Washington is home to one of the healthiest cities in the US, report says. Here’s why
A city in Washington landed a spot among the country’s healthiest cities, according to a new report.
Seattle ranked 2nd on WalletHub’s list of the healthiest cities in the U.S., which was released Monday.
San Francisco nabbed the top spot. Rounding out the top five were Portland, Oregon; San Diego; and Honolulu.
What makes a healthy city?
The personal finance website assessed the 150 most populous cities in the nation — along with at least two of the most populous in each state — on 44 factors across four categories: health care, food, fitness and green space.
Seattle’s highest ranking was No. 2 in the green space category.
The green space category looks at access to physical activity and recreation as well as a city’s biking and walking score. It also takes into account the number of hiking, walking and running trails per capita. Seattle took the No. 4 spot for most walking trails per capita and most running trails per capita.
Seattle is also home to the highest percentage of physically active adults in the U.S., the report says.
Seattle’s second best ranking — No. 6 - was in the food category. The food category looks at factors such as Google searches for “healthy food,” number of dietitians and nutritionists per capita and share of residents who say they eat healthy, among others.
The category also examines the number of healthy restaurants per capita.
The city’s lowest rank was in the fitness category, where it nabbed the No. 25 spot. The fitness category examines fitness centers per capita, average cost of a fitness club membership and share of adults who engage in physical activity, among others.
How did other cities rank?
Three other Washington cities made the top 100 healthiest places to live; Vancouver, No. 44; Spokane, No. 51; and Tacoma, No. 63.
Tacoma was also named as having one of the highest medical visit costs in the country.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Washington is home to one of the healthiest cities in the US, report says. Here’s why."