MAP SO HARD

Inactivity

States with the Most Inactive Adults

#1 = most inactive

Source
CDC Nutrition, Physical Activity & Obesity (DNPAO)
Period
2024
Last updated
CDC · 2024
Map of all 50 U.S. states ranked: States with the Most Inactive Adults
States with the Most Inactive Adults (2024)

Full ranking — all 50 states

Sort by rank, state, or value. Ranks are ordinal (1 = highest by this metric). Ties are broken alphabetically by state name.

All 50 U.S. states ranked. Sortable by rank, state, or value.
1stMississippi30.6%
2ndWest Virginia28.7%
3rdArkansas28.5%
4thKentucky28%
5thOklahoma27.7%
6thAlabama27.6%
7thLouisiana27.6%
8thTennessee26%
9thDelaware25.2%
10thTexas25.1%
11thFlorida25%
12thIndiana24.6%
13thMissouri24.6%
14thNew York24%
15thIllinois23.3%
16thNevada23.2%
17thGeorgia23%
18thRhode Island22.9%
19thNew Jersey22.8%
20thPennsylvania22.7%
21stKansas22.4%
22ndOhio22.2%
23rdMichigan22%
24thVirginia21.9%
25thArizona21.8%
26thIowa21.8%
27thNew Mexico21.7%
28thNorth Dakota21.7%
29thSouth Carolina21.7%
30thWisconsin21.7%
31stNebraska21.6%
32ndMaine21.4%
33rdSouth Dakota21.4%
34thHawaii21.3%
35thWyoming21%
36thConnecticut20.8%
37thCalifornia20.7%
38thIdaho20.7%
39thNorth Carolina20.2%
40thMaryland19.5%
41stMontana19.1%
42ndOregon19%
43rdMassachusetts18.8%
44thNew Hampshire18.6%
45thAlaska18.1%
46thMinnesota17.5%
47thWashington17.4%
48thUtah16.8%
49thVermont16%
50thColorado15.6%

Per-row source notes (including any single-year exceptions) are shown on wider screens.

Methodology

This map ranks all 50 states by the share of adults who report no leisure-time physical activity — meaning that, outside of their job, they did not exercise or play sports in the past month. The data come from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) via its Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity program (question Q047).

It captures off-the-clock inactivity, not total movement, so physically demanding jobs are not counted — which is part of why inactivity tends to track with other health measures and runs highest across the South. #1 is the most inactive. We use the latest available year per state and disclose any state shown with a prior year on the page (Tennessee uses its 2023 value).

The percentages are CDC's published estimates; the ranking and presentation are ours.

Note: CDC BRFSS (DNPAO), no leisure-time physical activity (Q047), 2024 (state value is 2023, latest available)

Ranks are ordinal (1 = highest by this metric). Ties are broken alphabetically by state name.

Source & data

Source: CDC Nutrition, Physical Activity & Obesity (DNPAO)

License: Public domain (U.S. Government work)

By MAP SO HARD

Reviewed by MAP SO HARD editorial

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