Data / Rankings / Physical inactivity in adults / US states

US states by physical inactivity in adults

Mississippi had the highest physical inactivity in adults of 49 states in 2023, at 33.4%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 15.2%. The median was 24.2%. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Highest33.4Mississippi
Lowest15.2District of Columbia
Median24.249 states

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 29.1 %Alaska: 20.9 %Arizona: 21.3 %Arkansas: 32.5 %California: 22.9 %Colorado: 17.5 %Connecticut: 25.5 %Delaware: 26 %District of Columbia: 15.2 %Florida: 25.4 %Georgia: 24.6 %Hawaii: 21.7 %Idaho: 21.1 %Illinois: 21.4 %Indiana: 24.4 %Iowa: 24.1 %Kansas: 24.8 %Louisiana: 30.1 %Maine: 22.6 %Maryland: 22.7 %Massachusetts: 22 %Michigan: 25.3 %Minnesota: 22.8 %Mississippi: 33.4 %Missouri: 28.1 %Montana: 19.6 %Nebraska: 23.8 %Nevada: 25.7 %New Hampshire: 21.2 %New Jersey: 24.2 %New Mexico: 24 %New York: 26.1 %North Carolina: 21.8 %North Dakota: 21.5 %Ohio: 26.4 %Oklahoma: 31 %Oregon: 19.4 %Rhode Island: 26.4 %South Carolina: 26.3 %South Dakota: 25.7 %Tennessee: 26 %Texas: 27.8 %Utah: 16.2 %Vermont: 20.3 %Virginia: 22.3 %Washington: 18.1 %West Virginia: 32 %Wisconsin: 26.8 %Wyoming: 26.2 %
  • Under 21
  • 21 to 22
  • 22 to 24
  • 24 to 26
  • 26 to 27
  • 27 and over
  • No data
%, 2023. 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, 2023

Mississippi: 33.4 %Mississippi33.4Arkansas: 32.5 %Arkansas32.5West Virginia: 32 %West Virginia32Oklahoma: 31 %Oklahoma31Louisiana: 30.1 %Louisiana30.1Alabama: 29.1 %Alabama29.1Missouri: 28.1 %Missouri28.1Texas: 27.8 %Texas27.8Wisconsin: 26.8 %Wisconsin26.8Ohio: 26.4 %Ohio26.4Rhode Island: 26.4 %Rhode Island26.4South Carolina: 26.3 %South Carolina26.3Wyoming: 26.2 %Wyoming26.2New York: 26.1 %New York26.1Delaware: 26 %Delaware26Tennessee: 26 %Tennessee26Nevada: 25.7 %Nevada25.7South Dakota: 25.7 %South Dakota25.7Connecticut: 25.5 %Connecticut25.5Florida: 25.4 %Florida25.4Michigan: 25.3 %Michigan25.3Kansas: 24.8 %Kansas24.8Georgia: 24.6 %Georgia24.6Indiana: 24.4 %Indiana24.4New Jersey: 24.2 %New Jersey24.2Iowa: 24.1 %Iowa24.1New Mexico: 24 %New Mexico24Nebraska: 23.8 %Nebraska23.8California: 22.9 %California22.9Minnesota: 22.8 %Minnesota22.8Maryland: 22.7 %Maryland22.7Maine: 22.6 %Maine22.6Virginia: 22.3 %Virginia22.3Massachusetts: 22 %Massachusetts22North Carolina: 21.8 %North Carolina21.8Hawaii: 21.7 %Hawaii21.7North Dakota: 21.5 %North Dakota21.5Illinois: 21.4 %Illinois21.4Arizona: 21.3 %Arizona21.3New Hampshire: 21.2 %New Hampshire21.2Idaho: 21.1 %Idaho21.1Alaska: 20.9 %Alaska20.9Vermont: 20.3 %Vermont20.3Montana: 19.6 %Montana19.6Oregon: 19.4 %Oregon19.4Washington: 18.1 %Washington18.1Colorado: 17.5 %Colorado17.5Utah: 16.2 %Utah16.2District of Columbia: 15.2 %District of Columbia15.2Mississippi: 33.4 %Mississippi33.4Arkansas: 32.5 %Arkansas32.5West Virginia: 32 %West Virginia32Oklahoma: 31 %Oklahoma31Louisiana: 30.1 %Louisiana30.1Alabama: 29.1 %Alabama29.1Missouri: 28.1 %Missouri28.1Texas: 27.8 %Texas27.8Wisconsin: 26.8 %Wisconsin26.8Ohio: 26.4 %Ohio26.4Rhode Island: 26.4 %Rhode Island26.4South Carolina: 26.3 %South Carolina26.3Wyoming: 26.2 %Wyoming26.2New York: 26.1 %New York26.1Delaware: 26 %Delaware26Tennessee: 26 %Tennessee26Nevada: 25.7 %Nevada25.7South Dakota: 25.7 %South Dakota25.7Connecticut: 25.5 %Connecticut25.5Florida: 25.4 %Florida25.4Michigan: 25.3 %Michigan25.3Kansas: 24.8 %Kansas24.8Georgia: 24.6 %Georgia24.6Indiana: 24.4 %Indiana24.4New Jersey: 24.2 %New Jersey24.2Iowa: 24.1 %Iowa24.1New Mexico: 24 %New Mexico24Nebraska: 23.8 %Nebraska23.8California: 22.9 %California22.9Minnesota: 22.8 %Minnesota22.8Maryland: 22.7 %Maryland22.7Maine: 22.6 %Maine22.6Virginia: 22.3 %Virginia22.3Massachusetts: 22 %Massachusetts22North Carolina: 21.8 %North Carolina21.8Hawaii: 21.7 %Hawaii21.7North Dakota: 21.5 %North Dakota21.5Illinois: 21.4 %Illinois21.4Arizona: 21.3 %Arizona21.3New Hampshire: 21.2 %New Hampshire21.2Idaho: 21.1 %Idaho21.1Alaska: 20.9 %Alaska20.9Vermont: 20.3 %Vermont20.3Montana: 19.6 %Montana19.6Oregon: 19.4 %Oregon19.4Washington: 18.1 %Washington18.1Colorado: 17.5 %Colorado17.5Utah: 16.2 %Utah16.2District of Columbia: 15.2 %District of Columbia15.2
%. 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

