The 5 best cities for an active lifestyle in 2026 — and the 5 worst
Some American cities provide ample outdoor and recreational activities, while others just offer miles of highways
What’s the point of living in a city if you’re spending all day in your car? But some cities don’t make it easy to get outside, exercise, and enjoy nature.
WalletHub set out to find the best cities for physical activities. It looked at the 100 most populated cities across a series of factors, focusing on activity access, participation, and cost.
“The top cities for staying active offer opportunities for all types of people, from those who prefer team sports to people who simply want to get their daily exercise by walking or biking to work,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “They also tend to be large cities that still have a close proximity to beautiful natural areas for hiking and swimming.”
Continue reading to see the five best — and the five worst.
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5th best: Los Angeles, California
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Los Angeles has relatively low average fitness-club fees at $47.46 per month and strong access to exercise opportunities, with 97.95% of residents living near parks or recreational facilities. The city benefits from proximity to the ocean, though active commuting remains limited, with 3.8% of workers biking or walking to work.
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4th best: Chicago, Illinois
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Chicago offers extensive fitness infrastructure, ranking near the top for fitness centers per capita and access to exercise opportunities at 99.16%. The city is generally bike-friendly by urban standards and has a relatively low average tennis-court rental cost of $13.12. About 7.1% of workers bike or walk to work, although the winters make it more difficult.
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3rd best: San Francisco, California
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San Francisco stands out for outdoor activity, with the lowest share of physically inactive adults at 18.4% and the highest share of workers who bike or walk to work at 13.3%. Access to exercise opportunities reaches 100%, and the city is highly supportive of biking and walking despite higher fitness-club fees.
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2nd best: New York City, New York
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New York City ranks first in walkability and has one of the highest rates of workers who bike or walk to work at 10.9%. Nearly all residents have access to exercise opportunities at 99.66%, though fitness-club fees are the highest at $157 per month.
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Best: Honolulu, Hawaii
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Honolulu ranks first overall, pairing one of the lowest shares of physically inactive adults at 22.5% with strong access to exercise opportunities at 96.61%. It offers abundant outdoor activity thanks to its beaches, while fitness-club fees remain moderate at $53.67.
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5th worst: San Bernardino, California
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San Bernardino has a high share of physically inactive adults at 33.5% and very low active commuting, with just 1.5% of workers biking or walking to work. Access to exercise opportunities is limited to 86.76%, and overall bike-friendliness is low.
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4th worst: Fresno, California
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Fresno posts low active commuting, with 2.0% of workers biking or walking to work, and limited access to exercise opportunities at 83.79%. Tennis-court rental costs are high at $75 per hour, and biking infrastructure is weak.
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3rd worst: Fort Wayne, Indiana
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Fort Wayne has 28.3% of adults physically inactive and just 1.8% of workers biking or walking to work. It does have relatively low bowling and fitness club costs, though conditions for biking are generally poor.
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2nd worst: Irving, Texas
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Irving reports only 1.2% of workers biking or walking to work and limited recreational infrastructure per capita. Access to exercise opportunities reaches 96.17%, but the city remains largely car-dependent for daily activity.
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Worst: Garland, Texas
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Garland ranks last, with only 0.7% of workers biking or walking to work and a high share of physically inactive adults at 29.9%. Support for biking and walkable activity is minimal, too.