The Results Are in! The Unhealthiest Cities in the U.S. Are...
BetterDoctor has ranked the unhealthiest cities in the U.S. (Photo: Thinkstock)
Is it any surprise that the former home of Elvis — the man who famously ate peanut butter, fried banana, and bacon sandwiches — ranks as the unhealthiest city in America?
Yes, Memphis, Tennessee is the land of overeating, bad habits, low physical fitness rates, and pathetic access to good healthcare, according to BetterDoctor, which just released its first ranking of the healthiest and unhealthiest cities across the country.
And the healthiest city in the country is…. Boston, thanks to a greater percentage of residents covered by health insurance coverage than any other city, plus great healthcare and a population that takes exercise seriously. For instance, 80.4 percent of Bostonians reported physical activity in the past 30 days, while only 71.7 percent of Memphis residents reported having any physical activity or exercise.
Jogging along the Charles River in Boston (Photo: Thinkstock)
Using a 100-point composite index, BetterDoctor ranked the 50 largest cities in the U.S. by evaluating physical fitness (exercise rates, eating habits, chronic health problems, disease rates, access to parks and recreational activities, and more), healthcare (doctor access, doctor quality), and the percentage of residents with health insurance coverage.
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“In short, the higher-ranked cities tend to have an ecosystem of health and fitness that starts early, and this is evident in their state regulations for school fitness, local healthcare programs and regulations, spending on outdoor space and exercise habits of residents,” pointed out Better Doctor’s consumer insights researcher Divya Raghavan, “The lower-ranked cities tended to have less parkland, higher obesity rates, and more stringent state requirements for physical education in schools.”
And Memphis really beat the competition: it was almost a full 10 points below the second unhealthiest place on the list: Oklahoma City.
Minneapolis ranked as the second healthiest city (Photo: Thinkstock)
Surprisingly, Minneapolis — a place that’s not exactly known for trim figures — ranked as the second healthiest city. According to Raghavan, “The city’s high exercise rate and excellent doctor-to-resident ratio helped it secure our ranking’s second position.”
Here’s a look at the cities that had the lowest rankings — and the highest.
The Top 25 Unhealthiest Cities
(each city’s total score on a 100-point scale is shown in parentheses)
1.) Memphis, TN (15.8)
2.) Oklahoma City, OK (24.1)
3.) Louisville, KY (26.3)
4.) San Antonio, TX (27.3)
5.) Nashville, TN (29.0)
6.) Indianapolis, IN (29.5)
7.) Las Vegas, NV (29.8)
8.) New Orleans, LA (30.8)
9.) Los Angeles, CA (32.7)
10.) Jacksonville, FL (34.6)
11.) Detroit, MI (34.7)
12.) Riverside, CA (35.1)
13.) Phoenix, AZ (35.6)
14.) Orlando, FL (36.7)
15.) Tampa, FL (38.2)
16.) Miami, FL (38.3)
17.) Columbus, OH (38.5)
18.) Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (38.9)
19.) Houston, TX (40.0)
20.) Kansas City, MO (40.0)
21.) Charlotte, NC (40.1)
22.) Birmingham, AL (42.2)
23.) Cleveland, OH (42.5)
24.) Virginia Beach, VA (42.9)
25.) Milwaukee, WI (43.4)
The Top 25 Healthiest Cities
1.) Boston, MA (74.5)
2.) Minneapolis, MN (73.6)
3.) Washington, DC (72.6)
4.) San Francisco, CA (66.4)
5.) Hartford, CT (62.7)
6.) Pittsburgh, PA (60.1)
7.) San Jose, CA (58.6)
8.) Salt Lake City, UT (58.5)
9.) Seattle, WA (57.7)
10.) Cincinnati, OH (57.6)
11.) Portland, OR (56.7)
12.) Denver, CO (56.6)
13.) Sacramento, CA (56.6)
14.) Atlanta, GA (55.9)
15.) San Diego, CA (55.3)
16.) Baltimore, MD (55.0)
17.) St. Louis, MO (54.7)
18.) Austin, TX (53.9)
19.) Raleigh, NC (52.7)
20.) Providence, RI (51.3)
21.) Buffalo, NY (50.3)
22.) Richmond, VA (48.6)
23.) Chicago, IL (48.4)
24.) New York, NY (47.7)
25.) Philadelphia, PA (44.0)
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