Data / Rankings / Adult obesity rate / US states

US states by adult obesity rate

West Virginia had the highest adult obesity rate of 49 states in 2023, at 41.2%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 23.5%. The median was 34.3% and the figure for the United States was 32.8%. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Highest41.2West Virginia
Lowest23.5District of Columbia
Median34.349 states
United States32.8History

All states, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

West VirginiaWest Virginia: 41.2 %41.2MississippiMississippi: 40.1 %40.1ArkansasArkansas: 40 %40LouisianaLouisiana: 39.9 %39.9AlabamaAlabama: 39.2 %39.2OklahomaOklahoma: 38.7 %38.7IndianaIndiana: 37.8 %37.8IowaIowa: 37.8 %37.8TennesseeTennessee: 37.6 %37.6NebraskaNebraska: 36.6 %36.6OhioOhio: 36.4 %36.4IllinoisIllinois: 36 %36South CarolinaSouth Carolina: 36 %36South DakotaSouth Dakota: 36 %36KansasKansas: 35.9 %35.9WisconsinWisconsin: 35.9 %35.9DelawareDelaware: 35.7 %35.7North DakotaNorth Dakota: 35.6 %35.6MichiganMichigan: 35.4 %35.4MissouriMissouri: 35.3 %35.3New MexicoNew Mexico: 35.3 %35.3AlaskaAlaska: 35.2 %35.2GeorgiaGeorgia: 35 %35TexasTexas: 34.4 %34.4VirginiaVirginia: 34.3 %34.3MarylandMaryland: 34.1 %34.1North CarolinaNorth Carolina: 34 %34OregonOregon: 33.6 %33.6MinnesotaMinnesota: 33.3 %33.3WyomingWyoming: 33.3 %33.3New HampshireNew Hampshire: 32.8 %32.8MaineMaine: 32.6 %32.6ArizonaArizona: 31.9 %31.9Rhode IslandRhode Island: 31.6 %31.6IdahoIdaho: 31 %31NevadaNevada: 30.8 %30.8WashingtonWashington: 30.6 %30.6MontanaMontana: 30.5 %30.5UtahUtah: 30.2 %30.2FloridaFlorida: 30.1 %30.1ConnecticutConnecticut: 29.4 %29.4New JerseyNew Jersey: 28.9 %28.9VermontVermont: 28.8 %28.8New YorkNew York: 28 %28CaliforniaCalifornia: 27.7 %27.7MassachusettsMassachusetts: 27.4 %27.4HawaiiHawaii: 26.1 %26.1ColoradoColorado: 24.9 %24.9District of ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia: 23.5 %23.5
%. Source: CDC. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankStates2023 (%)Change on 2022
1West Virginia41.2+0.2 pts
2Mississippi40.1+0.6 pts
3Arkansas40+2.6 pts
4Louisiana39.9-0.2 pts
5Alabama39.2+0.9 pts
6Oklahoma38.7-1.3 pts
7Indiana37.8+0.1 pts
7Iowa37.8+0.4 pts
9Tennessee37.6-1.3 pts
10Nebraska36.6+1.3 pts
11Ohio36.4-1.7 pts
12Illinois36+2.6 pts
12South Carolina36+1 pts
12South Dakota36-0.8 pts
15Kansas35.9+0.2 pts
15Wisconsin35.9-1.8 pts
17Delaware35.7-2.2 pts
18North Dakota35.6+0.2 pts
19Michigan35.4+0.9 pts
20Missouri35.3-1.1 pts
20New Mexico35.3+2.9 pts
22Alaska35.2+3.1 pts
23Georgia35-2 pts
24Texas34.4-1.1 pts
25Virginia34.3-0.9 pts
26Maryland34.1+0.9 pts
27North Carolina34-0.1 pts
28Oregon33.6+2.7 pts
29Minnesota33.3-0.3 pts
29Wyoming33.3-1 pts
31New Hampshire32.8+2.6 pts
32Maine32.6-0.5 pts
33Arizona31.9-1.3 pts
34Rhode Island31.6+0.8 pts
35Idaho31-2.2 pts
36Nevada30.8-2.7 pts
37Washington30.6-1.1 pts
38Montana30.50 pts
39Utah30.2-0.9 pts
40Florida30.1-1.5 pts
41Connecticut29.4-1.2 pts
42New Jersey28.9-0.2 pts
43Vermont28.8+2 pts
44New York28-2.1 pts
45California27.7-0.4 pts
46Massachusetts27.4+0.2 pts
47Hawaii26.1+0.2 pts
48Colorado24.9-0.1 pts
49District of Columbia23.5-0.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Percentage of adults aged 18 and over with obesity, defined as a body mass index of 30 or more calculated from self-reported height and weight. Crude prevalence, not age-adjusted.

United States: CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey. Self-reported measurements give lower figures than measured surveys such as NHANES. The national figure pools respondents from the 50 states and DC; a state that did not meet BRFSS data standards in a year (California, Mississippi and Nevada in 2025) has no value and is left out of that year's national figure. Territories are not included. The series starts in 2011, when BRFSS changed its weighting and added cell phones, so earlier estimates are not comparable.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. 2 states with data in other periods have no value for 2023 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (hn4x-zwk7), percent of adults aged 18 years and older who have obesity, total. https://data.cdc.gov/resource/hn4x-zwk7.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid%3D%27Q036%27+AND+stratificationid1%3D%27OVERALL%27+AND+datavaluetypeid%3D%27VALUE%27. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by adult obesity rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"adult_obesity_rate","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=adult_obesity_rate&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest adult obesity rate?

West Virginia, with 41.2% in 2023, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest adult obesity rate?

District of Columbia, with 23.5% in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (hn4x-zwk7), percent of adults aged 18 years and older who have obesity, total. Retrieved 2026-10-09. 2 states have no value for 2023 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings