MINDBODY, the leading technology platform for the wellness industry, released the Top 10 list of Healthiest Cities in America as part of its 2020 MINDBODY Wellness Index.
The list was topped by Miami, FL followed by Atlanta, GA and San Francisco, CA. The study, which evaluated the largest cities in the US by population and ranked them from healthiest to least through a proprietary scoring algorithm, provides a snapshot of health in America’s largest urban centers.
The MINDBODY Wellness Index is a composite measure of consumer attitudes and behaviors towards wellness, combined with wellness business performance metrics, within a specific city.
The algorithm uses a holistic data set to define consumer health and includes consumer fitness behaviors, frequency of receiving wellness services, as well as additional measures like BMI, alcohol consumption, connection to community, healthy eating, and spiritual wellness.
Miami achieved high marks in all the major measures with eighty percent of residents engaged in exercise at least once a week.
Thirty-one percent of consumers in Miami place a high priority on receiving self-care and salon and spa services, the largest percentage among the cities analyzed.
It also ranked as the most rested, with sixty-two percent saying they get at least seven to eight hours of sleep a night.
Miami also ranks as one of the highest in use of integrative health services such as massage and chiropractic care.
Additionally, sixty-one percent of Miami residents say they feel spiritually fulfilled.
Miami also has a thriving business climate for wellness service providers.
Miami businesses are very successful in retaining consumers despite a very competitive market where there is more than twice the density of wellness businesses than average.
These businesses are also able to achieve relatively higher revenues and higher efficiency in providing wellness services to residents.
It appears Miamians have plenty of wellness options available to them, making it easy to stick to a holistic wellness routine of their choosing.
“Our research validates that health and wellness is on the rise in hundreds of communities across the country, and these 10 cities exemplify that trend,” said Rick Stollmeyer, MINDBODY CEO and co-founder.
“We know there is significant, and growing, consumer appetite for a wide variety of wellness services, and as the leading technology platform enabling powerful wellness experiences, we are excited to help fuel the movement.”
Top 10 Healthiest Cities in America as measured by the 2020 MINDBODY Wellness Index
- Miami, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- San Francisco, CA
- Denver, CO
- Austin, TX
- Seattle, WA
- Washington, DC
- Tampa, FL
- Minneapolis, MN
- Raleigh, NC
Other key insights show San Francisco as the city with the highest percentage of residents who visit multiple wellness businesses.
Washington, DC is the number one spender in the beauty and grooming category. In Minneapolis, thirty percent of consumers take yoga classes at least once a week, which is the second-highest percentage of yoga enthusiasts per capita within the cities analyzed.
Raleigh is the high-intensity interval training (HIIT) capital of the US, with twenty-two percent of residents engaging in HIIT fitness classes.
In addition to city rankings, the study identified five wellness trends that will be top-of-mind for consumers heading into the New Year.
The 2020 MINDBODY Wellness Index trends include experiential wellness, lash services, nap bars/pods, emotional wellness, and recovery services.