These NY cities are some of the healthiest in the U.S. Where does Rochester rank?

New York has four of the healthiest cities in the country, a new study released by WalletHub reveals.

Rochester, Buffalo, Yonkers and New York City made the list, which compared more than 180 of the most populated U.S. cities across 41 key metrics ranging from medical visits to fruit and vegetable consumption.

“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 says. “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.”

Here’s what to know about Rochester’s ranking.

Is Rochester a healthy city?

While Rochester’s known for its garbage plates piled high with innumerable combinations of more traditional toppings of macaroni salad and hot dogs to some out-of-the-box options like banana peppers and scrambled eggs, how health-conscious is the Flower City?

According to WalletHub, it fares pretty well.

Rochester received a total score of 54.03, putting it in the 40th spot on the list. According to the study, the city received a food score of 33, a green space score of 16, a health care score of 67 and a fitness score of 88.

Top NY workplaces of 2025 named in USA TODAY survey

How WalletHub assessed cities’ prioritization of its residents’ well-being

WalletHub compared 182 cities — including 150 of the most populated cities in the U.S. along with at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across four key determinants: health care, food, fitness and green space.

Three NY locations rank among TIME’s world’s greatest places of 2025

The fitness category analyzed these components:

• Share of adults who engage in any physical activity
• Well-being “physical” score
• Fitness and instruction centers per capita
• Average cost of fitness-club membership
• Weight loss centers per capita
• Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors per capita
• Intramural leagues per capita

And the green space category took a look at these aspects:

• Parkland acres per capita
• Quality of parks
• Hiking trails per capita
• Walk score
• Bike score
• Physical-activity access
• City “greenness”
• Recreation access

Data used to create the ranking was sourced from multiple entities, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration, county health rankings and the Sharecare Community Well-Being Index.

Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.