--- title: These Are the Healthiest (and Unhealthiest) Cities in America description: For the second year running the Washington, D.C., metro area tops the ranking as the healthiest city in America canonical: https://time.com/3883628/health-rankings-america-fitness-index/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-19T07:03:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:13.583Z article:section: Health og:title: Here Are the Healthiest (and Unhealthiest) Cities in America og:description: West Coast cities make up six of the top 10 — but not top spot. og:url: https://time.com/3883628/health-rankings-america-fitness-index/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef7b05536a937b22/69884d1b5f570f50acb1b2fe/us-health-index.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: A jogger runs past the United States Capitol building at sunrise in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are the Healthiest (and Unhealthiest) Cities in America twitter:description: West Coast cities make up six of the top 10 — but not top spot. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef7b05536a937b22/69884d1b5f570f50acb1b2fe/us-health-index.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Are the Healthiest (and Unhealthiest) Cities in America > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: How $1,000 Could Help Your Health [Watch (HLS stream): How $1,000 Could Help Your Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-22. From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health._ by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden May 19, 2015 7:03 AM UTC  A jogger runs past the United States Capitol building at sunrise in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. A jogger runs past the United States Capitol building at sunrise in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. Pete Marovich—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden May 19, 2015 7:03 AM UTC For the second year running Washington, D.C., tops the American Fitness Index (AFI) ranking as the [healthiest](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/acsm%5Fafireport%5F2015.pdf) metropolitan area in the U.S. The nation’s capital can credit an above average access to public infrastructure for the top spot, according to the eighth annual report. Minneapolis–St.Paul, Minn., came in second and three California metro areas — San Diego, the Bay Area and Sacramento — rounded out the top five. “Our goal is to provide communities and residents with resources that help them assess, respond and achieve a better, healthier life,” said Walter Thompson, chair of the AFI advisory board, in a press release. Indianapolis came in last place as it failed to reach the target goal in nearly all of the 32 health indicators measured. Memphis and Oklahoma City also ranked near the bottom. The AFI used publicly available data points that are measured routinely and can be changed through community effort (so climate cannot be considered a health indicator). Below you can find a list of the top-10 healthiest metro areas, according to the AFI: 1. Washington, D.C. 2. Minneapolis 3. San Diego 4. San Francisco 5. Sacramento, Calif. 6. Denver 7. Portland 8. Seattle 9. Boston 10. San Jose, Calif. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] $ 1, 000 can really put you on the road to good health, or at least to better health. A lot of workers say that they're really stressed, unless productive. But half of workers say that stress makes them less productive at work. And there are a lot of studies that show that people who are more stressed have higher medical bills. And that makes sense. If you are stressed you may miss more work. You may go, go to doctor more often. So if you can invest $ 1000, you can really improve your health and lower your own costs. Yoga is a great way to reduce stress. It helps you with deep breathing, relaxation exercises. And a mindfulness that can really reduce your tension. Yoga classes cost about $ 15 to $ 20 each, at, that would get you doing downward dog about twice a week for six months. Acupuncture is another great way to reduce stress. It may be covered by your health insurance, so check that first. If not, acupuncture sessions cost about $ 16 to $ 120. Modern exercise has been proven as a great way to reduce stress. To incorporate it on a regular basis in your busy life, consider riding your bike to and from work. Or, taking a bike ride when you get home from work in the evening. Now, a good bike can cost you $ 1000. But think of it as a long- term investment, a good bike will last you many. If you have 10 thousand dollars, there's a lot you can do to invest in your health. A personal trainer, may give you the motivation you need to exercise, that you might not be able to do on your own. That costs you about 50 dollars a session, which could give you about 100 sessions, that you could spread out over two years. Another great way to. T find someone to motivate you is to consult a nutritionist. A first- time session with a nutitionist will cost about $ 150. But, if you wanna do follow- up sessions, to create say a health plan to see how you're doing, that'll cost you about $ 100. See if your health insurance may cover that, as well. 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