San Francisco ranked No. 1 and Brownsville, Texas, ranked last in WalletHub’s 2026 list of the healthiest U.S. cities.
The personal finance website compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populous U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populous cities in each state — across four dimensions: healthcare, food, fitness and green space.
Analysts evaluated the dimensions using 41 metrics, ranging from premature death rates to recreation access. WalletHub graded each metric on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for a healthy lifestyle.
Each city’s weighted average across all metrics was used to calculate its overall score and rank the cities. More information about the methodology is available here.
The healthiest cities, alongside their scores, per the analysis:
San Francisco — 70.41
San Diego — 65.19
Seattle — 63.57
Salt Lake City — 63.26
Portland, Ore. — 63.21
Washington, D.C. — 61.91
Denver — 61.65
Honolulu — 61.52
Austin, Texas — 61.11
Scottsdale, Ariz. — 60.64
The unhealthiest cities, alongside their scores, per the analysis:
Brownsville, Texas — 24.34
Gulfport, Miss. — 25.60
Laredo, Texas — 27.68
Shreveport, La. — 28.34
Fort Smith, Ark. — 30.84
Huntington, W.Va. — 30.88
Toledo, Ohio — 31.86
Corpus Christi, Texas — 31.87
Montgomery, Ala. — 32.06
Memphis, Tenn. — 33.33
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