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Do you think you live in a “healthy” city? Is there a concerted effort to promote wellness, provide nutritious food and offer recreational facilities where you live? What about reasonable healthcare costs or keeping the parks clean and well-maintained? These are just some of the things that make for a “healthy” city.
To determine which towns prioritize their residents’ well-being, the folks over at WalletHub compared more than 170 of the most populated U.S. cities across 40 key indicators of good health. Their data set ranges from cost of a doctor visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to fitness clubs per capita and more. (A full description of the methodology used can be read here.)
What they discovered was that 11 of the 25 “healthiest” cities in America are located in the state of California. Is this really a surprise to anyone? They also learned that many of the larger cities in each state, such as Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Boston, were also among the most “healthy.”
When it comes to health care, Overland Park (KS) took the top spot, followed by Irvine (CA), Sioux Falls (SD), Virginia Beach, and Burlington (VT).
As for food, San Francisco is ranked number one, with New York City, Honolulu, Portland (OR), and Los Angeles filling out the top five.
The city that ranked highest for fitness was Scottsdale (AZ) then Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, and San Diego.
San Francisco was also the best when it comes to “green space” (parks, trails, etc.). Seattle, Washington D.C., Santa Clarita (CA) and Portland (OR) round out the top five in this regard.
The 10 healthiest cities overall in America look like this…
1. San Francisco, CA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Portland, OR
4. San Diego, CA
5. Washington, DC
6. Burlington, VT
7. Scottsdale, AZ
8. Honolulu, HI
9. Irvine, CA
10. Denver, CO
While these are the 10 unhealthiest cities overall in the study…
165. Memphis, TN
166. Corpus Christi, TX
167. Jackson, MS
168. Detroit, MI
169. Fort Smith, AR
170. Gulfport, MS
171. Shreveport, LA
172. Augusta, GA
173. Laredo, TX
174. Brownsville, TX
Use your mouse to view the data on this interactive map to see how all 174 cities fared.
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Check out the full list, as well as the rest of the study, including some expert analysis here.