Data / Rankings / Physical inactivity in adults / US states

US states by physical inactivity in adults

Alabama had the highest physical inactivity in adults of 50 states in 2021, at 31.5%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 15.8%. The median was 23.7%. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Highest31.5Alabama
Lowest15.8District of Columbia
Median23.750 states

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 31.5 %Alaska: 20.3 %Arizona: 22.7 %Arkansas: 30.6 %California: 20.1 %Colorado: 16.7 %Connecticut: 22.9 %Delaware: 27.2 %District of Columbia: 15.8 %Georgia: 23.7 %Hawaii: 20 %Idaho: 20.5 %Illinois: 27.2 %Indiana: 25.9 %Iowa: 24.7 %Kansas: 23.6 %Kentucky: 30.5 %Louisiana: 29.4 %Maine: 26.5 %Maryland: 21.7 %Massachusetts: 21.1 %Michigan: 23.1 %Minnesota: 20.2 %Mississippi: 30.9 %Missouri: 25.3 %Montana: 21.2 %Nebraska: 24.2 %Nevada: 24.2 %New Hampshire: 20 %New Jersey: 24.1 %New Mexico: 23 %New York: 25.8 %North Carolina: 22.3 %North Dakota: 25.5 %Ohio: 26 %Oklahoma: 28.3 %Oregon: 19.9 %Pennsylvania: 24.2 %Rhode Island: 24.2 %South Carolina: 25 %South Dakota: 23.2 %Tennessee: 28.7 %Texas: 25.1 %Utah: 17.3 %Vermont: 17.8 %Virginia: 20.9 %Washington: 17.8 %West Virginia: 30.5 %Wisconsin: 20.3 %Wyoming: 22.9 %
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 22
  • 22 to 24
  • 24 to 25
  • 25 to 27
  • 27 and over
  • No data
%, 2021. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

Alabama: 31.5 %Alabama31.5Mississippi: 30.9 %Mississippi30.9Arkansas: 30.6 %Arkansas30.6Kentucky: 30.5 %Kentucky30.5West Virginia: 30.5 %West Virginia30.5Louisiana: 29.4 %Louisiana29.4Tennessee: 28.7 %Tennessee28.7Oklahoma: 28.3 %Oklahoma28.3Delaware: 27.2 %Delaware27.2Illinois: 27.2 %Illinois27.2Maine: 26.5 %Maine26.5Ohio: 26 %Ohio26Indiana: 25.9 %Indiana25.9New York: 25.8 %New York25.8North Dakota: 25.5 %North Dakota25.5Missouri: 25.3 %Missouri25.3Texas: 25.1 %Texas25.1South Carolina: 25 %South Carolina25Iowa: 24.7 %Iowa24.7Nebraska: 24.2 %Nebraska24.2Nevada: 24.2 %Nevada24.2Pennsylvania: 24.2 %Pennsylvania24.2Rhode Island: 24.2 %Rhode Island24.2New Jersey: 24.1 %New Jersey24.1Georgia: 23.7 %Georgia23.7Kansas: 23.6 %Kansas23.6South Dakota: 23.2 %South Dakota23.2Michigan: 23.1 %Michigan23.1New Mexico: 23 %New Mexico23Connecticut: 22.9 %Connecticut22.9Wyoming: 22.9 %Wyoming22.9Arizona: 22.7 %Arizona22.7North Carolina: 22.3 %North Carolina22.3Maryland: 21.7 %Maryland21.7Montana: 21.2 %Montana21.2Massachusetts: 21.1 %Massachusetts21.1Virginia: 20.9 %Virginia20.9Idaho: 20.5 %Idaho20.5Alaska: 20.3 %Alaska20.3Wisconsin: 20.3 %Wisconsin20.3Minnesota: 20.2 %Minnesota20.2California: 20.1 %California20.1Hawaii: 20 %Hawaii20New Hampshire: 20 %New Hampshire20Oregon: 19.9 %Oregon19.9Vermont: 17.8 %Vermont17.8Washington: 17.8 %Washington17.8Utah: 17.3 %Utah17.3Colorado: 16.7 %Colorado16.7District of Columbia: 15.8 %District of Columbia15.8Alabama: 31.5 %Alabama31.5Mississippi: 30.9 %Mississippi30.9Arkansas: 30.6 %Arkansas30.6Kentucky: 30.5 %Kentucky30.5West Virginia: 30.5 %West Virginia30.5Louisiana: 29.4 %Louisiana29.4Tennessee: 28.7 %Tennessee28.7Oklahoma: 28.3 %Oklahoma28.3Delaware: 27.2 %Delaware27.2Illinois: 27.2 %Illinois27.2Maine: 26.5 %Maine26.5Ohio: 26 %Ohio26Indiana: 25.9 %Indiana25.9New York: 25.8 %New York25.8North Dakota: 25.5 %North Dakota25.5Missouri: 25.3 %Missouri25.3Texas: 25.1 %Texas25.1South Carolina: 25 %South Carolina25Iowa: 24.7 %Iowa24.7Nebraska: 24.2 %Nebraska24.2Nevada: 24.2 %Nevada24.2Pennsylvania: 24.2 %Pennsylvania24.2Rhode Island: 24.2 %Rhode Island24.2New Jersey: 24.1 %New Jersey24.1Georgia: 23.7 %Georgia23.7Kansas: 23.6 %Kansas23.6South Dakota: 23.2 %South Dakota23.2Michigan: 23.1 %Michigan23.1New Mexico: 23 %New Mexico23Connecticut: 22.9 %Connecticut22.9Wyoming: 22.9 %Wyoming22.9Arizona: 22.7 %Arizona22.7North Carolina: 22.3 %North Carolina22.3Maryland: 21.7 %Maryland21.7Montana: 21.2 %Montana21.2Massachusetts: 21.1 %Massachusetts21.1Virginia: 20.9 %Virginia20.9Idaho: 20.5 %Idaho20.5Alaska: 20.3 %Alaska20.3Wisconsin: 20.3 %Wisconsin20.3Minnesota: 20.2 %Minnesota20.2California: 20.1 %California20.1Hawaii: 20 %Hawaii20New Hampshire: 20 %New Hampshire20Oregon: 19.9 %Oregon19.9Vermont: 17.8 %Vermont17.8Washington: 17.8 %Washington17.8Utah: 17.3 %Utah17.3Colorado: 16.7 %Colorado16.7District of Columbia: 15.8 %District of Columbia15.8
%. Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Alabama31.5+2.7 pts
2Mississippi30.9+0.9 pts
3Arkansas30.6+0.9 pts
4Kentucky30.5-0.1 pts
4West Virginia30.5+0.8 pts
6Louisiana29.4+0.4 pts
7Tennessee28.7+4.1 pts
8Oklahoma28.3-0.3 pts
9Delaware27.2+2.5 pts
9Illinois27.2+1.9 pts
11Maine26.5+5 pts
12Ohio26+1.5 pts
13Indiana25.9-0.4 pts
14New York25.8+0.2 pts
15North Dakota25.5+0.9 pts
16Missouri25.3-0.4 pts
17Texas25.1-0.5 pts
18South Carolina25-1.6 pts
19Iowa24.7+1.1 pts
20Nebraska24.2+2.7 pts
20Nevada24.2-1.2 pts
20Pennsylvania24.2-0.3 pts
20Rhode Island24.2+0.7 pts
24New Jersey24.1+3.1 pts
25Georgia23.7-1.1 pts
26Kansas23.6+1.6 pts
27South Dakota23.2+0.8 pts
28Michigan23.1+2.3 pts
29New Mexico230 pts
30Connecticut22.9+2.3 pts
30Wyoming22.9+0.5 pts
32Arizona22.7+0.3 pts
33North Carolina22.3-0.4 pts
34Maryland21.7+0.7 pts
35Montana21.2+2.3 pts
36Massachusetts21.1+1.2 pts
37Virginia20.90 pts
38Idaho20.50 pts
39Alaska20.3-1 pts
39Wisconsin20.3-0.2 pts
41Minnesota20.2+1.1 pts
42California20.1-1.1 pts
43Hawaii20+0.8 pts
43New Hampshire20+0.7 pts
45Oregon19.9+1.4 pts
46Vermont17.8-0.4 pts
46Washington17.80 pts
48Utah17.3+1.4 pts
49Colorado16.7+0.1 pts
50District of Columbia15.8-2.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Percentage of adults aged 18 and over who did no physical activity or exercise outside their regular job in the past month, such as running, golf, gardening or walking for exercise. Crude prevalence, not age-adjusted.

CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey of adults, crude prevalence. States and DC only: BRFSS publishes the median of the states rather than a national prevalence, so no national value is served. A state that did not meet BRFSS data standards in a year has no value, and CDC withholds estimates from fewer than 50 respondents or with a relative standard error above 0.3. The dataset also publishes 95% confidence intervals. The series starts in 2011, when BRFSS changed its weighting and added cell phones. BRFSS variable _TOTINDA, adults who answered no to any physical activity in the past month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. 1 states with data in other periods have no value for 2021 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). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall (US states by physical inactivity in adults, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27

MLA 9

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall, US states by physical inactivity in adults, 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2026, https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2026. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. US states by physical inactivity in adults, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2026) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall, US states by physical inactivity in adults, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_us_states_by_physical_2021,
  author = {{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}},
  title = {{Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall: US states by physical inactivity in adults, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?\%24order=\%3Aid\&\%24limit=50000\&\%24where=questionid+in+\%28\%27\_TOTINDA\%27\%29+AND+responseid+in+\%28\%27RESP054\%27\%29+AND+breakoutid\%3D\%27BO1\%27+AND+data\_value\_type\%3D\%27Crude+Prevalence\%27. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
TI  - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall: US states by physical inactivity in adults, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/15
PB  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. https://data.cdc.gov/resource/dttw-5yxu.json?%24order=%3Aid&%24limit=50000&%24where=questionid+in+%28%27_TOTINDA%27%29+AND+responseid+in+%28%27RESP054%27%29+AND+breakoutid%3D%27BO1%27+AND+data_value_type%3D%27Crude+Prevalence%27. Retrieved 2026-10-12. These data are available free from CDC. Use does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest physical inactivity in adults?

Alabama, with 31.5% in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest physical inactivity in adults?

District of Columbia, with 15.8% in 2021.

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, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 states have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings