It’s easy to forget how much our location influences our health. Aside from genetics and behavior, where someone lives can be the biggest determinant to their overall well-being. Access to nutritious food and recreational facilities, as well as healthcare costs and the condition of parks, play a role in health. In this way, a city can have a significant impact on its residents.
In a recent analysis, WalletHub compared 182 of the most populated U.S. cities across 41 key measures to see which prioritizes their residents’ well-being. These measures included the cost of a medical visit, fruit and vegetable consumption, and the share of physically active adults.
“Staying healthy is a personal responsibility, and everyone should strive to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly and look after their mental health,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “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.”
So how did Texas cities support residents’ health compared to other cities in the country? The results are mixed.
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Austin is Texas’s healthiest city — again
Not only was the capital city deemed Texas’s healthiest city, but it also ranked No. 9 in the U.S.
Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America
Source: WalletHub
Here’s where Austin landed in subcategories:
Austin also tied with several other cities for having the most dieticians and nutritionists per capita.
Plano was the next highest-ranking Texas city at No. 63. It had the third-lowest premature-death rate in the nation.
Brownsville, Laredo named among America’s unhealthiest cities
Unfortunately, not all Lone Star cities performed well in WalletHub’s analysis. Brownsville was once again named the unhealthiest city of the 182 studied. The South Texas city had the lowest fitness ranking, with the fifth-smallest share of physically active adults. It also ranked second-lowest in the health care and food subcategories.
Laredo also had dismal scores, deemed the third-unhealthiest city in the study. Nationally, it ranked lowest in health care and second-lowest (behind Brownsville) in fitness. Laredo also had the fewest mental health counselors per capita, while Houston had the third-fewest. There were nine times as many counselors in Worcester, Maine — which had the country’s most per capita — than in Laredo. Laredo also had the second-fewest healthy restaurants per capita (Port St. Lucie, Fla., had the overall fewest). Lastly, it had the smallest share of physically active adults.
Texas cities ranked by health, according to WalletHub
Here’s how the state’s cities ranked overall in the 2026 analysis:
