America's unhealthiest city: Brownsville in Texas tops list of unfit parts of the US due to poor healthcare and amount of fruit and vegetables consumed

• e-mail

Brownsville, Texas has been ranked the unhealthiest city in the United States according to several dozen key metrics including the availability of healthcare and the amount of healthy foods consumed.

A WalletHub study of the country's 182 most populous cities found that Brownsville, a city of roughly 186,000 people, ranked dead last.

The city, which borders the US's border with Mexico, ranked at the very bottom of the study's 'Food' and 'Fitness' categories, and ranked 172nd in terms of its 'Green Space' and 169th for its 'Health Care.'

Interestingly, Brownsville ranked 2nd lowest on the list of cities' cost of medical visits.

The top ten unhealthiest cities in the United States as determined by a WalletHub stufy

The rankings were calculated based on a number of metrics including access to Health Care, access to healthy food, overall fitness of the city, and amount of green space

Brownsville was founded in 1848 by an American businessman who had established a successful river-boat company nearby. It is 94 percent Hispanic and known in part for its Hispanic culture.

Brownsville is often cited as having one of the highest poverty rates in the country. 

The goal of the study was largely to assess which areas prioritize the well-being of their residents.

On the whole, cities in the southern part of the country were ranked lower on the list, and fill out entirely the top ten list. 

Poor southern cities are by and large regarded as less healthy for a number of reasons including a high poverty rate and less access to regular medical care.

Other contenders for least healthy large US cities were Gulfport, Mississippi; Shreveport, Louisiana; Columbus, Georgia; and Augusta, Georgia.

Columbus, Georgia ranked lowest of all the cities with the worst Health Care score, a calculation that accounted for factors including each city's rate of premature death, mental health resources, cost of medical care, numbers of residents with insurance, and number of residents who have been vaccinated.

Despite a reputation for little green acreage, cities like New York and Los Angeles ranked well in the 'green space' category. The city with the least green space, as it turns out, is Montgomery, Alabama.

While the study notes that the average employer-provided healthcare plan will jump about 5.6 percent in 2023, it also notes that doctors' bills in general are most expensive in Alaska. Patients in Juneau and Anchorage tied for the highest cost per medical visit in the country.

Brownsville, Texas was ranked as the number one unhealthiest city in the United States

Brownsville is located at the southernmost tip of Texas on the border with Mexico. It is 94 percent Hispanic and known for its abundance of Hispanic culture

Shreveport, Louisiana was ranked the third unhealthiest city in the US

Gulfport, Mississippi was ranked as the second unhealthiest city in the US

Potentially due to gun violence, as well as a variety of other factors, Baltimore, Maryland ranked highest among cities with a premature death rate.

The Charm City tied with two other nearby cities - Huntington and Charleston, West Virginia. Coming in fourth and fifth were St. Louis, Missouri, another city with significant gun violence, and Augusta, Georgia.

In assessing cities with the 'healthiest' places to eat around town, Grand Prairie, Texas ranked last. Also ranked low on that list were cities including Aurora, Illinois; North Las Vegas, Nevada; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Hialeah, Florida.

Hialeah also has the distinction of being the city with the most physically inactive adults in the United States.