Unhealthiest cities in America as Southern states dominate - see full list

05 April 2023 , 11:46

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People wait outside a plasma donation centre in Brownsville, Texas (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The healthiest, and unhealthiest, cities across the United States have been revealed in new data. In a list comprised of 182 cities, including the 150 most populated, plus at least two of the most populated in each state, the Southern states dominated the bottom of the list as some of the unhealthiest places.

Each city was ranked by WalletHub across four key areas - health care, food, fitness, and green space.

It saw Brownsville, Texas, come out on the bottom as the unhealthiest of cities looked at, while San Francisco, California, ranked top.

Gulfport in Mississippi came in second bottom, with Shreveport Louisiana ranking just above. Above that came two cities in Georgia - Columbus and Augusta, making up the bottom five cities.

A historic cable car in San Francisco, California (Getty Images)

In terms of the healthiest cities, following San Francisco was Seattle, Washington, Honolulu, Hawaii, San Diego, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Seattle came in second for food, eighth for fitness, ninth for green space and 11th for health care, it was also the city with the second highest percentage of physically active adults.

Honolulu came in 2nd for green space, eighth for food, but 51st for health care and 74th for fitness. San Diego came in fifth when it came to both food and green space, 26th for fitness and 43rd for health care.

While Salt Lake City came in third for green space, sixth for fitness, 14th for food and 45th for health care - being tied fifth for the most dietitians and nutritionists per capita.

Shreveport, Louisiana, skyline over the Red River at dusk. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The data shows that where you live can play a big role in how healthy you are, something many people have had an understanding of for a while. However, the data shows the discrepancies across the country - which can have huge impacts on quality of life.

Brownsville sits on the western gulf of texas, right along the Mexico border. The city has a population of around 186,000 according to the 2020 census. With an average temperature of around 23C (74F), the city of Brownsville provides a comfortable climate for residents year-round.

Yet the city ranked low in several areas, including being the city with the fewest dieticians and nutritionists per capita - however, it did come in second for lowest cost of a medical visit.

In comparison, San Francisco, at the top of the list, excelled in several areas including the fourth highest number of healthy restaurants per capita and the second lowest percentage of adults not eating enough fruit and vegetables per day.

Voters wait in line to cast ballots at a polling location in Columbus, Georgia (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Brownsville ranked 169th in terms of health care, 182nd in terms of food and healthy eating options and habits, 182nd in terms of fitness and 172nd in terms of green spaces.

San Francisco ranked 30th in health care, but first in food and green space, while coming in 53rd for fitness. Average monthly cost of a fitness-club membership was high in the city, coming in tied 172nd for highest along with Washington, DC, New York and Juneau.

When it came to collecting and analysing the data, each of the 43 metrics were graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favourable conditions for a healthy lifestyle.

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The city's weighted average across all metrics was then determined to calculate the overall score, which was then used to rank the cities in order.

Employees work at the Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, Louisiana, (AFP via Getty Images)

Michael French, practitioner in residence at the school of health sciences, University of New Haven, said: "A list of the healthiest cities is a list of possibilites for health. One can be unhealthy in the healthiest places and vice versa. One must take advantage of the prvileges that the community affords you.

"Factors you cannot change, such as air and water quality, hours of sun, walkability, nutrition, religious/spiritual locations relevant to yourself, and health care resources are a great starting point when examining your potential health in a city. A city needs to offer the opportunity to take care of yourself and have the facilities and practitioners that are necessary for prevantative, chronic, and acute care.

"Affordability is also a critical factor in determining how healthy you will be able to be in a city. Ensuring you can afford where you are living and have time for the rest will reduce stress."

Fiona Leishman