While three South Texas cities were recently dubbed some of the unhealthiest cities in America, one Central Texas city made the cut as one of the most fit. A new report has crowned Austin the healthiest city in the Lone Star State and one of the healthiest places to live in the country.
WalletHub ranked Austin the No. 9 healthiest city in the U.S. in its 2026 list of the healthiest and unhealthiest cities in America. Austin was the only Central Texas city to make the report’s top 10 healthiest cities, whereas Corpus Christi, Laredo and Brownsville were ranked in the bottom 10 “unhealthiest” side of the coin.
“Staying healthy is a personal responsibility, and everyone should strive to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly and look after their mental health,” said WalletHub Analyst, Chip Lupo in the report. “However, where people live can have a big influence on how successful they are at staying in good health, so the best cities are the ones that provide the greatest access to high-quality healthcare, green spaces, recreation centers, and healthy food.”
WalletHub analysts compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 41 key “health indicators.” The data set ranges from the cost of a medical visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to the share of physically active adults, according to the report.
With a total score of 61.11, Austin stood out for having a high health care rank of 27 and food rank of 13. This suggests that most Austinites do have access to healthcare and healthy foods.
The Capital City also had a top fitness rank of 23 and green space rank of 22, which makes sense given Austin regularly hosts half and full marathons and offers residents many ways to stay active with dozens of pickleball courts, luxury gyms and hiking trails to choose from. Austin is also known for its wide variety of parks and recreational areas like Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, Deep Eddy Pool, trails along Lady Bird Lake and more.
Other Texas cities that were considered less healthy in WalletHub’s ranks were Plano (No. 63), Houston (No. 70), Dallas (No. 83), San Antonio (No. 101), Fort Worth (No. 116), Lubbock (No. 130), Garland (No. 133), El Paso (No. 136), Arlington (No. 145), Irving (No. 147), Grand Prairie (No. 154), Amarillo (No. 162), Corpus Christi (No. 175), Laredo (No. 180) and Brownsville (No. 182).
This article originally published at Austin crowned healthiest city in Texas, No. 9 healthiest city in US.