Seven Arizona cities appear in the 2026 ACSM American Fitness Index released this month, and for Queen Creek readers, most of them are next door.
Scottsdale led the state at No. 48 nationally. The East Valley showed up in force: Chandler ranked 66th, Mesa 68th and Gilbert 70th, all within the top 100, while Phoenix placed 58th, Glendale 59th and Tucson 73rd. Queen Creek itself is not evaluated; the index covers only the nation's 100 largest cities.
The index, published for the 19th year by the American College of Sports Medicine with the Elevance Health Foundation, scores the 100 largest U.S. cities on personal health measures, such as physical activity, chronic disease and health outcomes, and on community and environment measures like parks, walkability and air quality.
Arizona's cities clustered in the middle and lower-middle of the national list, a profile the report links to community and environment factors such as summer heat, sprawling development patterns and transit access, even where residents' personal health measures score better.
Across the 100 cities, the 2026 report found air quality improved in many places while food insecurity worsened for a second straight year, rising from an average of 12.9 percent to 14.4 percent, with 99 of the 100 cities reporting higher rates than the year before. Arlington, Virginia was named the nation's fittest city again, followed by Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Seattle and Denver.
