With the cost to treat patients projected to rise by 6.5% in 2022 and the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to be a big public health threat, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
To identify the places where health is a priority, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 43 key metrics. The data set ranges from the cost of a medical visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to COVID-19 cases.
| Healthiest Cities | Unhealthiest Cities |
| 1. San Francisco, CA | 173. Montgomery, AL |
| 2. Seattle, WA | 174. Columbus, GA |
| 3. San Diego, CA | 175. Augusta, GA |
| 4. Portland, OR | 176. Shreveport, LA |
| 5. Salt Lake City, UT | 177. Charleston, WV |
| 6. Honolulu, HI | 178. Jackson, MS |
| 7. Austin, TX | 179. Memphis, TN |
| 8. Denver, CO | 180. Laredo, TX |
| 9. South Burlington, VT | 181. Gulfport, MS |
| 10. Washington, DC | 182. Brownsville, TX |
Key Stats
- Fremont, California, has the lowest share of physically unhealthy adults, 8.00 percent, which is 2.5 times lower than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest at 19.60 percent.
- Laredo, Texas, has the lowest cost per doctor’s visit, $56.00, which is 3.9 times less expensive than in Juneau, Alaska, the city with the highest at $219.00.
- Burlington, Vermont, and South Burlington, Vermont, have the lowest share of adults eating fruit less than once daily, 30.40 percent, which is 1.7 times lower than in Gulfport, Mississippi, the city with the highest at 51.80 percent.
- Glendale, Arizona, and Lewiston, Maine, have the lowest average monthly cost for a fitness-club membership, $15.00, which is 7.2 times less expensive than in New York, the city with the highest at $108.26.
