Data / Rankings / Physical inactivity in adults / US states

US states by physical inactivity in adults

Mississippi had the highest physical inactivity in adults of 50 states in 2024, at 30.6%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 13.9%. The median was 21.8%. Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Highest30.6Mississippi
Lowest13.9District of Columbia
Median21.850 states

Map of states, 2024

Alabama: 27.7 %Alaska: 18.2 %Arizona: 21.8 %Arkansas: 28.5 %California: 20.7 %Colorado: 15.6 %Connecticut: 20.8 %Delaware: 25.2 %District of Columbia: 13.9 %Florida: 25 %Georgia: 23 %Hawaii: 21.3 %Idaho: 20.7 %Illinois: 23.3 %Indiana: 24.6 %Iowa: 21.8 %Kansas: 22.5 %Kentucky: 28 %Louisiana: 27.6 %Maine: 21.4 %Maryland: 19.5 %Massachusetts: 18.8 %Michigan: 22 %Minnesota: 17.5 %Mississippi: 30.6 %Missouri: 24.6 %Montana: 19.1 %Nebraska: 21.6 %Nevada: 23.2 %New Hampshire: 18.6 %New Jersey: 22.8 %New Mexico: 21.7 %New York: 24 %North Carolina: 20.2 %North Dakota: 21.7 %Ohio: 22.2 %Oklahoma: 27.7 %Oregon: 19 %Pennsylvania: 22.7 %Rhode Island: 23 %South Carolina: 21.8 %South Dakota: 21.4 %Texas: 25.1 %Utah: 16.8 %Vermont: 16 %Virginia: 21.9 %Washington: 17.4 %West Virginia: 28.7 %Wisconsin: 21.7 %Wyoming: 21 %
  • Under 19
  • 19 to 21
  • 21 to 22
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  • 25 and over
  • No data
%, 2024. 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, 2024

Mississippi: 30.6 %Mississippi30.6West Virginia: 28.7 %West Virginia28.7Arkansas: 28.5 %Arkansas28.5Kentucky: 28 %Kentucky28Alabama: 27.7 %Alabama27.7Oklahoma: 27.7 %Oklahoma27.7Louisiana: 27.6 %Louisiana27.6Delaware: 25.2 %Delaware25.2Texas: 25.1 %Texas25.1Florida: 25 %Florida25Missouri: 24.6 %Missouri24.6Indiana: 24.6 %Indiana24.6New York: 24 %New York24Illinois: 23.3 %Illinois23.3Nevada: 23.2 %Nevada23.2Georgia: 23 %Georgia23Rhode Island: 23 %Rhode Island23New Jersey: 22.8 %New Jersey22.8Pennsylvania: 22.7 %Pennsylvania22.7Kansas: 22.5 %Kansas22.5Ohio: 22.2 %Ohio22.2Michigan: 22 %Michigan22Virginia: 21.9 %Virginia21.9Arizona: 21.8 %Arizona21.8Iowa: 21.8 %Iowa21.8South Carolina: 21.8 %South Carolina21.8Wisconsin: 21.7 %Wisconsin21.7North Dakota: 21.7 %North Dakota21.7New Mexico: 21.7 %New Mexico21.7Nebraska: 21.6 %Nebraska21.6South Dakota: 21.4 %South Dakota21.4Maine: 21.4 %Maine21.4Hawaii: 21.3 %Hawaii21.3Wyoming: 21 %Wyoming21Connecticut: 20.8 %Connecticut20.8California: 20.7 %California20.7Idaho: 20.7 %Idaho20.7North Carolina: 20.2 %North Carolina20.2Maryland: 19.5 %Maryland19.5Montana: 19.1 %Montana19.1Oregon: 19 %Oregon19Massachusetts: 18.8 %Massachusetts18.8New Hampshire: 18.6 %New Hampshire18.6Alaska: 18.2 %Alaska18.2Minnesota: 17.5 %Minnesota17.5Washington: 17.4 %Washington17.4Utah: 16.8 %Utah16.8Vermont: 16 %Vermont16Colorado: 15.6 %Colorado15.6District of Columbia: 13.9 %District of Columbia13.9Mississippi: 30.6 %Mississippi30.6West Virginia: 28.7 %West Virginia28.7Arkansas: 28.5 %Arkansas28.5Kentucky: 28 %Kentucky28Alabama: 27.7 %Alabama27.7Oklahoma: 27.7 %Oklahoma27.7Louisiana: 27.6 %Louisiana27.6Delaware: 25.2 %Delaware25.2Texas: 25.1 %Texas25.1Florida: 25 %Florida25Missouri: 24.6 %Missouri24.6Indiana: 24.6 %Indiana24.6New York: 24 %New York24Illinois: 23.3 %Illinois23.3Nevada: 23.2 %Nevada23.2Georgia: 23 %Georgia23Rhode Island: 23 %Rhode Island23New Jersey: 22.8 %New Jersey22.8Pennsylvania: 22.7 %Pennsylvania22.7Kansas: 22.5 %Kansas22.5Ohio: 22.2 %Ohio22.2Michigan: 22 %Michigan22Virginia: 21.9 %Virginia21.9Arizona: 21.8 %Arizona21.8Iowa: 21.8 %Iowa21.8South Carolina: 21.8 %South Carolina21.8Wisconsin: 21.7 %Wisconsin21.7North Dakota: 21.7 %North Dakota21.7New Mexico: 21.7 %New Mexico21.7Nebraska: 21.6 %Nebraska21.6South Dakota: 21.4 %South Dakota21.4Maine: 21.4 %Maine21.4Hawaii: 21.3 %Hawaii21.3Wyoming: 21 %Wyoming21Connecticut: 20.8 %Connecticut20.8California: 20.7 %California20.7Idaho: 20.7 %Idaho20.7North Carolina: 20.2 %North Carolina20.2Maryland: 19.5 %Maryland19.5Montana: 19.1 %Montana19.1Oregon: 19 %Oregon19Massachusetts: 18.8 %Massachusetts18.8New Hampshire: 18.6 %New Hampshire18.6Alaska: 18.2 %Alaska18.2Minnesota: 17.5 %Minnesota17.5Washington: 17.4 %Washington17.4Utah: 16.8 %Utah16.8Vermont: 16 %Vermont16Colorado: 15.6 %Colorado15.6District of Columbia: 13.9 %District of Columbia13.9
%. 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

