Fitness barrier index

The US cities where finding time to exercise is hardest.

Bespoke Fit analysed 50 major US cities to reveal where long commutes, working hours, early starts, poor sleep and limited park access create the greatest barriers to staying active.

Key findings

Highest barrier score

Fort Worth, TXScores 80.02 out of 100. Higher scores show stronger combined barriers to staying active.

Joint second

Houston + JacksonvilleBoth score 80.00, showing almost identical pressure across the five measures.

Lowest barrier score

Minneapolis, MNScores 7.74 out of 100. Lower scores indicate fewer everyday barriers to exercise.

Cities analysed

50Compared across commute, working hours, sleep, early starts and access to parks.

Rankings

Where everyday life creates the biggest barriers to staying active.

The Fitness Barrier Score combines five equally weighted measures: commute time, working hours, insufficient sleep, early commuting and access to parks. A higher score indicates stronger conditions associated with having less time or opportunity to exercise. Use the control below to explore the overall ranking or one measure at a time.

Top 10 by overall score

Higher score means greater barriers

    Full ranking

    All 50 cities, every measure.

    The table opens in overall Fitness Barrier Score order. Search for a city or sort any column to examine the five measures behind each result.

    50 cities

    Find your city

    What gets between your city and a workout?

    Choose a city to see its score, rank and the conditions shaping its position.

    Selected city

    Fort Worth, TX

    Score80.02/ 100
    Overall rank1 of 50

    Compare cities

    Put three routines side by side.

    Choose up to three cities to compare the same five conditions and the overall Fitness Barrier Score.

    Methodology

    What this study measured.

    This study compares conditions associated with having limited time and opportunity for exercise. It is not a direct measure of residents' free time, fitness levels or exercise participation.

    Five equally weighted metrics

    01
    Average commute

    Average travel time to work in minutes.

    20%
    02
    Working hours

    Average hours worked per week.

    20%
    03
    Insufficient sleep

    Adults sleeping fewer than seven hours per night.

    20%
    04
    Early commuting

    Workers leaving for work before 6:30am.

    20%
    05
    Park access

    Residents within a 10-minute walk of a park, reverse-scored.

    20%
    Five percentile scores×20% each=Fitness Barrier Score / 100

    How cities were ranked

    Higher values received higher barrier percentiles for commute, working hours, insufficient sleep and early commuting. Park access was reverse-scored, so lower access received a higher barrier percentile. The weighted percentile values were combined and multiplied by 100.

    Scope and sources

    The ranking covers 50 of the most populous US cities with sufficient data. Indianapolis and Columbus were removed because of limited data and replaced with Arlington and Wichita. Sources include the US Census Bureau, Trust for Public Land and CDC PLACES. The latest available release was used for each metric, so reference years differ.

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