Arlington has once again been named America’s fittest “city,” extending its streak to nine years in a row.
The county — which the ranking counts as a city — finished first among the 100 largest U.S. cities in the 19th annual American Fitness Index, released today (Tuesday) by the American College of Sports Medicine and the Elevance Health Foundation.
D.C. again placed second, followed by Minneapolis, Seattle and Denver.
Arlington kept the No. 1 spot in the index’s personal health sub-score, which tracks physical activity, chronic disease and sleep, but fell to third in the community/environment category — a measure of parks, recreation and active transportation that it topped a year ago.
The District claimed the top community/environment score this year, with Minneapolis second.
The index is built on 35 evidence-based indicators, and its authors said the cities at the top tend to share strong active transportation networks, high physical activity rates and broad access to parks.
“Arlington, Virginia continues its long-standing position as the nation’s fittest city, reflecting strong performance across multiple indicators including physical activity levels, access to parks and recreational facilities, and supportive transportation infrastructure,” said an introduction to the report.
“The cities that consistently rank at the top aren’t succeeding because of one program or one investment,” said Stella Volpe, who chairs the index’s advisory board. “They’ve built systems that support healthier living over time.”
This year’s report leaned into air quality, which it tied to physical activity because poor air can keep people from exercising outdoors — a particular concern for the nearly 28 million Americans with asthma. Arlington fared well on that measure, with good air quality on 84.4% of days, the sixth-highest rate among the 100 cities and well above the national average of roughly 51%.
Richmond, meanwhile, was the biggest riser of any city in the country, jumping 20 spots to No. 20. Virginia Beach also climbed 18 places, to No. 61.
Nationally, the report described a widening divide between the healthiest and least healthy cities. Food insecurity rose for the second consecutive year, with 99 of the 100 cities reporting higher rates than the year before and the national average now above 14% of residents.
Full rankings and a city comparison tool are available on the Fitness Index website.