RankStates2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Mississippi33.4+1.5 pts
2Arkansas32.5+1.3 pts
3West Virginia32+1.8 pts
4Oklahoma31+1.5 pts
5Louisiana30.1+1.8 pts
6Alabama29.1+0.1 pts
7Missouri28.1+2.8 pts
8Texas27.8+2.3 pts
9Wisconsin26.8+4.9 pts
10Ohio26.4+1.3 pts
10Rhode Island26.4+2.2 pts
12South Carolina26.3+0.3 pts
13Wyoming26.2+3.6 pts
14New York26.1+0.5 pts
15Delaware26+2.5 pts
15Tennessee26-1.7 pts
17Nevada25.7-0.4 pts
17South Dakota25.7+2.3 pts
19Connecticut25.5+2.4 pts
20Florida25.4+1 pts
21Michigan25.3+1.4 pts
22Kansas24.8+1.5 pts
23Georgia24.6+0.8 pts
24Indiana24.4-3.1 pts
25New Jersey24.2+0.9 pts
26Iowa24.1-1.8 pts
27New Mexico24-0.2 pts
28Nebraska23.8-0.9 pts
29California22.9+1 pts
30Minnesota22.8+2.3 pts
31Maryland22.7+1.5 pts
32Maine22.60 pts
33Virginia22.3+1.4 pts
34Massachusetts22+0.7 pts
35North Carolina21.8-1.3 pts
36Hawaii21.7+0.4 pts
37North Dakota21.5-2.5 pts
38Illinois21.4-1.4 pts
39Arizona21.3-2.1 pts
40New Hampshire21.2+1.2 pts
41Idaho21.1-0.4 pts
42Alaska20.9-0.6 pts
43Vermont20.3+0.5 pts
44Montana19.60 pts
45Oregon19.4+0.4 pts
46Washington18.1+0.7 pts
47Colorado17.5+0.7 pts
48Utah16.2-0.6 pts
49District of Columbia15.20 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. 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). 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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_us_states_by_physical_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2023.
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?

Mississippi, with 33.4% in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest physical inactivity in adults?

District of Columbia, with 15.2% 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, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data, 2011 to present (dttw-5yxu), physical inactivity in adults, crude prevalence, overall. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 2 states have no value for 2023 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings