The Best Cities for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions

2020 wooden text and New Year's Goals List written on Notebook with alarm clock, pen, coffee over wooden background

New Year’s is a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future — what went well, what went wrong, and what you want to be different next year. Setting resolutions can be a way to make sure you meet your goals to have a better year than the one before. What we’ve found is that where you live can have an impact on your ability to achieve them.

At House Method, stepped away from our usual in-depth content such as American Home Shield reviews, Choice Home Warranty reviews, and First American reviews to reflect on the past year and what the New Year might bring. We ranked the 100 largest cities in the U.S. on the four most common New Year’s resolutions: exercise, healthy eating, saving money, and reducing stress. We then compiled those rankings to create our list of the Best Cities for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions. Read on for the complete rankings and methodology.

Main Findings

Best Cities for Keeping New Year's Resolutions

Overall Rank	City, State	Exercise Rank	Healthy Eating Rank	Saving Money Rank	Reducing Stress Rank
1	Scottsdale, AZ	52	2	6	18
2	Madison, WI	26	16	30	7
3	Jersey City, NJ	6	3	71	3
4	Anaheim, CA	4	1	85	1
5	Minneapolis, MN	15	41	35	6
6	Denver, CO	11	35	50	11
7	Aurora, CO	20	23	59	9
8	Irving, TX	59	4	5	43
9	Irvine, CA	21	6	81	4
10	Plano, TX	55	15	1	42
11	Boise, ID	50	14	23	31
12	Glendale, AZ	47	10	49	12
13	Santa Ana, CA	14	5	86	16
14	Chandler, AZ	71	9	3	49
15	Atlanta, GA	22	31	46	36
16	Mesa, AZ	51	11	36	38
17	Seattle, WA	5	82	41	8
18	Gilbert, AZ	69	8	2	58
19	Chula Vista, CA	29	12	73	29
20	St. Petersburg, FL	49	30	25	39
21	Lincoln, NE	58	57	21	14
22	Albuquerque, NM	54	37	26	34
23	San Jose, CA	16	45	63	27
24	Garland, TX	73	7	14	60
25	Saint Paul, MN	44	58	31	21
26	Portland, OR	19	59	62	15
27	Pittsburgh, PA	24	55	64	13
28	Austin, TX	35	47	22	54
29	Long Beach, CA	12	29	92	26
30	Washington, DC	13	78	48	20
31	Richmond, VA	36	28	68	28
32	Durham, NC	60	25	53	23
33	San Diego, CA	17	50	83	17
34	San Francisco, CA	3	95	66	5
35	Cincinnati, OH	48	26	58	44
36	Spokane, WA	46	92	29	10
37	Milwaukee, WI	27	49	70	32
38	Orlando, FL	43	18	65	56
39	Anchorage, AK	57	97	10	19
40	Omaha, NE	66	73	11	33
41	El Paso, TX	78	13	16	79
42	Sacramento, CA	31	51	80	24
43	Oakland, CA	9	86	90	2
44	Dallas, TX	33	22	54	81
45	Fremont, CA	30	71	40	50
46	Lexington, KY	75	27	24	67
47	Houston, TX	42	19	45	93
48	Henderson, NV	96	21	7	78
49	Phoenix, AZ	38	43	39	82
50	Buffalo, NY	32	62	87	22
51	Virginia Beach, VA	70	61	15	57
52	Nashville, TN	79	24	17	85
53	Riverside, CA	45	17	78	65
54	Wichita, KS	84	46	8	68
55	Hialeah, FL	23	34	98	52
56	Colorado Springs, CO	63	74	32	40
57	Greensboro, NC	67	40	60	45
58	Chicago, IL	10	81	72	51
59	Tampa, FL	53	36	56	69
60	Boston, MA	7	98	82	30
61	Cleveland, OH	41	42	93	41
62	Miami, FL	18	53	99	47
63	Raleigh, NC	68	77	28	48
64	Kansas City, MO	72	65	34	53
65	Chesapeake, VA	97	32	4	92
66	Fort Worth, TX	76	44	18	89
67	St. Louis, MO	34	89	67	37
68	Reno, NV	65	85	61	25
69	Laredo, TX	100	20	20	100
70	Fort Wayne, IN	87	67	13	80
71	Tucson, AZ	61	63	57	66
72	Philadelphia, PA	8	94	84	62
73	Charlotte, NC	74	48	33	95
74	Honolulu, HI	28	96	91	35
75	Los Angeles, CA	2	84	96	70
76	Newark, NJ	25	52	100	77
77	Baltimore, MD	40	69	76	73
78	Louisville, KY	83	54	27	94
79	Lubbock, TX	86	79	38	55
80	North Las Vegas, NV	91	33	52	83
81	Oklahoma City, OK	94	70	12	84
82	Arlington, TX	77	88	9	91
83	Columbus, OH	64	87	43	71
84	Winston–Salem, NC	90	38	51	86
85	Las Vegas, NV	80	56	55	75
86	Fresno, CA	39	83	88	59
87	Corpus Christi, TX	99	76	19	76
88	Tulsa, OK	93	75	37	72
89	Detroit, MI	56	66	95	61
90	New Orleans, LA	37	99	97	46
91	New York, NY	1	100	94	88
92	San Antonio, TX	82	64	42	98
93	Norfolk, VA	81	72	74	63
94	Indianapolis, IN	89	68	47	97
95	Memphis, TN	95	39	79	90
96	Toledo, OH	85	80	77	64
97	Baton Rouge, LA	92	60	69	87
98	Stockton, CA	62	90	89	74
99	Jacksonville, FL	98	93	44	99
100	Bakersfield, CA	88	91	75	96

Summary

The best city overall for keeping new year’s resolutions is Scottsdale, Arizona. Scottsdale scored high in three of the categories evaluated. It’s the second best city for healthy eating and the sixth best city for saving money. With all the factors combined, Scottsdale made the top spot.

Right behind Scottsdale is Madison, Wisconsin. Madison is a top contender for a place to live if you want to reduce stress and eat healthy — knockout two new year’s resolutions in one city. Rounding out the top five is Jersey City, NJ, Anaheim, CA, and Minneapolis, MN.

Landing themselves in the very last spot is Bakersfield, California. When taking all factors into account, Bakersfield just doesn’t add up to the rest of the cities. The city scored in the bottom ten in almost every category evaluated. The other cities that join Bakersfield for the worst cities to live if you want to keep your resolutions are Toledo, OH (96), Baton Rouge, LA (97), Stockton, CA (98), and Jacksonville, FL (99).

Methodology

To find the best and worst cities for keeping New Year’s resolutions, we found the average rank from our city rankings on:

Each ranking category was given equal weight and the cities were stack ranked based on lowest (best) average overall ranking score. Methodology and sources for each ranking category can be found on their report page.

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