Richmond among top 10 U.S. cities that support healthy living, study finds

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond is among the top 10 of dozens of American cities that best support healthy living, according to a new study.

CoworkingCafe examined 66 U.S. cities to determine where in America someone could most easily live a healthy lifestyle based on several health-related metrics.

The cities were evaluated on the following: life quality, fitness and sports center density, availability of healthy food, availability and quality of parks ("park score"), air quality, noise pollution, availability of mental health care, walkability and cycling conditions ("bike score"). Those factors were rated and their results weighted into a final score out of 100.

Coming in first place was Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a total score of about 70. According to CoworkingCafe, it has the highest bike score of all cities studied, the second highest park score and the sixth highest score for healthy food availability.

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Cities like Portland, Oregon and Miami, Florida came in second and third, respectively, with Miami notably having the highest fitness and sports center density and the best availability of healthy food.

Richmond came in at No. 9 with a score of 58.94, trailing behind Arlington by less than a full point. The River City has the fifth-best life quality index -- which, according to the study, is helped by its short commutes, high healthcare coverage rates, low pollution and strong purchasing power.

It also ranks eighth for air quality and ninth in availability of healthy food -- the latter of which CoworkingCafe says is made possible due to a ratio of about 60 stores per 100,000 residents.

Here's the full top ten list:

1. Minneapolis, Minnesota
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Miami, Florida
4. Lincoln, Nebraska
5. Seattle, Washington
6. St. Louis, Missouri
7. Arlington, Virginia
8. San Francisco, California
9. Richmond, Virginia
10. Madison, Wisconsin

The third and final Virginia city to make the list was Virginia Beach at No. 20. The nearby Washington, D.C. came in at No. 15, while Baltimore, Maryland ranked No. 31.