A CITY CAN’T get “fit” without two kinds of citizens. It needs loads of people like you filling up local parks and speeding along freshly paved bike lanes and generally having a blast outside or in rec centers. But it also needs elected officials actively responding to the needs of these constituents by setting health policy and creating new public spaces and making sure that pothole in the bike lane gets fixed pronto.
The 20 winners that follow have all figured out the right balance between their active citizens and their active leaders. But how exactly did we arrive at this list?
We analyzed 100 of America’s most populous cities and gave each an activity rating based on fitness guidelines, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and, on the flip side, the percentage of the population reporting inactivity. This rating contributed 50 percent of the weighted score.
Then we looked at general health, with our team determining the percent- age of the population reporting “good, very good, or excellent overall health,” according to the CDC and various state and county health records. We also pulled self-reported data about heart health and obesity. These three categories made up the other 50 percent of the weighted score, with obesity level carrying 25 percent, general health 15 percent, and cardiac health the remaining 10 percent.
After calculating all that, we found a clear correlation between raw data and fitness culture (how much a city creates opportunities for fitness and encourages connection). A city’s culture of activity can play a large role in persuading people to exercise with others, says Dan Giordano, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., cofounder of Bespoke Treatments, a physical-therapy clinic.
“These top cities engage people to be active—whether it’s biking, hiking, or walking,” says Michael Fredericson, M.D., of Stanford Medicine’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “Researchers now know that being in shape can involve more than working out in a gym.”
It can involve simply stepping outside and joining the community of active people in your city, even if—especially if—it didn’t make this list.
1. San Francisco
California / Fitness Score: 98.2
Although San Fran doesn’t have the highest good-health score (Madison took that one) or the lowest obesity percentage (Denver beat it out), it has the top activity score. It’s the epicenter of fitness tech, with Apple, Fitbit, and Strava nearby. So maybe members of the tech community are stoking one another’s activity goals to crush it in the 3,413 acres of open space and more than 220 parks where residents can run, swim, bike, throw a Frisbee, or do any other kind of high-energy thing in a hilly city built between the ocean and the bay.
2. Madison
Wisconsin / Fitness Score: 92.7
Madison’s five lakes provide residents with year-round fitness: ice skating and fishing in the winter; swimming, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding (and even SUP polo) in the summer. The city also has the second-highest activity score and the second-highest heart-health score.
3. Seattle
Washington / Fitness Score: 92.5
Donald Miralle//Getty Images A scene from the 2019 Rock’n’Roll Seattle Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.
Seattle has a striking 485-plus parks—and they’re not all open fields and blacktop loops. Gas Works Park weaves green space and trails through the remnants of a former industrial complex.
4. Denver
Colorado / Fitness Score: 90.8
According to ClassPass, a service connecting users to local fitness classes, Denver’s top three are at High Ride Cycle, CorePower Yoga, and barre3. Combine that with a strong culture of mountain biking, hiking, and backcountry skiing and you can feel this city sweat.
5. San Diego
California / Fitness Score: 87.8
hmlCA//Getty Images
Parks and nature preserves abound here, and one stretch of Solana Beach attracts a “very high” concentration of cyclists, reports Strava, an activity fitness tracker. The 1.2-kilometer path is wedged between the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve and Nature Center and Swami’s State Marine Conservation Area.
6. San Jose
California / Fitness Score: 87.3
Runners light up Strava along the Rancho San Antonio County Park, Stanford Dish, and Guadalupe River trails. All that cardio explains this city’s first-place heart-health score.
7. Salt Lake City
Utah / Fitness Score: 86.5
Along the base of the Wasatch Range resides rock-hard fitness. Downtown boasts Salt Lake City CrossFit, Ute CrossFit Sugarhouse, Brickwall CrossFit, Kirin CrossFit, and . . . you get the point.
