Which cities are the healthiest, unhealthiest?

With employer-provided healthcare plan costs expected to rise between 8% and 9% in 2025, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2025’s Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America.

To identify the places where health is a priority, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 41 key metrics. The data set ranges from the cost of a medical visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to the share of physically active adults.

Healthiest Cities                            Unhealthiest Cities

1. San Francisco, Calif.                     173. Jackson, Miss.

2. Honolulu, Hawaii                           174. Memphis, Tenn.

3. Seattle, Wash.                               175. Fort Smith, Ark.

4. Salt Lake City, Utah                      176. Corpus Christi, Texas

5. San Diego, Calif.                           177. Huntington, W.Va.

6. Portland, Ore.                               178. Laredo, Texas

7. Denver, Colo.                                 179. Columbus, Ga.

8. Minneapolis, Minn.                       180. Shreveport, La.

9. Washington, D.C.                          181. Gulfport, Miss.

10. Huntington Beach, Calif.            182. Brownsville, Texas

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Key Stats:

• Overland Park, Kan. has the lowest share of physically unhealthy adults, which is 2.4 times lower than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest.
• Laredo, Texas, has the lowest cost per doctor’s visit, which is 3.1 times less expensive than in Juneau, Alaska, the city with the highest.
• Portland, Maine, has the lowest share of adults eating fruits less than once daily, which is 1.6 times lower than in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the city with the highest.
• Garland, Texas and Columbus, Ga., have the lowest average monthly cost for a fitness-club membership, which is 14.8 times less expensive than in New York, the city with the highest.

In-Depth Look at the Healthiest Cities:

San Francisco, Calif.

San Francisco is the healthiest city in America, in part because it has the second-lowest share of obese adults in the country, at just 18% of the population. This is helped by the fact that San Francisco has the second-lowest share of people who eat less than one serving of fruits or vegetables per day, and 100% of the population lives reasonably close to a location where they can do some sort of physical activity.

The Golden Gate City spends more per capita on parks and recreation than all major cities except one, allowing people to enjoy well-maintained nature and physical activity, and it’s also one of the most walkable and bikeable cities. Many people can get in their daily exercise on their way to and from work, local stores or restaurants.

Speaking of restaurants, San Francisco has some of the most healthy restaurants per capita, and it’s one of the best cities when it comes to vegetarian and gluten-free options per capita.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu isn’t just a glamorous tourist destination – it’s also the second healthiest city in the country. Honolulu is a great city for mental health in particular, with around 13% of adults having 14 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month.

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The city doesn’t neglect physical health, either. Over 95% of adults have health insurance coverage, along with 98% of children, which puts Honolulu in the top 25 nationally. Honolulu residents can get healthy food straight from the source, too, as the city has the most farmers markets per capita. In addition, residents can stay fit while enjoying beautiful scenery, with the most hiking trails per capita.

Seattle, Wash.

Seattle is the third-healthiest city in America, boasting the highest physical activity rates in the country, with 87% of adults participating in the past month. In addition, Seattle is among the top cities of the country when it comes to parks and recreation spending per capita, which ensures that residents have a lot of well-maintained places to stay active.

Seattle residents also search Google for health-related terms like “healthy dinner ideas” and “health food stores” more than people in most other cities, which shows that they are interested in maintaining a good diet.

The Emerald City is among the greenest cities in America, too. Having a clean environment and promoting sustainability help boost residents’ health.