2016 Community Rankings for Exercise

Gallup and Sharecare research shows that nationally there’s good news on exercise with rates of regular exercise now at a nine-year high. Rates vary by community, however, and the top exercise communities indicate more than 65% of their population exercises regularly, while the lowest communities have rates of 45% or less.

Residents of Boulder, CO, Fort Collins, CO, and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA, report the highest levels of regular exercise in the United States according to Gallup and Sharecare’s 2016 Community Rankings for Exercise.

Several of the lowest exercise communities are in Ohio, a state that has six communities in the bottom 25. The nation’s lowest community for regular exercise in 2016 was Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton, NC.

There are many benefits to regular exercise. The highest 10 exercise communities have significantly lower incidence of chronic disease, with approximately 30% less obesity, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart attack, as compared with the lowest 10 communities.

To see where your community ranks as well as to understand how exercise varies by gender, age, race / ethnicity, and income, download the full report.