8. Minneapolis
Minnesota / Fitness Score: 86.4
A high overall-health score and a low obesity percentage push this city upward despite its lower activity score. The Minneapolis area is home to the Mayo Clinic, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, the University of Minnesota Medical Center, and other ranked hospitals.
9. Burlington
Vermont / Fitness Score: 84.2
Within striking distance of ski resorts such as Stowe, Smugglers’ Notch, and Bolton Valley, Burlington is bustling come snow season. But nearby Lake Champlain also makes it a fishing, kayaking, and sailing destination.
10. Portland
Maine / Fitness Score: 83.3
Leading the U. S., this city has 18 breweries per 50,000 residents. Luckily, there’s no shortage of ways to work off carbs. Portland has 66 parks, 30 playgrounds, ten community gardens, and miles of walking and biking trails.
11. Colorado Springs
Colorado / Fitness Score: 82.1
Going for a hike here means huffing and puffing through the towering Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, or Broadmoor Seven Falls. The city claims 9,000-plus acres of parkland and 500 acres of trails.
12. Bridgeport
Connecticut / Fitness Score: 80.1
They’re yoga-crazed here, with four of Bridgeport’s top five ClassPass signups belonging to local studio Black Rock Yoga. Plus, the city has the sixth-lowest obesity percentage.
13. Sacramento
California / Fitness Score: 78.3
There’s plenty of yoga happening in Sacramento, too, reports ClassPass, but also hot Pilates, stationary-cycling classes, and InstaPhysique, which centers on the Megaformer, a fitness device.
14. Boise
Idaho / Fitness Score: 77.9
Credit this city’s commitment to building a network for walkers, runners, and cyclists. Its Ridge to Rivers laces 190 miles of trails from the Boise Peak down to the Boise Foothills. Twenty-five miles of separate Greenbelt pathways slink along both sides of the Boise River.
15. Billings
Montana / Fitness Score: 77.4
Find the top ClassPass classes at Black Orchid Yoga + Cycle and Billings Kettlebell Club. Strava reports heavy use of Swords Park for cyclists and Black Otter Trail for runners. Both routes take advantage of Billings’s 47 parks, which total 1,183 acres.
16. Los Angeles
California / Fitness Score: 76.1
Along a three-block stretch of West Third Street in Beverly Hills, there are ten fitness studios alone. Three blocks. This concentration of cardiovascular activity is indicative of the larger commitment L. A. as a whole has to group activity.
17. Durham
NorthCarolina / Fitness Score: 74.6
Although Durham has numerous other running and cycling paths, a standout is the American Tobacco Trail, which has a very high volume of runners and riders, per Strava. The trail stretches over 22 miles through the city of Durham while also connecting to Chatham and Wake counties.
18. Honolulu
Hawaii / Fitness Score: 73.7
You may think that natives just sunbathe all day, but ClassPass shows a strong interest in yoga, barre, and Pilates. Strava runners hit Diamond Head Beach Park.
19. Reno
Nevada / Fitness Score: 72.9
Gamble by night, run by day? Strava reports that the Truckee River Walk, Idlewild Park, Ophir Peak, Mayberry Park, and the Flume Trail are popular running routes for its users in and around the city.
20. Virginia Beach
Virginia / Fitness Score: 72.5
A three-mile boardwalk along the Atlantic Ocean collects runners panting through the fresh salt air, and the many trails in First Landing State Park and Shore Drive also draw a high volume of Strava cyclists.
