Arlington, Virginia, and D.C. again topped the American College of Sports Medicine’s yearly ranking of the nation’s fittest cities.
“This is the eighth year that Arlington has been the first — it’s quite an achievement,” said Dr. Stella Volpe, former American College of Sports Medicine president, on the release of the American Fitness Index 2025 Ranks.
The rankings are based on 35 indicators, including two new ones in 2025: trail miles per 100,000 residents and splash pads per 100,000 residents.
In fact, D.C. topped the trail miles category by a wide margin, with 235 miles per 100,000 residents, followed by Irvine, California, at 187.
In a tweak of previous indicators, pickleball was added to the number of tennis courts in an area. Arlington ranked No. 6, with nine tennis-pickleball courts per 20,000 residents.
Volpe said all the top five cities — Arlington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Denver — all have the financial resources, which make it possible to prioritize residents’ access to physical activity.
“They maintain these wonderful places so that residents can continue to enjoy them and be safe while they enjoy them,” Volpe said.
Volpe said financial resources alone don’t indicate that a community will score well in the rankings.
“It may mean that those resources aren’t being put toward things that can help people be more physically active,” Volpe said. “The community needs to rally around, that this is important to them as well.”
Nationally, the fitness index showed three indicators changed in an unhealthy direction: air quality, food insecurity, and reports of excellent or very good health.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, declines in air quality can be attributed to wildfires and droughts. And, 99 out of 100 cities in the fitness index had an increase in their food insecurity percentage — perhaps as a result of the expiration of the expanded Child Tax Credit and the end of other COVID-era programs supporting access to food.
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