Cities in the United States have participated in the bidding to host 22 Summer Olympics and 14 Winter Olympics, more than any other country. Before 1955, multiple cities from a country could bid for the same Olympic Games. Since 1955, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC, formerly USOC) has been responsible for choosing one candidate city that may bid for each edition of the Olympic Games, often requiring U.S. cities to bid against each other for the opportunity to submit a bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Before the USOC took responsibility for nominating cities, the United States was awarded hosting duties for the Summer Olympics twice, in Chicago (later moved to St. Louis) in 1904 and Los Angeles in 1932, and for the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. In some years, several American cities competed against one another for the IOC's approval and none of them received it, provoking the USOC to intervene.

For the Summer Olympics, the USOC nominated Detroit's bids four times in a row for the Games from 1960 through 1972. It then supported Los Angeles' bids for 1976 and 1980, before the city was successfully awarded the 1984 Summer Olympics. The USOC's next nominee, the Atlanta bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics, succeeded on the first try. The NYC 2012 and Chicago 2016 bids failed, while the Los Angeles bid for 2024 led to the city being awarded the 2028 Summer Olympics without competition.

For the Winter Olympics, the USOC's first nominee was successful, the candidacy of Olympic Valley, California, for 1960. The committee later unsuccessfully nominated Lake Placid's bid for 1968 and Salt Lake City's bid for 1972 before Denver, Colorado, was awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics (and later withdrew from its hosting duties). Lake Placid was subsequently awarded the 1980 Winter Olympics by default. Anchorage, Alaska, was the nominee for 1992 and 1994. The USOC returned its endorsement to Salt Lake City for 1998, and it was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics. The next American nominee for the Winter Olympics was Salt Lake City again, and it was awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics.

Summer Olympics 1904

After the first two editions of the Olympic Games were awarded to Athens and Paris, the IOC's first open bidding process was held for the 1904 Olympics at the 4th IOC Session in Paris in May 1901. Chicago civic leaders, including University of Chicago president William Rainey Harper, formed the International Olympian Games Association in February 1901 to plan for hosting the Olympics. Shortly before the session began, another American bid was submitted from St. Louis, which was then preparing to host the 1903 World's Fair. At the session, representatives of Chicago offered to put $100,000 () toward the games. Unable to compete with this, all other countries withdrew their bids before the IOC voted; cities which had previously expressed interest in the 1904 games included Berlin, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. The IOC delegates then voted between the choices of Chicago and St. Louis, with Chicago winning unanimously on May 21.Findling, John E. "Chicago Loses the 1904 Olympics", Journal of Olympic History 12:3, October 2004, pages 24–29."The Olympic Games: Chicago Wins a big Victory by Getting it for 1904", wire service report, via the Salisbury Evening Sun, May 21, 1901, front page.

However, after St. Louis was forced to postpone its World's Fair from 1903 to 1904, it began planning athletic events that would compete directly with the Olympics in Chicago. The Amateur Athletic Union favored St. Louis and planned to hold its national championships at the World's Fair. In the meantime, Chicago's plans for a new stadium on the shore of Lake Michigan seating 75,000 met considerable opposition from local leaders, including Aaron Montgomery Ward, putting the centerpiece of Chicago's Olympic bid into question. On December 23, 1902, fearing that the dispute would permanently damage the Olympic movement, the IOC asked its members to approve, by a postal vote, the transfer of the Olympic Games to St. Louis. When the votes were tallied, IOC founder Pierre de Coubertin telegraphed the Chicago committee on February 10, 1903, to inform them that the Games had been moved.

The resulting Games of the III Olympiad in St. Louis were overshadowed by the World's Fair, with events spread out across several months, and nearly 90 percent of participating athletes came from North America because of difficulties in traveling from Europe.

1916

The city of Cleveland, Ohio, began to prepare an Olympic bid in July 1910, with a citizens' committee established by Mayor Herman C. Baehr. Cleveland officials had discussed the possibility earlier, with Brookside Stadium being built in 1909 as a potential Olympic venue. Several other U.S. cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco (which was holding a world's fair in 1915), also considered a bid, and all of these cities lobbied the Amateur Athletic Union for its support. At its annual meeting in New York in November, the AAU endorsed Cleveland's candidacy.Lillstrung, Chris. "Cleveland once bid for the Olympics – and almost won", The News-Herald, August 2, 2016, Web. San Francisco continued to advocate for an Olympic Games to be held alongside the World's Fair in 1915,"No Olympic Games for San Francisco", wire service report, via Edmonton Journal, May 31, 1911, page 7. while Cleveland offered to host in 1916 or a potential Intercalated Games in 1914. Cleveland sought federal appropriations to support its bid, but was turned down by Congress in favor of funding construction of the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial.

American organizers had expected that they would have until 1912 to put together their bids. However, in May 1911, AAU secretary James E. Sullivan telegraphed from the 12th IOC Session in Budapest to report that Berlin had been chosen for the 1916 Games, and that no Olympics in between 1912 and 1916 would be considered."Cleveland Won't Get Olympic Meet", wire service report, via New Castle Herald, May 26, 1911. While this decision by the IOC was not final or official, and other cities around the world (including Budapest and Alexandria, Egypt) continued to pursue bids until Berlin was formally chosen in 1912,Kluge, Volker. "Cancelled but still counted, and never annulled: the Games of 1916", Journal of Olympic History 22:2, 2014, pages 9–17. the announcement put an end to the American efforts to bid for the Games.

After the 1916 Summer Olympics were thrown into doubt by the outbreak of World War I in Germany, several American cities volunteered as potential replacement hosts. Cleveland city councilman Clayton Townes revived the city's plans in September 1914, saying that 50,000 to 60,000 seats could be added to Brookside Stadium in as little as six months."Cleveland May Stage Olympic Games in 1916", The Plain Dealer, September 9, 1914, page eleven. San Francisco again suggested combining the event with its World's Fair, while the Chamber of Commerce in Cincinnati, Ohio, announced it was willing to cover the travel expenses of foreign competitors to the city. James E. Sullivan of the AAU suggested New York City as a possible site, but died unexpectedly before talks could develop further.Kluge, Volker. "Cancelled but still counted, and never annulled: the Games of 1916", Journal of Olympic History 22:2, 2014, pages 9–17. However, IOC president Pierre de Coubertin rejected all of these proposals out of hand, announcing in March 1915 that "the international committee has no right to withdraw the celebration of the Olympic games from the country to which this celebration has been given without consulting that country"."Games Are Germany's; But Olympics May Not be Held There", The Plain Dealer, March 19, 1915, page thirteen. As a result, the 1916 Games became the first edition of the event to be canceled altogether.

1920

Due to the disruption created by World War I, a host city for the 1920 Summer Olympics was not chosen until 1919. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC, wrote that "Atlanta, Cleveland, and Philadelphia had all three promised the earth" in their proposals to the IOC, but none of these American cities made a formal bid and no further consideration was given. The 1920 Olympics were held in Antwerp, Belgium.Mallon, Bill. The 1920 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary, McFarland & Company, 2015, page 3.

1924 and 1928

By the time the 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp, the IOC had already received 13 bids to host the 1924 Summer Olympics, including four American bids from Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Los Angeles sent a delegation to Antwerp led by local real estate developer William May Garland. Garland met with IOC members and presented to them the city's bid, which centered on its plans to build Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park. The minutes of the IOC session recorded that "Mr. Garland from Los Angeles made a brilliant presentation of the city's candidacy." However, Coubertin desired that his own home city of Paris would host in 1924, and he had already promised the 1928 Summer Olympics to Amsterdam. The final decision was postponed until the next IOC session in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1921.Siegel, Barry. Dreamers and Schemers: How an Improbable Bid for the 1932 Olympics Transformed Los Angeles from Dusty Outpost to Global Metropolis, University of California Press, 2020.

At Lausanne, Coubertin urged the committee members to approve his proposals for the 1924 and 1928 Olympics as a parting gift. Up to that point, all Olympic hosts had been approved by a unanimous vote of all committee members. When the host cities were chosen on June 2, the delegations from four countries opposed Coubertin's motion, but both proposals were approved. The candidate cities officially recorded for the 1924 Games were Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Paris, Prague, and Rome. Paris was chosen. The committee's attention then turned to the host for 1928, for which only Amsterdam and Los Angeles were recorded as candidates. Amsterdam was chosen.Mallon, Bill, and Ian Buchanan. "The Games of the VIIIth Olympiad (1924)" and "The Games of the IXth Olympiad (1928)", Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005, pages xlv–xlvii.

Both American delegates to the committee, Sloane and Bartow S. Weeks, were ill and could not attend the session. Gustavus Kirby and his secretary Fred Rubien traveled to Lausanne in their stead. Kirby told Coubertin at the beginning of the session that Los Angeles was still interested in hosting in either 1924 or 1928. The Americans were unaware of the meeting in which the hosts were chosen, and they came to a meeting the next day prepared to present on Los Angeles' behalf, only to be told that the decision had already been made.

1932

After the vote in Lausanne, William May Garland continued to correspond with Coubertin and befriended him. Garland was named as a member of the IOC himself, being officially elected on March 17, 1922."Elect William Garland to Olympic Committee: President of Los Angeles A. C. Member of International Body", Associated Press, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 18, 1922, page seven. With the Memorial Coliseum nearly finished, Garland traveled to the 21st IOC Session in Rome, which began on April 7, 1923. On the third day of the session, Garland presented Los Angeles' bid for the 1932 Summer Olympics. He argued that the city made an excellent Olympic host not only because of its new stadium, but also because it was far removed from the political turmoil of post–World War I Europe. The assembled committee members immediately and unanimously moved to award the 1932 Olympics to Los Angeles, without further debate and without considering bids from other cities.

1940