Thirty Most Active U.S. Cities — and the Four From Colorado That Made the Cut

Denver typically does very well in attempts to determine the fittest American cities.

But apparently, being fit and being active are two distinctly different things.

The city finished fourth in the 2014 American Fitness Institute study.

And in the following year's AFI survey, Denver came in at number six.

But the news isn't as positive in a new evaluation by HealthGrove.

Using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the research cite ranked the most active cities.

We've featured the top thirty — and as you'll see, Denver and another Colorado community known for fitness and activity barely made the grade.

However, two other Colorado cities did better. Much, much better.

Check out the photo-illustrated HealthGrove most-active-cities roster below, with stats for the top Colorado places on page two of this post.


Number 30. Concord, NH

Percent physically active in the past month: 82.71%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 54.5%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 25.74%
Percent obesity: 29.19%

Number 29: Barnstable Town, MA

Percent physically active in the past month: 82.73%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 62.01%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 29.26%
Percent obesity: 18.66%

Number 28: San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

Percent physically active in the past month: 82.88%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 60.99%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 34.6%
Percent obesity: 24.07%

Number 27: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

Percent physically active in the past month: 82.9%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 61.51%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 35.63%
Percent obesity: 21.06%

Number 26: Keene, NH

Percent physically active in the past month: 82.91%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 60.9%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 29.53%
Percent obesity: 23.54%

Number 25: Missoula, MT

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.24%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 60.91%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 34.5%
Percent obesity: 21.03%

Number 24: Colorado Springs, CO

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.36%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 61.68%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 38.54%
Percent obesity: 20.15%

Number 23: Anchorage, AK

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.37%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 57.36%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 35.95%
Percent obesity: 27.36%


Number 22: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.45%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 55.45%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 31.92%
Percent obesity: 24.67%

Number 21: Portland-South Portland, ME

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.48%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 62.42%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 30.8%
Percent obesity: 23.73%

Number 20: Ogden-Clearfield, UT

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.51%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 55.2%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 33.66%
Percent obesity: 25.5%

Number 19: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.61%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 61.33%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 30.66%
Percent obesity: 22.05%

Number 18: Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA

Percent physically active in the past month: 83.84%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: No data
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: No data
Percent obesity: 22.59%

Number 17: Duluth, MN-WI

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.07%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 57.1%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 30.11%
Percent obesity: 23.45%

Number 16: Lincoln, NE

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.14%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 52.38%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 33.09%
Percent obesity: 24.91%


Number 15: Kalispell, MT

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.25%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 59.29%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 31.77%
Percent obesity: 23.2%

Number 14: Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.35%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: No data
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: No data
Percent obesity: 21.53%

Number 13: Santa Fe, NM

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.37%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 60.84%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 39.45%
Percent obesity: 17.9%

Number 12: Sacramento—Roseville—Arden-Arcade, CA

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.37%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 59.55%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 35.55%
Percent obesity: 24.32%

Number 11: Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.49%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 54.48%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 31.22%
Percent obesity: 22.31%

Number 10: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Percent physically active in the past month: 84.53%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 60.3%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 35.09%
Percent obesity: 23.71%

Number 9: Kapaa, HI

Percent physically active in the past month: 85.08%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 66.42%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 32.58%
Percent obesity: 18.87%

Number 8: Burlington-South Burlington, VT

Percent physically active in the past month: 85.11%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 59.07%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 31.68%
Percent obesity: 23.5%


Number 7: Provo-Orem, UT

Percent physically active in the past month: 85.47%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 57.23%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 34.71%
Percent obesity: 21.03%

Number 6: Eugene, OR

Percent physically active in the past month: 85.65%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 64.96%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 32.75%
Percent obesity: 28.44%

Number 5: Logan, UT-ID

Percent physically active in the past month: 86.71%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 60.42%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 30.18%
Percent obesity: 22.92%

Number 4: Fort Collins, CO

Percent physically active in the past month: 87.58%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 64.84%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 42.46%
Percent obesity: 16.3%

Number 3: Barre, VT

Percent physically active in the past month: 87.71%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 56.09%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 30.17%
Percent obesity: 24.45%

Number 2: Heber, UT

Percent physically active in the past month: 88.96%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 67.9%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 30.33%
Percent obesity: 27.1%

Number 1: Boulder, CO

Percent physically active in the past month: 90.76%
Percent engaged in aerobic activity: 72.52%
Percent engaged in muscle strengthening: 39.02%
Percent obesity: 15.11%