Chicago just barely made the top 20 in the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2026 ranking of the country’s fittest cities.
Chicago came in at number 19, with a personal health rank of 43 and a Community + Environment rank of 12.
The ranking takes into accounts a number of personal and public health behaviors and conditions. On the personal level, doctors looked at metrics like percentage of people who exercised in the previous month, how many people bicycle, walk or take public transit to work, how many people eat fruits and vegetables daily, get more than seven hours of sleep, and smoke.
For community and environmental rankings, the doctors looked at factors like air quality, percentage of city area that’s park space, walking scores, trail miles, availability of athletic fields and recreational facilities, swimming pools, and splashpads.
Chicago was only highest ranked in one metric, the number of athletic fields per 10,000 residents.
Arlington, Virginia, ranked first in overall fittest cities. Oklahoma City came in last. For more information and to compare cities, the results and rankings are on the ACSM’s website.
