12 Unhealthiest Big Cities in America: 2024

In a recent study, SmartAsset looked at factors that affect Americans' health. This is important because poor health can increase the cost burden for health-related expenses and have devastating effects on families' financial well-being and reduce their quality of life. To assess people's health status, SmartAsset ranked 100 of the biggest U.S. cities, using data from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report for 2023. Researchers based the rankings on 10 metrics: average number of physically and mentally unhealthy days in the past month; percentage of adults who smoke and who report binge or heavy drinking; percentage of adults who are obese and those who report no leisure time for physical activity; drug overdose deaths; air pollution; adults diagnosed with diabetes; and percentage of adults who average fewer than seven hours of sleep. The study found significant differences in people's health status in the healthiest cities and the unhealthiest ones. See the accompanying gallery for the 12 unhealthiest large cities in the United States, according to SmartAsset.