While it may come as no surprise to us when a Chicago pizzeria ranks among the best in the world or Chicago’s voted the best city for architecture on the continent, being named one of “the best cities in the world to live for your health” is something that might make one or two of us double take.
In a recent ranking by Healthnews.com, however, Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Big City In The United States (yes, we’re still gloating), was named in the top 10 of the world’s healthiest cities.
According to Healthnews, 40 of the world’s largest and most famous cities were analyzed using 10 key metrics to rank them with weighted scores and a total score out of 100.
- Happiness index (as recently released in 2024)
- Average weekly physical activity
- Obesity rates
- The cost of a monthly fitness club membership for one adult
- Average workweek length
- Average sleep duration
- Air quality index
- Total number of hospitals
- Price of bottled water
- Sunshine hours (per year)
Taking all of these into account Chicago was ranked 6th out of the 40 cities evaluated with a total score
“Chicago ranks 6th among the best cities for your health, thanks to its 6.3 hours of physical exercise per week, 2,508 hours of sunshine annually, low pollution index of 18, and well-developed hospital infrastructure,” wrote Healthnews.
“The city administration has implemented public health initiatives to improve residents’ well-being, such as the Healthy Chicago 2025 plan. This plan aims to increase access to behavioral health treatment for all Chicagoans, with a focus on Black, Latinx, and Asian populations.”
The ranking named Amsterdam in the Netherlands as the planet’s healthiest city to live in followed by Belgium’s capital Brussels in second, and Boston in third. Porto in Portugal and Vancouver in Canada came in fourth and fifth respectively.
Elsewhere in the United States Miami was ranked 9th, New York in 16th, Los Angeles in 24th, Washington in 28th and San Francisco in 28th.
View the full Healthnews ranking.[Featured image from Shutterstock]