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Florida cities rank mid-to-low in 'Healthiest Cities in America'

With health care costs rising and U.S. life expectancy declining for the second year in a row, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2018’s Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America.

To identify the places where health is a priority, WalletHub compared more than 170 of the largest U.S. cities across 40 key metrics. The data set ranges from cost of doctor visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to fitness clubs per capita.

Healthiest Cities in U.S.   Least Healthy Cities in U.S.
1 San Francisco, CA   165 Memphis, TN
2 Seattle, WA   166 Corpus Christi, TX
3 Portland, OR   167 Jackson, MS
4 San Diego, CA   168 Detroit, MI
5 Washington, DC   169 Fort Smith, AR
6 Burlington, VT   170 Gulfport, MS
7 Scottsdale, AZ   171 Shreveport, LA
8 Honolulu, HI   172 Augusta, GA
9 Irvine, CA   173 Laredo, TX
10 Denver, CO   174 Brownsville, TX
         

WHERE FLORIDA CITIES RANK in this study (out of 175 cities in U.S.):

Overall Rank* City Total Score ‘Health Care’ Rank ‘Food’ Rank ‘Fitness’ Rank ‘Green Space’ Rank
31 Orlando, FL 53.8 68 19 18 59
33 Tampa, FL 53.5 87 36 10 51
35 Miami, FL 53 122 9 71 48
45 Fort Lauderdale, FL 51.2 57 35 81 37
57 Pembroke Pines, FL 49.3 34 38 86 147
67 Tallahassee, FL 47.9 39 154 68 17
78 St. Petersburg, FL 46.6 78 75 57 75
116 Jacksonville, FL 41.4 139 107 92 92
126 Port St. Lucie, FL 39.6 100 144 102 161
144 Hialeah, FL 36.9 150 16 173 156
145 Cape Coral, FL 36.6 119 152 148 152
* 1= healthiest; Source: WalletHub


 Key Stats

  • Overland Park, Kansas, has the lowest share of physically unhealthy adults, 6.8 percent, which is 2.8 times lower than in San Bernardino, California and Detroit, the cities with the highest at 18.7 percent.
  • Laredo, Texas has the lowest cost per doctor’s visit, $62.78, which is three times less expensive than in Boston, the city with the highest at $188.00.
  • Burlington, Vermont has the lowest share of adults eating fruit less than once daily, 31.7 percent, which is 1.8 times lower than in Little Rock, Arkansas, the city with the highest at 56.2 percent.
  • Bridgeport, Connecticut, has the lowest average monthly cost for a fitness-club membership, $10.00, which is 7.3 times less expensive than in New York, the city with the highest at $73.48.


To view the full report and your city’s rank, please click here.