THE OTHER 80
21. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA / Fitness Score 72.45 • 22. OAKLAND, CA (72.3) • 23. ALBUQUERQUE, NM (72.05) • 24. PORTLAND, OR (69.9) • 25. FARGO, ND (69.8) • 26. WASHINGTON, DC (69.45) • 27. MANCHESTER, NH (69.15) • 28. LINCOLN, NE (68.5) • 29. BOSTON, MA (68.0) • 30. TUCSON, AZ (64.8)
31. FRESNO, CA / Fitness Score 63.9 • 32. ST. PETERSBURG, FL (63.6) • 33. Raleigh, NC (63.5) • 34. STOCKTON, CA (61.8) • 35. ANCHORAGE, AK (60.5) • 36. ATLANTA, GA (60.15) • 37. SIOUX FALLS, SD (59.7) • 38. CHICAGO, IL (59.5) • 39. CHEYENNE, WY (58.2) • 40. GREENSBORO, NC (58.05)
41. ST. PAUL, MN / Fitness Score 58.05 • 42. PITTSBURGH, PA (56.95) • 43. RIVERSIDE, CA (56.8) • 44. NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON, TN (55.8) • 45. NEW YORK, NY (55.45) • 46. JERSEY CITY, NJ (54.65) • 47. AUSTIN, TX (54.3) • 48. PHOENIX, AZ (54.05) • 49. BUFFALO, NY (52.9) • 50. DES MOINES, IA (50.65)
51. CHARLOTTE, NC / Fitness Score 49.4 • 52. NORFOLK, VA (48.85) • 53. MILWAUKEE, WI (48.4) • 54. KANSAS CITY, MO (47.45) • 55. PLANO, TX (47.05) • 56. NEWARK, NJ (45.7) • 57. MIAMI, FL (45.6) • 58. WINSTON-SALEM, NC (44.55) • 59. OMAHA, NE (43.8) • 60. TAMPA, FL (42.65)
61. CINCINNATI, OH / Fitness Score 39.15 • 62. CLEVELAND, OH (39.05) • 63. PROVIDENCE, RI (39.05) • 64. ORLANDO, FL (37.65) • 65. NEW ORLEANS, LA (37.1) •66. LEXINGTON-FAYETTE, KY (36.45) • 67. BALTIMORE, MD (36.35) • 68. LAREDO, TX (35.85) • 69. WILMINGTON, DE (35.75) • 70. RICHMOND, VA (35.6)
71. COLUMBIA, SC / Fitness Score 34.95 • 72. COLUMBUS, OH (33.8) • 73. EL PASO, TX (33.3) • 74. CHESAPEAKE, VA (33.15) • 75. LUBBOCK, TX (31.6) • 76. LAS VEGAS, NV (30.65) • 77. ST. LOUIS, MO (28.45) • 78. DALLAS, TX (27.75) • 79. PHILADELPHIA, PA (27.7) • 80. HOUSTON, TX (27.6)
81. JACKSONVILLE, FL / Fitness Score 25.05 • 82. LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY, KY (23.7) • 83. INDIANAPOLIS CITY, IN (23.6) • 84. WICHITA, KS (20.7) • 85. SAN ANTONIO, TX (20.5) • 86. FORT WAYNE, IN (19.9) • 87. BATON ROUGE, LA (18.35) • 88. BAKERSFIELD, CA (18.15) • 89. LITTLE ROCK, AR (17.9) • 90. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (15)
91. JACKSON, MS / Fitness Score 13.65 • 92. DETROIT, MI (11.7) • 93. BIRMINGHAM, AL (11) • 94. MEMPHIS, TN (9.95) • 95. TOLEDO, OH (9.4) • 96. FORT WORTH, TX (9.05) • 97. TULSA, OK (8.85) • 98. CHARLESTON, WV (7.9) • 99. CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (3.55)
DEREK KAWAKAMI
I make time for my own self-maintenance, both physically and spiritually, incorporating mindfulness.
JACOB FREY
As far as go-to-healthy snacks are concerned, there is only one: a banana-and-peanut-butter sandwich.
DAVID HOLT
My favorite exercise is shooting hoops by myself. I could do this for hours if I had the time. It clears my head.
LUKE BRONIN
I try to be calm and steady even when things get tough and to respond to frustration and anger by listening in a serious way.
FRANCIS SUAREZ
Once or twice a day, I drink a protein shake with creatine and unsaturated fats.
