While it may come as no surprise when Miami ranks among the world’s best cities for 2024 or is No. 1 in the nation with the highest rate of inflation (although we wish it wasn’t), being listed as one of the “Best Cities in the World to Live for Your Health” might raise a few eyebrows. We’ll take the compliment, but when you think of a healthy city does Miami come to mind? In the world, though?
Healthnews recently conducted a study analyzing 40 of the world’s largest and most famous cities, based on 10 key metrics:
- Happiness index
- Average weekly physical activity
- Sunshine hours
- Air quality index
- Cost of a fitness club membership for one adult
- Average sleep duration
- Obesity rates
- Total number of hospitals
- Average workweek length
- Price of bottled water
Taking these factors into account, Miami was ranked No. 9 out of the 40 total cities. With 3,154 hours of sunshine, 6.3 hours of weekly exercise and 42 average workweek hours, the Magic City appears to promote quite the healthy lifestyle. Not to mention, the study notes that people in Miami hit the gym or go for a run at least three times a week!
“You’ll find plenty of farmers’ markets and co-ops around, stocked with fresh, organic, and locally sourced fruits and veggies,” wrote Healthnews. “The air and water quality here is good compared to other parts of the country, making Miami a great spot for a healthy lifestyle.”
Coming out at No. 1 on the ranking was Amsterdam, with 63% of its residents as daily bike riders and 12.8 hours of physical activity per week. It also features the shortest average workweek of all the analyzed cities, at only 30 hours! Amsterdam was followed by Brussels and Boston in second and third place.
The Top 10 healthiest cities according to the ranking are as follows:
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Brussels, Belgium
- Boston, U.S.
- Porto, Portugal
- Vancouver, Canada
- Chicago, U.S.
- Dublin, Ireland
- Melbourne, Australia
- Miami, U.S.
- Vienna, Austria
You can find the full ranking here.