Study shows affordability of attending games in every MLB city

July 17 (UPI) -- A new study shows the affordability of a Major League Baseball outing in every city, revealing the Chicago Cubs as the most expensive ticket in baseball.

ValuePenguin found that the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles are the most affordable teams for a family looking for a baseball outing.

The Cubs, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies are the least affordable teams to watch, according to the study.

ValuePenguin's analysts explored the prices and incomes in every Major League Baseball city for the study. According to the report, Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs fans pay more than twice as much for tickets at their respective home stadiums than fans of the Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves. Tickets for the former average about $50 while the latter sets fans back about $20.

Analysts factored in the tab for three tickets, rounding up the 2.58 people who live in the average United States household. The study compensates for two beers, a soda, three hot dogs and the cost of parking. The tabs for concessions in Tampa Bay and Phoenix ran up from about $30, while it set fans back at least $60 in Chicago, Boston and at Yankee Stadium.

The disparity is striking.

In Phoenix, the tickets and extras set fans back nearly $100. In Boston, fans paid nearly $300. The study went a step further, dividing those costs by the average hourly income from the respective metropolitan areas from where the team's fans live.

Fans have to work about 4.5 hours on average to pay for a trip to the ballpark.

Athletics fans have to work at least 3.2 hours to afford $73.38 in tickets, $20 in parking, a $4.75, two beers and three hot dogs, for a grand total of $124.63. Some of the cities in the study benefited from above-average incomes and below-average costs. The average price tag in Washington, D.C. was above the norm, but its median income of $92,324 was the highest of all the metro areas.

Diamondbacks fans in Phoenix have to work at least 3.3 hours to attend a game with three people, while Padres, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles fans have to work about 3.4 hours to watch games in their respective cities.

The total cost for tickets, food, drink and parking in Boston is the highest in the United States. Red Sox fans have to pay $235.62 and work about 6.5 hours to afford Fenway Park. Cubs fans have to work about 7.2 hours to afford Wrigley Field, while Yankees fans need to work 6.6 hours.

Cardinals fans pay about $155.47 for a night out with the tickets and extras, about 10 percent more than the average for all ballparks. But incomes in St. Louis are about 20 percent lower than the average for all MLB cities. Cardinals fans have to work about 5.9 hours to afford a night out at the ballpark. Philadelphia Phillies fans need to work about 5.7 hours.

In Chicago, the total cost of going to a Cubs game is about $75 more than going to a White Sox game, when accounting for three seats, food, drink and parking. If you are in Los Angeles, it cost about the same to go to a Los Angeles Dodgers game or Los Angeles Angels game. The total cost to see the Dodgers is about $137.70, while it takes $133.35 for three people to attend, eat, drink and park at an Angels game.