America's 8 Most Active Cities

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The amount of time a person spends exercising can have a lot to do with the availability of resources like parks, gyms, and bicycle paths. These cities do the best job of providing and embracing those amenities.

City life brings a lot of conveniences: Shorter commutes, plenty of restaurants, arts and culture, and more.

It also brings parks, fitness centers, and other opportunities to improve one’s health.

Unfortunately, most Americans don’t take advantage of fitness opportunities. A 2013 study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 80% of Americans don’t get the recommended amount of exercise. Meanwhile, a 2012 study published in The Lancet found inactivity is responsible for 5.3 million deaths across the globe each year.

For the record, the CDC recommends that adults do 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise each week, in addition to 2 days of muscle-strengthening activities.

As we enter New Year’s Resolution season, the website WalletHub took a look at a variety of fitness-related metrics for 100 American cities. The result is their list of the “Best and Worst Cities for an Active Lifestyle.”

The site used a variety of data, including the cost of joining a gym or playing a round of golf, as well as the number of bike lanes, swimming pools, and tennis courts per capita. These data were used to rank the cities in 2 categories, “Budget and Participation” and “Sports Facilities and Outdoor Environment.”

Newark, NJ, Jersey City, NJ, and Laredo, TX, rounded out the bottom of the list, taking 98^th, 99^th, and 100^th places, respectively. Below is a look at the 8 cities with the highest scores, according to WalletHub’s study.

8. Tucson, AZ

Budget and Participation Rank: 21

Facilities and Environment Rank: 7