Map Shows America’s Healthiest Cities

America has an obesity problem, heart disease and cancer diagnoses are rising, and health care premiums are skyrocketing. But not all states or cities are equally affected.

WalletHub looked at the 180 top U.S. cities across 41 indicators of good health, ranging from the cost of a medical visit to the average fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity levels.

“Staying healthy is a personal responsibility, and everyone should strive to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly and look after their mental health,” Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement.

“However, where people live can have a big influence on how successful they are at staying in good health, so the best cities are the ones that provide the greatest access to high-quality healthcare, green spaces, recreation centers, and healthy food.”

San Francisco, California, came in as the healthiest city with the lowest number of obese adults in the country, at just 19 percent of its population. Residents also tended to eat well and exercise frequently, and 100 percent in the report lived near a location they could engage in physical activity.

San Francisco was followed by Honolulu, Hawaii; Seattle, Washington; San Diego, California; and Washington, D.C., in the top five.

At the other end, the lowest-rated health scores were in Brownsville, Texas; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Columbus, Georgia.

While many California cities, such as San Jose and Anaheim, saw the lowest premature death rates, more rural areas like Augusta, Georgia, and Charleston, West Virginia, had the highest.

California was also a leader when it came to fruit and vegetable intake, while Memphis, Tennessee, and Tallahassee, Florida, had the highest percentages of adults not eating enough fruits and vegetables per day.

Cost of living can play a role when it comes to overall health, said Jia Yu, an associate professor at Southern Connecticut State University.

“A city that is affordable to housing, medical, and daily expenses, allows a comfortable standard of living,” Yu said in a statement. “It can reduce financial stress and lead to overall health and well-being. A city with easy access to healthcare and good quality of care eases the stress of being ill.”

Safer cities also make it easier for residents to achieve stronger mental health and emotional well-being, Yu added.

Many say that a healthy lifestyle is limited by finances, but Peter Muennig, a Columbia University professor quoted in the report, rejects the notion.

“There is no cost to having a better and healthier life,” Muennig said. “The investment that you make is in sweat and learning how to cook healthily. The return is both the financial and the intangible value of having a longer time on earth with fewer diseases and problems.”

There’s also a role for cities in boosting the health levels of the population.

“Pollution reduction efforts can include capping freeways with parks and filtering the air, diverting logistics hubs to areas outside of densely populated cities, increasing the amount of green space, increasing the number of bike lanes, increasing the number of bike share programs, and other modes of active transportation,” Muennig said.

Still, Sue Decotiis, a triple-board-certified medical weight loss doctor in New York City, cautioned Americans from taking the findings too literally, as there are different metrics around health care and access to food.

“Is any one specific city geographically healthier by nature? I don’t think so,” Decotiis told Newsweek. “I think it’s more of a socioeconomic issue. Poor cities are probably making unhealthy choices because they don’t have the money to buy healthy food.”

Decotiis also said there’s significant bodily stress you can take on if you live in a “decaying” city.

“Think about the people who gained weight during COVID due to lockdowns and stress,” Decotiis said. “It’s cultural, socio-economic, access, and knowledge about healthy eating habits.”