Chicago Sits Atop WalletHub's List of Best Cities for an Active Lifestyle

The best city for an active lifestyle is Chicago, and the worst is Hialeah, Florida, according to WalletHub, a personal finance website.  

The top five cities for an active lifestyle are:

1. Chicago

2. Portland, Oregon

3. San Francisco

4. San Diego

5. Seattle

The five cities that rank at the bottom are:

96. Newark, New Jersey

97. Bakersfield, California

98. Irving, Texas

99. North Las Vegas, Nevada

100. Hialeah, Florida

WalletHub ranked the cities by comparing the 100 most populous cities by 34 key indicators under two broad categories: budget and participation as well as sports and outdoors. Part of the budget and participation category included the average monthly fitness-club fee. Part of the sports and outdoors category included the number of fitness centers per capita and the number of fitness trainers and aerobics instructors per capita.

WalletHub ranked the following cities as having the lowest monthly fitness-club fees:

1. El Paso, Texas

2. Fort Wayne, Indiana

3. Stockton, California

4. Chula Vista, California, and Garland, Texas (tied)

The cities with the highest monthly fitness-club fees are:

96. Baltimore

97. Washington, DC

98. San Francisco

99. Anchorage, Alaska

100. New York

The cities with the most fitness centers per capita are:

1. San Francisco, New York and San Diego (tied)

4. Miami

5. Los Angeles

The cities with the fewest fitness centers per capita are:

96. San Bernardino, California

97 North Las Vegas, Nevada

98. Laredo, Texas

99. Newark, New Jersey

100. Jersey City, New Jersey

The cities ranking at the top of the list for the most fitness trainers and aerobics instructors per capita are:

1. Lincoln, Nebraska

2. Denver, Colorado, and Aurora, Colorado (tied)

4. Washington, DC

5. Seattle

The cities with the fewest trainers and aerobics instructors per capita are:

96. El Paso, Texas

97. Memphis, Tennessee

98. San Antonio, Texas

99. Corpus Christi, Texas

100. Bakersfield, California 

WalletHub collected its data from the following sources: the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Council for Community and Economic Research, United States Environmental Protection Agency, White Book of Ski Areas, Numbeo, Active, IMLeagues, Trust for Public Land, Meetup, Yelp, Walk Score, Bikeshare.com, Golf.com, Fitbit, Under Armour and WalletHub research.