This Report Ranks Austin As The 28th Fittest City In The U.S.

While Austin is known as a fit city, it still has some work to do. 

According to a 2026 American Fitness Index report from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Texas’ Capitol ranks 28th overall, including markers of 19th in personal overall health and 55th in community environment rank. 

You might look at that number and be skeptical. But there’s much more to this story than just overall fitness. 

The annual study, which has been ongoing since 2008, evaluates the nation’s 100 largest cities and takes into account how “community environments support active living and overall health.” A year ago, Austin was ranked 21st in the U.S., while in 2024 it was 33rd.

A city full of active people is one thing. But the study also takes into account chronic disease and food insecurity levels, infrastructure around community spaces and environmental factors like air quality. 

In that respect, Austin has a way to go.

Breaking Down The Numbers

Arlington, Virginia earned top honors in the study for the ninth year in a row. Located just outside Washington, DC, with a population of around 239,000, it scored high marks for percentage of people exercising in the previous month (92.2%), community/environment score (81.4%), number of days with good air quality (84.4%), quick access to parks (99%) and people in excellent or very good health (67.3%). 

The rest of the top 10 includes: Washington (DC), Minneapolis (Mn.), Seattle (Wa.), Denver (Co.), San Francisco (Ca.), Irvine (Ca.), Atlanta (Ga.), Madison (Wi.) and Boston (Ma.).

While Austin’s personal health levels are good – 82.2% of people surveyed said they exercised in the past month and 47.6% are in excellent or very good health – the city also has a high percentage of obesity (26.1%) and high blood pressure (26.4%) and its community/environment score is just 47.5. 

Food insecurity, a measure of reliable food access in a community, remains an issue in Eastern Travis County and put Austin 5.3 points behind the highest-ranking city for that factor. 

Our air quality was given a score of just 42.6 – the high, for comparison, was Honolulu, Hawaii, at 98.4 – while our walk score sat at 41.7 points, well below San Francisco’s high of 88.7.

All this being said, there’s no reason to fear.

Our city remains incredibly healthy, strong, and fast. That point you can’t argue.