For the second year in a row, Miami earns the title of the healthiest city in the U.S. followed by Atlanta and San Francisco, according to Mindbody’s Top 10 list of Healthiest Cities in America.
The Top 10 list includes:
- Miami, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- San Francisco, CA
- New York, NY
- Washington, DC
- San Jose, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Houston, TX
- Seattle, WA
The rankings are based on the Mindbody Wellness Index, which looks at American wellness across seven criteria: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, social, and occupational. The study, which evaluated the 50 largest cities in the U.S. by population and ranked them from healthiest to least through a proprietary scoring algorithm, provides a detailed glimpse into the health and wellness of America’s largest urban centers.
The survey studied workout habits, self-care routines, connection to community and spirituality, stress levels, and wellness spending, among other wellness behaviors and attitudes.
“Even in a pandemic environment, we found several cities in the top ten hailing from states that had, or continue to have, some of the nation’s most severe restrictions on business activity,” said Josh McCarter, CEO of Mindbody. “The Mindbody Wellness Index validates the assumptions we had going into this research study and that is that Americans are highly invested in their health and wellness routines across a variety of dimensions. They’re cognizant of the positive impact that wellness plays in their lives and many stayed close to their wellness routines by engaging in virtual workouts either through our Virtual Wellness Platform or other means. The study reassures our belief that once the pandemic is behind us – we are poised to see a resurgence of consumer demand for wellness services.”
Miami maintained the top position by performing extremely well in a variety of wellness criteria. Since the pandemic started, over three-quarters of its residents said they’re more focused on their health and wellness, more than any other U.S. city. Miami also makes fitness a priority, with 87 percent saying they work out at least once a week, again leading all cities in the survey.
New York City, the nation’s largest metro area, proved resilient against some of the nation’s strictest lockdown orders. It ranked third in happiness, spiritual fulfillment, strong ties to neighborhood and community, and fifth in close relationships with family and friends. Other key findings include New York City climbed eleven points in happiness over a year ago, the largest such jump in all the cities analyzed.
Even with lengthy lockdown orders, 75 percent of New Yorkers work out at least once a week and participate in virtual fitness, with 65 percent engaging in live stream or on-demand workouts on a weekly basis.
