“Location matters when it comes to health.”
That’s the central theme behind WalletHub’s latest study on the ”healthiest" cities in the country.
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The study examines over 180 of America’s most populated cities to determine which cities score best on factors like diets and fitness.
“Staying healthy is a personal responsibility, and everyone should strive to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly and look after their mental health,” says Chip Lupo, an analyst for WalletHub. “However, where people live can have a big influence on how successful they are at staying in good health.”
The specific factors that researchers used for this study are as follows:
- Health Care (25%): Includes rates of premature deaths, mental health, mental health counselors, physical health, family doctors, dentists, costs of medical visits, costs of dental visits, costs of basic medicine, hospital quality, hospital beds, health insurance coverage, and share of adults seeking healthcare
- Food (25%): Includes fruit/vegetable consumption, farmer’s markets, gourmet specialties, healthy restaurants, dieticians/nutritionists, Google search interest in “Healthy Eating,” obese residents, and access to healthy foods
- Fitness (25%): Includes share of adults engaging in any physical activity, well-being “physical” score, fitness/instruction centers, cost of fitness-club memberships, weight loss centers, fitness trainers/aerobic instructors, and intramural leagues
- Green Space (25%): Includes parkland acres, park quality, hiking trails, walk scores, bike scores, physical activity access, city “greenness,” and recreation access
At the top of WalletHub’s ranking is San Francisco (No. 1), Honolulu (No. 2), and Seattle (No. 3).
In Florida, though, the highest-ranked place is the City Beautiful itself: Orlando at No. 27.
In particular, Orlando scored highly in terms of its dietary and fitness access, though it lagged a bit in terms of healthcare services.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Florida ranking is as follows:
| State Rank | National Rank | City | Total Score | Healthcare Rank | Food Rank | Fitness rank | Green Space Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Orlando | 55.64 | 80 | 18 | 24 | 44 |
| 2 | 41 | Tampa | 53.89 | 75 | 22 | 31 | 65 |
| 3 | 46 | Ft. Lauderdale | 52.35 | 112 | 24 | 75 | 48 |
| 4 | 48 | Miami | 52.11 | 101 | 6 | 129 | 68 |
| 5 | 55 | St. Petersburg | 51.26 | 91 | 56 | 32 | 62 |
| 6 | 65 | Pembroke Pines | 50.19 | 76 | 92 | 47 | 35 |
| 7 | 91 | Jacksonville | 46.92 | 133 | 81 | 72 | 74 |
| 8 | 124 | Tallahassee | 42.87 | 83 | 159 | 77 | 142 |
| 9 | 138 | Hialeah | 40.24 | 144 | 55 | 146 | 165 |
| 10 | 146 | Cape Coral | 39.16 | 155 | 150 | 107 | 163 |
| 11 | 153 | Port St. Lucie | 38.20 | 120 | 136 | 113 | 179 |
