Keep running
Dallas gets flabby score in ranking of healthiest and unhealthiest cities

When it comes to the well-being of its residents, Dallas is crawling, not running. A new WalletHub ranking of the healthiest and unhealthiest places among the country’s largest cities puts Dallas at No. 97 — a decidedly anemic showing.
To determine which cities prioritize the well-being of their residents, WalletHub compared more than 170 of the most populated U.S. cities across 40 key indicators of good health. The data includes the cost of a doctor’s visit, the typical consumption of fruits and vegetables, and the number of fitness clubs per capita.
WalletHub then bundled the data into four buckets: health care, food, fitness, and green space.
Here are the numbers for Dallas:
- Health care — No. 133
- Food — No. 59
- Fitness — No. 82
- Green space — No. 98
Dallas does outperform Fort Worth, which showed up at No. 121 in the rankings. Here’s how Fort Worth fares in each category:
- Health care — No. 107
- Food — No. 86
- Fitness — No. 112
- Green space — No. 132
Only one suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth outranks either Dallas or Fort Worth. Plano leapfrogs all other major cities in the Metroplex to land at No. 39. Here are the category rankings for Plano:
- Health care — No. 7
- Food — No. 58
- Fitness — No. 34
- Green space — No. 60
Here’s how things shaped up for four other DFW suburbs:
Irving — No. 127
- Health care — No. 130
- Food — No. 113
- Fitness — No. 147
- Green space — No. 104
Arlington — No. 133
- Health care — No. 104
- Food — No. 108
- Fitness — No. 144
- Green space — No. 134
Grand Prairie — No. 138
- Health care — No. 124
- Food — No. 103
- Fitness — No. 169
- Green space — No. 123
Garland — No. 140
- Health care — No. 132
- Food — No. 104
- Fitness — No. 146
- Green space — No. 145
Among Texas cities on the WalletHub list, Austin is at the head of the spin class, appearing at No. 17. The city benefits from ranking third for the number of healthy restaurants per capita and fifth for the number of running trails per capita.
Here are the category rankings for Austin:
- Health care — No. 42
- Food — No. 20
- Fitness — No. 24
- Green space — No. 14
Houston beats both Dallas and Fort Worth in the rankings, while San Antonio is below Dallas but above Fort Worth.
Houston — No. 92
- Health care — No. 135
- Food — No. 62
- Fitness — No. 60
- Green space — No. 96
San Antonio — No. 109
- Health care — No. 123
- Food — No. 99
- Fitness — No. 99
- Green space — No. 87