detroit-936649_1920

WASHINGTON — Detroit has been touted as being “America’s Comeback City” by some since declaring bankruptcy in 2013, but a 2017 study does The Motor City no favors in its revitalization efforts. According to WalletHub, Detroit is the unhealthiest city in America, as opposed to San Francisco, which got the top grade in a study of the country’s 150 most populated cities.

To reach their findings, WalletHub graded each city using 34 categories as metrics along with a specific weight for each category. The categories were split among four groups that accounted for 25 points each: health care, food, fitness, and green space. The higher the score, the healthier the city.

Detroit is the unhealthiest city in America, according to a new study.

Categories considered in the study included mental health counselors per capita, cost of medical visit, and quality of public hospitals for health care; healthy restaurants per capita, share of obese residents, and produce consumption for categories under food; fitness clubs per capita, weight loss centers per capital, and share of residents who engage in any physical activity for categories in fitness; and quality of parks, bike score, and walking trails per capita among the categories for green space.

The top five healthiest cities in America were (1-5): San Francisco, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.

The unhealthiest cities were (146-150): Shreveport, La.; Laredo, TX; Memphis, Tenn.; Brownsville, TX; Detroit, Mich.

The full list from WalletHub.com:

Overall Rank City Total Score ‘Health Care’ Rank ‘Food’ Rank ‘Fitness’ Rank ‘Green Space’ Rank
1 San Francisco, CA 68.06 29 1 37 3
2 Salt Lake City, UT 67.50 27 3 3 17
3 Scottsdale, AZ 67.14 20 16 1 15
4 Seattle, WA 67.08 31 4 7 6
5 Portland, OR 65.16 49 2 18 10
6 Irvine, CA 63.96 5 11 12 14
7 Huntington Beach, CA 63.23 12 10 13 16
8 Honolulu, HI 62.67 8 5 53 11
9 Washington, DC 60.24 13 9 73 9
10 Santa Clarita, CA 59.67 10 38 44 1
11 Tempe, AZ 58.92 48 15 5 49
12 Fort Lauderdale, FL 58.87 45 17 14 21
13 Fremont, CA 58.82 21 14 35 18
14 Boise, ID 58.36 18 47 23 12
15 Minneapolis, MN 58.19 6 22 63 13
16 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 57.72 76 77 6 4
17 Denver, CO 57.65 38 13 22 27
18 Lincoln, NE 57.03 3 51 40 20
19 Madison, WI 56.99 16 33 38 19
20 Orlando, FL 56.44 94 8 19 55
21 Atlanta, GA 56.42 110 30 2 46
22 Glendale, CA 56.26 40 39 49 2
23 Santa Rosa, CA 56.25 92 20 50 5
24 Plano, TX 55.96 9 37 24 42
25 Overland Park, KS 55.76 1 88 16 95
26 Vancouver, WA 55.54 80 34 4 73
27 Tampa, FL 55.50 62 35 10 45
28 Sacramento, CA 54.66 67 12 66 22
29 San Diego, CA 54.61 53 23 41 25
30 Oakland, CA 54.41 82 6 81 39
31 Boston, MA 54.06 33 28 51 31
32 Austin, TX 53.82 30 21 56 33
33 San Jose, CA 53.78 4 18 75 64
34 Richmond, VA 53.56 52 41 28 43
35 Raleigh, NC 53.55 11 44 15 84
36 Peoria, AZ 53.46 64 106 25 7
37 Reno, NV 53.17 113 19 29 36
38 St. Louis, MO 53.02 108 49 20 28
39 Tallahassee, FL 53.01 56 119 34 8
40 Sioux Falls, SD 52.76 2 120 21 93
41 Springfield, MO 52.56 15 123 26 37
42 Miami, FL 52.46 105 7 84 51
43 Virginia Beach, VA 52.28 24 66 45 35
44 Pittsburgh, PA 51.71 23 45 33 72
45 Spokane, WA 51.64 78 48 47 29
46 St. Paul, MN 51.50 19 60 61 38
47 Gilbert, AZ 51.44 22 75 8 80
48 Chandler, AZ 51.27 32 63 11 100
49 Garden Grove, CA 51.23 36 25 88 67
50 Long Beach, CA 51.07 51 24 80 40
51 Pembroke Pines, FL 50.56 25 71 27 123
52 Rochester, NY 50.40 107 29 72 30
53 Durham, NC 50.32 58 58 36 62
54 Cincinnati, OH 50.28 119 26 31 68
55 Colorado Springs, CO 50.14 28 82 57 44
56 Chesapeake, VA 50.08 35 98 68 23
57 Worcester, MA 49.73 68 68 39 70
58 St. Petersburg, FL 49.72 66 65 30 66
59 Anaheim, CA 49.69 41 27 71 76
60 Aurora, CO 49.63 34 52 60 65
61 Las Vegas, NV 49.23 135 43 9 90
62 Oceanside, CA 49.13 73 93 32 83
63 Grand Rapids, MI 49.10 14 59 97 56
64 Henderson, NV 49.05 101 118 17 48
65 Tacoma, WA 48.96 109 54 42 77
66 Albuquerque, NM 48.52 42 56 69 58
67 Buffalo, NY 48.25 77 40 77 58
68 Anchorage, AK 47.82 100 55 99 26
69 Yonkers, NY 47.52 37 57 104 53
70 Omaha, NE 47.06 17 89 67 92
71 Glendale, AZ 46.79 79 87 86 41
72 Knoxville, TN 46.40 128 86 64 34
73 Little Rock, AR 46.23 57 122 52 63
74 Modesto, CA 46.20 122 104 54 50
75 Los Angeles, CA 45.95 70 32 109 78
76 Des Moines, IA 45.76 7 114 92 98
77 Mesa, AZ 45.66 71 78 46 112
78 Providence, RI 45.58 134 74 78 32
79 Chicago, IL 44.78 60 69 130 47
80 Tucson, AZ 44.68 121 70 65 81
81 Charlotte, NC 44.30 46 109 55 119
82 Norfolk, VA 44.15 98 79 110 54
83 Jersey City, NJ 44.15 55 31 136 94
84 Baltimore, MD 44.01 125 53 120 52
85 Phoenix, AZ 44.00 96 85 91 75
86 Port St. Lucie, FL 43.97 91 131 48 125
87 Newport News, VA 43.77 75 90 103 87
88 Huntsville, AL 43.72 123 117 70 60
89 Santa Ana, CA 43.63 95 50 119 91
90 Philadelphia, PA 43.42 126 46 131 57
91 New Orleans, LA 43.13 146 121 87 24
92 Aurora, IL 43.10 44 94 124 88
93 Irving, TX 42.91 103 72 111 99
94 Fontana, CA 42.90 133 95 83 86
95 Lexington-Fayette, KY 42.75 26 113 98 108
96 New York, NY 42.65 85 36 146 61
97 Riverside, CA 42.50 124 76 74 104
98 Garland, TX 42.50 81 62 106 114
99 Nashville, TN 42.42 54 105 101 96
100 Greensboro, NC 42.39 72 132 85 71
101 Fort Wayne, IN 42.11 47 135 62 101
102 Lubbock, TX 42.06 63 130 58 113
103 Chula Vista, CA 41.88 65 110 90 116
104 Milwaukee, WI 41.65 61 81 138 85
105 Oxnard, CA 41.55 111 80 135 79
106 Kansas City, MO 41.52 39 108 113 106
107 Ontario, CA 41.36 136 64 128 110
108 Akron, OH 41.05 74 99 132 89
109 Grand Prairie, TX 40.50 90 83 144 105
110 Arlington, TX 40.26 86 97 100 129
111 Dallas, TX 39.95 104 67 118 134
112 Jacksonville, FL 39.84 129 101 96 117
113 Cape Coral, FL 39.69 118 136 76 109
114 Columbus, OH 39.66 83 107 116 118
115 Louisville, KY 39.22 115 96 112 121
116 Wichita, KS 39.11 59 129 82 131
117 Fayetteville, NC 39.10 120 145 59 140
118 Moreno Valley, CA 39.03 137 100 142 74
119 Birmingham, AL 38.89 141 102 95 130
120 Stockton, CA 38.41 112 73 127 126
121 Houston, TX 38.37 87 103 114 138
122 Cleveland, OH 38.27 139 61 141 103
123 Amarillo, TX 38.15 88 138 121 82
124 Fort Worth, TX 37.88 106 91 108 146
125 Winston-Salem, NC 37.72 99 144 122 97
126 Columbus, GA 37.51 138 134 126 69
127 Jackson, MS 37.41 50 139 93 148
128 San Antonio, TX 37.34 84 112 115 142
129 Montgomery, AL 37.08 131 141 89 128
130 Tulsa, OK 36.97 89 125 102 136
131 Fresno, CA 36.92 132 111 123 122
132 Chattanooga, TN 36.91 144 147 79 102
133 Hialeah, FL 36.88 102 42 150 141
134 Indianapolis, IN 36.85 93 115 125 135
135 San Bernardino, CA 36.60 147 92 134 115
136 Bakersfield, CA 36.40 127 116 105 139
137 Oklahoma City, OK 35.78 69 126 129 137
138 Mobile, AL 35.61 149 148 43 149
139 El Paso, TX 35.29 116 137 117 124
140 Baton Rouge, LA 35.18 145 140 94 107
141 Augusta, GA 34.32 140 124 107 150
142 Toledo, OH 33.92 97 127 139 143
143 Newark, NJ 33.28 143 84 147 133
144 North Las Vegas, NV 32.69 142 133 145 111
145 Corpus Christi, TX 32.56 130 143 133 132
146 Shreveport, LA 32.44 114 149 137 147
147 Laredo, TX 30.65 43 146 149 127
148 Memphis, TN 29.77 150 128 140 144
149 Brownsville, TX 28.54 117 150 143 145
150 Detroit, MI 28.37 148 142 148 120

The WalletHub.com list also included a breakdown of best and worst cities for several of the categories, including the cities with the highest and lowest costs of medical care, highest and lowest premature death rates, and highest and lowest costs of memberships to fitness centers. They also break down the weighted values per category to fully explain their methodology.

About StudyFinds

Read More About StudyFinds

Our Editorial Process

StudyFinds publishes digestible, agenda-free, transparent research summaries that are intended to inform the reader as well as stir civil, educated debate. We do not agree nor disagree with any of the studies we post, rather, we encourage our readers to debate the veracity of the findings themselves. All articles published on StudyFinds are vetted by our editors prior to publication and include links back to the source or corresponding journal article, if possible.

Read More →

Our Editorial Team

Steve Fink

Editor-in-Chief

John Anderer

Associate Editor

Leave a Comment

208 Comments

  1. realheadline says:

    San Francisco — A crime-ridden bumfest with skyrocketing rents, illegals, drugs and urine-soaked streets.

    Reply
  2. Dan Tandan says:

    all those mental health counselors in san francisco and yet the thousands of deranged mental cases still walk the streets urinating where they will and doing their drugs also at will and in public. What a joke of a study! Was the metric which included the mentally deranged and snowflakes deliberately overlooked so as to guarantee frisco the 1st place?

    Reply
  3. candymanal says:

    “Categories considered in the study included mental health counselors per capita…”
    San Fran? Let’s see here. 5 for every resident?
    That would be, an underestimate, for those whiney, diaper wearing, freaks.
    And yes, you can see them, on every street corner.

    Reply
  4. Rocky says:

    LOL, obviously they have never been to SF. Apparently somehow, the authors do not relate cleanliness to health.

    Reply
  5. Robdouth says:

    My only problem with this survey is the points awarded for “green” spaces. That one is the only reason SF is above SLC when SLC clearly has better healthy outcomes. What good is rating how many green spaces you have if your fitness score is 37th.

    Woopie we have green spaces, which apparently few are utilizing. It would be like rating a city based on how much exercise equipment was bought last year, not actual time spent exercising. Yes their can be a correlation, but it can’t be assumed. This is similar to the WHO ranking on healthcare including as a heavily weighted metric: Distribution of care. So a country with shitty outcomes is ranked higher than one without universal healthcare, because even though the outcomes are worse and the quality is worse, at least everyone has access to the shitty care…

    Reply
  6. Sailordude says:

    Looks like racial demographics plays a major part in this list’s rankings. Racist list?

    Reply
  7. widestancelarry says:

    the deep south?….Land of the fatties…and Gop governors

    Reply
  8. NoRightToNotBeOffended says:

    WE’RE NUMBER ONE!!!!!
    Glad we won something.
    Congrats to the city to my south.
    Well done Detroit!

    Reply
  9. Victor Savage says:

    San Francisco is a disgusting city.

    Reply
  10. Mr. Joe says:

    What a total load of BS this list is. San Fran, Portland, Seattle? Yeah, talk about shooting your credibility in the arse at first glance…………….

    Reply
  11. Jim1937 says:

    Pissing in the streets and craping on sidewalks is very healthy.

    Reply
  12. The Grinder ✓ᵀʳᵘᵐᵖ ᴺᵃᵗᶦᵒᶰ says:

    LMAO so obviously flawed and biased.

    Reply
  13. Timothy Claborn says:

    BS Greenspace metric.

    Reply
    1. Sailordude says:

      And food metric is really subjective.

      Reply
  14. D Yank says:

    YHGTBSM….. What a bullsh*$ study and waste of time….

    Reply
  15. josefa menendez says:

    They forgot to throw in the radiation levels from Fukishima in the San Fran data.
    Might change the rating

    Reply
  16. Michael D. says:

    “Gym memberships” may be higher in those cities, but that does not, I know this for a fact, translate into “gym use.”

    Reply
  17. Wake Up America says:

    Left out “most piles of human excrement per sq. ft.” as one of the parameters. SF runaway winner

    Reply
  18. Munihausen says:

    “Food” and “GreenSpace” appear to be weighted disproportionately; one’s access to “fitness” and “health care” should be more important, unless you think a person is not chiefly responsible for his/her own health.

    Reply