America’s fittest cities ranked: See where Boston placed

Boston may not have landed among the nation's top fittest cities in the latest assessment, but it did secure a notable first-place ranking elsewhere.

The findings come from the 2025 ACSM American Fitness Index, released Tuesday, July 22, by the American College of Sports Medicine and Elevance Health Foundation.

The annual study evaluates the 100 most populous U.S. cities based on 35 personal and community health indicators. This year's index incorporated new categories such as tennis and pickleball courts, splash pads and measurements of trail miles.

For the eighth consecutive year, Arlington, Virginia, claimed the top spot as the nation's fittest city. It was followed by Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Denver, Colorado.

At the other end of the spectrum, the five lowest-ranked cities were Oklahoma City; Lubbock, Texas; Las Vegas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Wichita Kansas.

Boston was the only Massachusetts city mentioned on the list and it ranked 13th place.

Here are the top 10 healthiest cities with the most active lifestyles:

• Arlington, Virginia

• Washington, D.C.

• Seattle, Washington

• San Francisco, California

• Denver, Colorado

• Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Madison, Wisconsin

• Atlanta, Georgia

• Sacramento, California

• San Diego, California

While Boston didn't make the cut to qualify in the top 10, it excelled in one specific area: the city secured first place for the number of splash pads per 100,000 residents.

Here's the list of cities with the most splash pads per 100,000 residents:

• Boston, Massachusetts at 12.6

• Cleveland, Ohio at 12.4

• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 9.8

• Chicago, Illinois at 8.9

• Tulsa, Oklahoma at 8.4

• Spokane, Washington at 8.2

• New York, New York at 6.8

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 6.7

• Louisville, Kentucky at 6.2

• Henderson, Nevada at 5.9

Overall the nation did well in meeting the aerobic thresholds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention people should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as walking fast, riding a bike or mowing the lawn every week. Muscle-strengthening exercises like lifting weights or pushups twice a week is also encouraged.

Around 59.9% of Americans walked, biked ran or otherwise met or exceeded the minimum aerobic activity recommendations, according to the 2025 report. This is an increase of nine percentage points from last year. Nationwide, 94 of the 100 largest U.S. cities improved in aerobic activity.

The report also states that decreased smoking rates and more funding for parks contributed to the cities' overall health.

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Read the original article on MassLive .