4
29	Baltimore	WBFF	4
30	San Diego	KNSD	4
39	West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce	WPBF	4
77	Madison	WMTV	4
12	Phoenix (Prescott)	KTVK	3
24	St. Louis	KSDK	3
25	Indianapolis	WTHR	3
35	Columbus, OH	WBNS	3
36	Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson	WLOS	3
88	Syracuse	WSYT	3
4	Dallas-Fort Worth	KTVT	2
11	Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota)	WTSP	2
15	Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne	WFTV	2
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul	KARE	2
21	Charlotte	WCNC	2
23	Portland, OR	KATU	2
32	Hartford & New Haven	WTNH	2
34	Austin	KXAN	2
37	Cincinnati	WXIX	2
42	Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York	WHP	2
45	Birmingham (Anniston & Tuscaloosa)	WIAT	2
48	Albuquerque-Santa Fe	KRQE	2
49	Louisville	WLKY	2
50	New Orleans	WVUE	2
—	London / Woodstock / Wingham	—	2
75	Huntsville-Decatur (Florence)	WAAY	2
92	Champaign & Springfield-Decatur	WAND	2
100	South Bend-Elkhart	WSBT	2
104	Davenport-Rock Island-Moline	KWQC	2
107	Lincoln & Hastings-Kearney	KOLN	2
137	Rockford	WREX	2
19	Cleveland-Akron (Canton)	WOIO	1
20	Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto	KXTV	1
26	Nashville	WZTV	1
28	Salt Lake City	KJZZ	1
33	Kansas City	WDAF	1
38	Milwaukee	WDJT	1
40	Las Vegas	KLAS	1
—	Edmonton	—	1
43	Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek	WWMT	1
44	Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News	WVEC	1
51	Memphis	WREG	1
54	Buffalo	WIVB	1
55	Fresno-Visalia	KFSN	1
56	Richmond-Petersburg	WRIC	1
59	Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hazleton	WBRE	1
60	Knoxville	WBIR	1
61	Tulsa	KTUL	1
62	Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WTEN	1
65	Tucson (Sierra Vista)	KGUN	1
70	Roanoke-Lynchburg	WDBJ	1
81	Toledo	WTOL	1
83	Waco-Temple-Bryan	KCEN	1
89	El Paso (Las Cruces)	KDBC	1
91	Shreveport	KTBS	1
96	Fort Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers	KFSM	1
99	Jackson, MS	WLBT	1
102	Greenville-New Bern-Washington	WITN	1
115	Springfield-Holyoke	WWLP	1
117	Lansing	WILX	1
123	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo	KSBY	1
—	Barrie / Orillia	—	1
133	Wausau-Rhinelander	WJFW	1
—	Kelowna / Okanagan Valley / Kamloops	—	1
153	Rochester-Mason City-Austin	KIMT	1
159	Terre Haute	WTWO	1
162	Binghamton	WIVT	1
189	Lafayette, IN	WLFI	1

Contestants by state/province

State / Province	Players
California	46
New York	27
Illinois	19
Pennsylvania	15
Massachusetts	14
New Jersey	11
Texas	10
Ontario	10
Virginia	9
Florida	8
Michigan	8
Indiana	8
Ohio	7
North Carolina	7
Colorado	7
District of Columbia	7
Washington	6
Maryland	6
Wisconsin	6
Georgia	4
Arizona	4
Missouri	4
South Carolina	4
Alabama	4
Connecticut	4
Tennessee	3
Minnesota	3
Louisiana	3
Oregon	2
New Mexico	2
Nebraska	2
British Columbia	1
Alberta	1
Kentucky	1
Oklahoma	1
Utah	1
Nevada	1
Arkansas	1
Mississippi	1
West Virginia	1
Delaware	1

Second Chance Competition

Rank	Market	Station	Players
1	New York	WABC	6
2	Los Angeles	KABC	3
3	Chicago	WLS	2
9	Boston (Manchester)	WBZ	2
69	Honolulu	KGMB	2
—	Toronto / Hamilton	—	1
8	Washington (Hagerstown)	WJLA	1
11	Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota)	WTSP	1
19	Cleveland-Akron (Canton)	WOIO	1
—	Vancouver / Victoria	—	1
20	Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto	KXTV	1
21	Charlotte	WCNC	1
23	Portland, OR	KATU	1
28	Salt Lake City	KJZZ	1
50	New Orleans	WVUE	1
63	Lexington	WKYT	1
72	Flint-Saginaw-Bay City	WNEM	1

Champions Wildcard

Rank	Market	Station	Players
1	New York	WABC	2
8	Washington (Hagerstown)	WJLA	2
—	Toronto / Hamilton	—	1
6	Houston	KTRK	1
9	Boston (Manchester)	WBZ	1
17	Denver	KDVR	1
29	Baltimore	WBFF	1
30	San Diego	KNSD	1
45	Birmingham (Anniston & Tuscaloosa)	WIAT	1
69	Honolulu	KGMB	1
72	Flint-Saginaw-Bay City	WNEM	1
78	Portland-Auburn	WMTW	1
79	Rochester, NY	WROC	1

2026 Tournament of Champions

Rank	Market	Station	Players
1	New York	WABC	3
8	Washington (Hagerstown)	WJLA	2
10	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose	KGO	2
4	Dallas-Fort Worth	KTVT	1
5	Philadelphia	WPVI	1
9	Boston (Manchester)	WBZ	1
13	Seattle-Tacoma	KOMO	1
—	Vancouver / Victoria	—	1
23	Portland, OR	KATU	1
30	San Diego	KNSD	1
33	Kansas City	WDAF	1
35	Columbus, OH	WBNS	1
51	Memphis	WREG	1
82	Charleston-Huntington	WSAZ	1
100	South Bend-Elkhart	WSBT	1
104	Davenport-Rock Island-Moline	KWQC	1
134	Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Houston	WTVA	1

2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament

Rank	Market	Station	Players
10	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose	KGO	2
1	New York	WABC	1
2	Los Angeles	KABC	1
4	Dallas-Fort Worth	KTVT	1
8	Washington (Hagerstown)	WJLA	1
13	Seattle-Tacoma	KOMO	1
14	Detroit	WDIV	1
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul	KARE	1
17	Denver	KDVR	1
23	Portland, OR	KATU	1
40	Las Vegas	KLAS	1
44	Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News	WVEC	1
45	Birmingham (Anniston & Tuscaloosa)	WIAT	1
58	Little Rock-Pine Bluff	KATV	1
95	Baton Rouge	WBRZ	1
112	Johnstown-Altoona-State College	WATM	1
189	Lafayette, IN	WLFI	1