The 7 healthiest cities in America in 2026
Where you live affects your health, whether it's access to medical care or how many parks you have nearby
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It’s no secret that where you live can majorly impact your health, whether it affects access to good hospitals, grocery stores, or mental health care.
WalletHub set out to find the healthiest cities in the U.S., looking at a bevy of factors to rank the 182 biggest cities in the country via a composite score.
It divided its metrics into four categories — healthcare quality, access to healthy food, availability of fitness opportunities, and green space — and considered everything from the cost of medical care and farmers' markets per capita to walkability.
“The best cities are the ones that provide the greatest access to high-quality healthcare, green spaces, recreation centers, and healthy food,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
Continue reading to see which cities made the list.
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#7: Denver, Colorado
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Denver scored high for fitness, ranking eighth nationally. And it did well in healthy food access, ranking 12th. But its health care ranking of 50th prevented it from a higher overall score.
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#6: Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D.C. ranked fifth for fitness and tenth for food. It was held back by its health care ranking of 56th, but scored nicely for green space at 17th.
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#5: Portland, Oregon
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Portland has a strong food ranking of eighth and a green space ranking of fifth. Its biggest liability is health care, where it ranks 59th in the country — the worst health care score of any city in the top seven.
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#4: Salt Lake City, Utah
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Salt Lake City ranked second nationally for green space and seventh for fitness. Its food ranking wasn’t bad either at 19th, but its health care score was 30th.
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#3: Seattle, Washington
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Seattle is the most consistent city in the group: ranking seventh in food, 10th in fitness, 11th in green space, and 29th in health care.
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#2: San Diego, CA
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San Diego ranks fourth nationally in both food and green space. Its fitness ranking of 25th and 31st ranking for healthcare precluded it from scoring the top spot.
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#1: San Francisco, CA
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San Francisco tops the list by ranking first in the country for access to healthy food and green space. It also scored 16th for fitness and 32nd for healthcare.