"A list of the healthiest cities is a list of possibilities for health." So says Michael French of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven, one of the experts consulted for WalletHub's latest survey of the nation's healthiest (and unhealthiest) cities. As it has in the past, the personal finance company evaluated over 180 American cities across four relevant dimensions: health care, food, fitness and green space. The survey included 150 of the most populated cities in the country, along with at least two of the most populated cities in each state. Brownsville, TX, took the lowest overall ranking in the study, followed by Gulfport, MS; Shreveport, LA; and two Georgia cities, Columbus and Augusta. |

Top 10 unhealthiest cities in America

Courtesy of WalletHub. In spite of its ranking, Brownsville was second on the list of cities with the lowest costs for medical visits. Laredo, another Texas city, came in number one on that list, although it came in at #174, one of the lowest-ranked cities overall. |

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A doctor's visit costs $65 in Laredo. Medical visits cost the most in Juneau, Alaska — a whopping $235.22, according to the study. Juneau comes in at #65 on the overall list of 182 cities. "A city needs to offer the opportunity to take care of yourself and have the facilities and practitioners that are necessary for preventative, chronic, and acute care," French said. "Affordability is also a critical factor in determining how healthy you will be able to be in a city. Ensuring you can afford where you are living and have time for rest will reduce stress." The affordability factor was echoed by other experts interviewed for the study. "The local economic climate can impact a person's mental and psychological well-being, including job opportunities, the housing market, and the cost of living," concurred Lanlan (Lacey) Chu, assistant professor of economics at St. Catherine University. However, the responsibility of enabling a healthy lifestyle shouldn't fall on individuals alone. Local authorities have active parts to play. "Invest in primary care and community organizations," suggested Alden Lai, assistant professor of public health policy and management at New York University. "Primary care is the bedrock of healthy people and communities—it focuses on disease prevention over a patient's life course. Over time, primary care practitioners build a good understanding of not just a patient's health situation, but also the patient's broader family and work situations, etc., which are all important to one's health and well-being. Community organizations, on the other hand, provide the infrastructure and resources that can greatly complement what local health care systems do." See our slideshow above for the top 10 healthiest cities according to WalletHub.