RankStates2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Mississippi30.6-2.8 pts
2West Virginia28.7-3.3 pts
3Arkansas28.5-4 pts
4Kentucky28n/a
5Alabama27.7-1.5 pts
5Oklahoma27.7-3.4 pts
7Louisiana27.6-2.5 pts
8Delaware25.2-0.8 pts
9Texas25.1-2.7 pts
10Florida25-0.4 pts
11Missouri24.6-3.5 pts
12Indiana24.6+0.2 pts
13New York24-2.1 pts
14Illinois23.3+1.9 pts
15Nevada23.2-2.5 pts
16Georgia23-1.6 pts
17Rhode Island23-3.4 pts
18New Jersey22.8-1.4 pts
19Pennsylvania22.7n/a
20Kansas22.5-2.4 pts
21Ohio22.2-4.2 pts
22Michigan22-3.3 pts
23Virginia21.9-0.4 pts
24Arizona21.8+0.5 pts
25Iowa21.8-2.3 pts
26South Carolina21.8-4.6 pts
27Wisconsin21.7-5.1 pts
28North Dakota21.7+0.2 pts
29New Mexico21.7-2.3 pts
30Nebraska21.6-2.2 pts
31South Dakota21.4-4.3 pts
32Maine21.4-1.3 pts
33Hawaii21.3-0.4 pts
34Wyoming21-5.2 pts
35Connecticut20.8-4.8 pts
36California20.7-2.2 pts
36Idaho20.7-0.4 pts
38North Carolina20.2-1.6 pts
39Maryland19.5-3.2 pts
40Montana19.1-0.5 pts
41Oregon19-0.4 pts
42Massachusetts18.8-3.2 pts
43New Hampshire18.6-2.6 pts
44Alaska18.2-2.8 pts
45Minnesota17.5-5.3 pts
46Washington17.4-0.7 pts
47Utah16.8+0.6 pts
48Vermont16-4.3 pts
49Colorado15.6-1.9 pts
50District of Columbia13.9-1.3 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 2024 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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{centers_us_states_by_physical_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/adult-physical-inactivity-rate/us-states?period=2024.
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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Rank US states by physical inactivity in adults using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which state has the highest physical inactivity in adults?

Mississippi, with 30.6% in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Which state has the lowest physical inactivity in adults?

District of Columbia, with 13.9% in 2024.

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 2024 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings