The Best and Worst Cities for Healthy Eating in the U.S.

Written By

Senior Staff Writer

Elisabeth Beauchamp is a content producer for Today’s Homeowner’s Lawn and Windows categories. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Journalism and Linguistics. When Elisabeth isn’t writing about flowers, foliage, and fertilizer, she’s researching landscaping trends and current events in the agricultural space. Elisabeth aims to educate and equip readers with the tools they need to create a home they love.

Reviewed By

Lora Novak

Reviewed By

Lora Novak

Senior Editor

Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.

Published On

June 6, 2023December 12, 2019

When it comes to eating healthy, we know it can be hard. Let’s face it, sometimes a piece of cake sounds much better than a well-balanced meal. When it comes to achieving your healthy eating goals, where you live could be a factor based on food options and overall lifestyle.

With that in mind, Today’s Homeowner did the research to find the best cities in the U.S. for healthy eating. To do this we analyzed data for the 100 largest cities and ranked them according to five factors, such as rate of healthy eating, healthy dining options per capita, number of nutritionists or dietitians, and more. Read on for the complete rankings and methodology.

Main Findings

Best Cities for Healthy Eating

Overall Rank (1 = better)	City, State	Overall Score	Healthy Options Rank	Healthy Living Rank
1	Anaheim, CA	38.17	7	7
2	Scottsdale, AZ	31.08	3	3
3	Jersey City, NJ	30.55	13	13
4	Irving, TX	29.6	6	6
5	Santa Ana, CA	28.36	4	4
6	Irvine, CA	26.52	40	40
7	Garland, TX	26.27	16	16
8	Gilbert, AZ	26.02	24	24
9	Chandler, AZ	24.25	8	8
10	Glendale, AZ	23.54	53	53
11	Mesa, AZ	23.09	17	17
12	Chula Vista, CA	23.04	34	34
13	El Paso, TX	22.69	1	1
14	Boise, ID	22.5	5	5
15	Plano, TX	22.38	31	31
16	Madison, WI	22.28	15	15
17	Riverside, CA	22.23	48	48
18	Orlando, FL	22.09	22	22
19	Houston, TX	21.75	9	9
20	Laredo, TX	21.75	10	10
21	Henderson, NV	21.55	2	2
22	Dallas, TX	21.5	32	32
23	Aurora, CO	21.2	41	41
24	Nashville, TN	21.13	61	61
25	Durham, NC	21.1	52	52
26	Cincinnati, OH	20.97	21	21
27	Lexington, KY	20.62	12	12
28	Richmond, VA	20.41	28	28
29	Long Beach, CA	20.32	47	47
30	St. Petersburg, FL	20.28	42	42
31	Atlanta, GA	20.17	72	72
32	Chesapeake, VA	19.59	20	20
33	North Las Vegas, NV	19.52	11	11
34	Hialeah, FL	19.44	66	66
35	Denver, CO	19.41	65	65
36	Tampa, FL	19.34	62	62
37	Albuquerque, NM	19.17	14	14
38	Winston–Salem, NC	19.16	56	56
39	Memphis, TN	19.13	27	27
40	Greensboro, NC	19.11	55	55
41	Minneapolis, MN	19.07	46	46
42	Cleveland, OH	18.74	30	30
43	Phoenix, AZ	18.57	38	38
44	Fort Worth, TX	18.4	26	26
45	San Jose, CA	18.38	81	81
46	Wichita, KS	18.36	29	29
47	Austin, TX	18.3	67	67
48	Charlotte, NC	18.16	33	33
49	Milwaukee, WI	17.89	37	37
50	San Diego, CA	17.88	68	68
51	Sacramento, CA	17.79	74	74
52	Newark, NJ	17.69	57	57
53	Miami, FL	17.66	73	73
54	Louisville, KY	17.62	23	23
55	Pittsburgh, PA	17.58	58	58
56	Las Vegas, NV	17.56	18	18
57	Lincoln, NE	17.55	43	43
58	Saint Paul, MN	17.54	63	63
59	Portland, OR	17.35	84	84
60	Baton Rouge, LA	17.34	60	60
61	Virginia Beach, VA	17.31	71	71
62	Buffalo, NY	17.24	64	64
63	Tucson, AZ	17.22	44	44
64	San Antonio, TX	17.03	49	49
65	Kansas City, MO	16.72	45	45
66	Detroit, MI	16.71	35	35
67	Fort Wayne, IN	16.59	54	54
68	Indianapolis, IN	16.58	59	59
69	Baltimore, MD	16.56	76	76
70	Oklahoma City, OK	16.37	25	25
71	Fremont, CA	16.25	89	89
72	Norfolk, VA	16.24	69	69
73	Omaha, NE	16.21	50	50
74	Colorado Springs, CO	16.1	83	83
75	Tulsa, OK	15.99	36	36
76	Corpus Christi, TX	15.93	39	39
77	Raleigh, NC	15.8	87	87
78	Washington, DC	15.69	98	98
79	Lubbock, TX	15.56	19	19
80	Toledo, OH	15.51	51	51
81	Chicago, IL	15.34	80	80
82	Seattle, WA	15.34	92	92
83	Fresno, CA	15.22	77	77
84	Los Angeles, CA	15.1	82	82
85	Reno, NV	14.93	85	85
86	Oakland, CA	14.76	95	95
87	Columbus, OH	14.29	70	70
88	Arlington, TX	14.25	79	79
89	St. Louis, MO	13.46	78	78
90	Stockton, CA	13.2	86	86
91	Bakersfield, CA	13.17	75	75
92	Spokane, WA	13.03	88	88
93	Jacksonville, FL	12.53	93	93
94	Philadelphia, PA	11.77	90	90
95	San Francisco, CA	11.47	96	96
96	Honolulu, HI	10.26	99	99
97	Anchorage, AK	9.89	97	97
98	Boston, MA	9.76	94	94
99	New Orleans, LA	9.11	91	91
100	New York, NY	5.01	100	100

Summary

Our research found that Anaheim, California. is the best city overall for healthy eating. Anaheim scored high for the rate of healthy eating, meaning that the people in that city like making healthy choices. They also had the top score the number of healthy dining options. Falling not far behind Anaheim and rounding out the top five cities are Scottsdale, Arizona, Jersey City, New Jersey, Irving, CA, and Santa Ana, CA.

At the opposite end of the rankings is New York City, New York, which might come as a surprise for a lot of people. The city scored low for the number of healthy dining options and farmers markets per capita, which pushed New Yorkers down to the bottom spot. The other cities that make up the bottom five are Honolulu, Hawaii, Anchorage, Alaska, Boston, Massachusetts and New Orleans, Louisiana. Perhaps those cities like to have their cake and eat it too.

Making healthier choices doesn’t have to be hard. If you live in a city that has healthy restaurant options, choose that over something that is more indulgent or make a weekend activity out of going to the farmers markets and meal prepping.

Methodology

To find the best and worst cities for healthy eating, we analyzed data for the 100 largest cities in the United States. We ranked the cities using two categories:

Healthy food options
Healthy living

In all, there were five factors across those two larger categories that are listed below along with their corresponding weights. Each city was graded on an 50-point scale, with a score of 50 representing the ideal city for healthy eating.

Finally, we calculated each city’s weighted average across all categories to determine its Overall Score and used the results to rank-order our sample.

Healthy food options — 30 points