More than ever before, this past year has made Americans appreciate the opportunity to go outside and get moving, when socially distant and possible.
Since gyms have shut down or are operating at a lower capacity, going for a walk and exercising outdoors have become increasingly appealing ways to work out. Any chance to get outside nowadays is a welcome treat, especially when being outdoors can boost endorphins and improve our overall wellbeing.
It’s easier to take advantage of the outdoors when living in a city that prioritizes the accessibility and maintenance of its recreational facilities and public parks. Investing in parks and providing outdoor spaces for public recreation is as much an investment in residents’ health and wellbeing.
To honor the communities that have shown a commitment to the health and wellness of their residents, the data scientists at Insurify crunched the numbers to identify the most fitness-friendly cities in each state.
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Selection Process for Insurify’s 2021 Fittest Cities Awards
The data scientists at Insurify, a platform to compare home insurance, referred to both proprietary and public data to identify the fittest cities. They rated U.S. cities based on a composite score of factors including residents with physically demanding or health- and fitness-promoting jobs as well as quality and access to parks and outdoor recreational facilities.
Insurify’s data scientists referred to their database of over 4 million car insurance applications to identify the cities with the highest proportion of residents with occupations that demand significant physical activity or promote health and fitness, ranging from park rangers, fitness club managers, and chiropractors, to dancers and choreographers.
To evaluate access to outdoor facilities and recreational spaces, Insurify’s team compiled data from Niche’s most recent Outdoor Activities rankings, which rates each city on its quality and access to the outdoors using key indicators of a location’s environment, such as air quality, local weather and access to natural amenities and outdoor recreation.
Also factored into the composite scores were, the Trust for Public Land’s Parkscore Rankings, which identify the cities with the highest proportion of residents living within a 10-minute walk to a park.
Gyms were not included in this study. Not only are gyms often inaccessible to lower-income residents, but many gyms have been operating at a minimal, or even completely shut down capacity over the past year due to COVID-19.
NOTE: Vermont is not listed.
Image Credit: FitNish Media / Pixabay.
1. Alabama
Winner: Ozark
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
2. Alaska
Winner: Anchorage
Image Credit: iStock.
3. Arizona
Winner: Tucson
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
4. Arkansas
Winner: Little Rock
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
5. California
Winner: San Diego
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
6. Colorado
Winner: Denver
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
7. Connecticut
Winner: Stratford
Image Credit: dima_sidelnikov / iStock.
8. Delaware
Winner: Seaford
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
9. Florida
Winner: Jacksonville
Image Credit: .
10. Georgia
Winner: Atlanta
Image Credit: Extreme Media/istockphoto.
11. Hawaii
Winner: Honolulu
Image Credit: diego_cervo/istockphoto.
12. Idaho
Winner: Boise
Image Credit: FatCamera.
13. Illinois
Winner: Chicago
Image Credit: kali9/istockphoto.
14. Indiana
Winner: Bloomington
Image Credit: visualspace/istockphoto.
15. Iowa
Winner: Davenport
Image Credit: .
16. Kansas
Winner: Wichita
Image Credit: Kaspars Grinvalds/shutterstock.
17. Kentucky
Winner: Louisville
Image Credit: CentralITAlliance / iStock.
18. Louisiana
Winner: New Orleans
Image Credit: tommaso79 / iStock.
19. Maine
Winner: Lewiston
Image Credit: skynesher/istockphoto.
20. Maryland
Winner: Washington
Image Credit: RyanJLane/istockphoto.
21. Massachusetts
Winner: Boston
Image Credit: jacoblund/istockphoto.
22. Michigan
Winner: Detroit
Image Credit: filadendron/istockphoto.
23. Minnesota
Winner: Minneapolis
Image Credit: Juanmonino/istockphoto.
24. Mississippi
Winner: Ridgeland
Image Credit: LanaStock/istockphoto.
25. Missouri
Winner: Kansas City
Image Credit: Nikodash/shutterstock.
26. Montana
Winner: Kalispell
Image Credit: Zinkevych/istockphoto.
27. Nebraska
Winner: Omaha
Image Credit: GoodLifeStudio/istockphoto.
28. Nebraska
Winner: Henderson
Image Credit: Drazen Zigic/istockphoto.
29. New Hampshire
Winner: Nashua
Image Credit: SeventyFour/istockphoto.
30. New Jersey
Winner: Vineland
Image Credit: Steve Debenport/istockphoto.
31. New Mexico
Winner: Albuquerque
Image Credit: m-imagephotography/istockphoto.
32. New York
Winner: New York City
Image Credit: .
33. North Carolina
Winner: Raleigh
Image Credit: .
34. North Dakota
Winner: Bismarck
Image Credit: vgajic/istockphoto.
35. Ohio
Winner: Columbus
Image Credit: .
36. Oklahoma
Winner: Oklahoma City
Image Credit: .
37. Oregon
Winner: Portland
Image Credit: .
38. Pennsylvania
Winner: Philadelphia
Image Credit: nd3000/istockphoto.
39. Rhode Island
Winner: Warwick
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
40. South Carolina
Winner: Westminster
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
41. South Dakota
Winner: Sioux Falls
Image Credit: N8tureGrl/istockphoto.
42. Tennessee
Winner: Memphis
Image Credit: JackF/istockphoto.
43. Texas
Winner: Houston
Image Credit: gilaxia/istockphoto.
44. Utah
Winner: Draper
Image Credit: wavebreakmedia/shutterstock.
45. Virginia
Winner: Chesapeake
Image Credit: richiesd/istockphoto.
46. Washington
Winner: Seattle
Image Credit: Maridav/shutterstock.
47. West Virginia:
Winner: Youngstown
Image Credit: agrobacter/istockphoto.
48. Wisconsin
Winner: Milwaukee
Image Credit: gradyreese/istockphoto.
49. Wyoming
Winner: Woodridge
This article originally appeared on Insurify.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Image Credit: vitapix/istockphoto.
