GOVERNING Healthy Commuting Habits Study

BY: Mike Maciag | June 14, 2012

Governing's analysis of health and census data found a strong correlation between a metro area's overweight/obesity rates and the portion of a workforce walking or biking to work. Read our story on the findings, or view the methodology:.

Data

The Census Bureau’s 2010 American Communities Survey gauges means of transportation to work for various geographical areas. Survey respondents are asked to record the type of transportation used to travel the longest distance during their commute to work. It should be noted that since only a single transportation type for the longest distance can be counted, those walking or biking to rail stations would likely be recorded only as public transportation commuters. Totals for walkers and bikers were added for each metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and divided by the total number of residents age 16 and older who work (not including those working from home) to compute the total percentage of walkers or bike commuters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks a multitude of health risk data for its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Using the body mass index (BMI), it groups people into three classifications: obese (30 or greater BMI), overweight (25-29.9 BMI) or neither overweight nor obese (BMI less than 25). For this study, the variable measuring populations considered neither overweight nor obese in 2010 was used.

CDC’s 2010 dataset included estimates for 192 geographic areas. Some of these estimates, such as those for micropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions, were not measured in the census data. A total of 126 metropolitan statistical areas had data from both surveys, and these were used for the analysis.

Methodology

Governing performed a multiple regression test, with the estimated percentage of an MSA’s population considered neither overweight nor obese used for the dependent variable. The percentage of walk/bike commuters was tested, along with five other independent variables: median household income, percent of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher, population density, unemployment and mean travel time to work. Data for all six variables was obtained from the 2010 American Communities Survey.

The regression test produced the following coefficients table:

Dependent variable = Percentage of residents neither obese nor overweight

Correlations between healthy weight levels and those walking or biking to work, median household income and education were shown to be statistically significant at the .01 level. The education variable had the strongest effect on a population’s weight, followed by biking/walking to work and income.

A scatterplot illustrates the correlation between an MSA's percentages of walkers/bike commuters and those with healthy weights:

Data

The CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System measures obesity and other health factors. The table below shows 2010 estimates for each geographic region surveyed, most of which are metro areas. Click here for a complete list of areas in included in the 2010 survey, along with specific counties comprising each area.

The following definitions describe the data:

Healthy weight: Neither overweight nor obese
Overweight: Body mass index of 25-29.9
Obese: Body mass index of 30-99.8
No physical activity: Respondents reporting doing no physical activity or exercise in past 30 days

Area	Healthy Weight	Overweight	Obese	No Physical Activity

Atlantic City-NJ Metro Area	30.7%	42.5%	26.8%	27.8%
Austin-Round Rock-TX Metro Area	35.9%	37.1%	27.0%	19.3%
Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick-MD Metro Division	42.8%	37.3%	19.9%	17.3%
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Tonawanda-NY Metro Area	37.9%	37.5%	24.7%	23.9%
Charleston-North Charleston-SC Metro Area	34.7%	36.4%	29.0%	25.4%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord-NC-SC Metro Area	37.0%	35.0%	28.0%	22.6%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet-IL-IN-WI Metro Area	38.8%	34.2%	27.0%	23.3%
Coeur d´Alene-ID Metro Area	35.5%	39.8%	24.7%	18.8%
Denver-Aurora-CO Metro Area	43.0%	37.4%	19.6%	16.2%
Durham-NC Metro Area	41.1%	32.4%	26.6%	22.0%
Edison-NJ Metro Division	38.5%	37.4%	24.2%	26.0%
Greenville-SC Metro Area	32.1%	33.9%	34.0%	26.5%
Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir-NC Metro Area	33.4%	41.7%	25.0%	30.2%
Kennewick-Richland-Pasco-WA Metro Area	33.4%	35.1%	31.5%	24.2%
Key West-Marathon-FL Micropolitan Area	46.0%	37.1%	16.9%	16.9%
Kingsport-Bristol-TN-VA Metro Area	29.9%	33.4%	36.7%	37.6%
Little Rock-North Little Rock-AR Metro Area	29.3%	36.0%	34.6%	23.8%
Louisville-KY-IN Metro Area	33.7%	35.1%	31.2%	25.2%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach-FL Metro Area	34.2%	37.5%	28.3%	24.1%
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach-SC Metro Area	32.2%	41.2%	26.6%	22.7%
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro-TN Metro Area	37.8%	37.4%	24.7%	26.7%
New Haven-Milford-CT Metro Area	38.8%	34.9%	26.2%	22.1%
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner-LA Metro Area	30.1%	37.2%	32.6%	26.9%
New York-White Plains-Wayne-NY-NJ Metro Division	40.5%	37.6%	21.9%	24.6%
Newark-Union-NJ-PA Metro Division	38.2%	37.9%	23.9%	26.1%
Orlando-Kissimmee-FL Metro Area	34.3%	37.4%	28.3%	25.3%
Panama City-Lynn Haven-FL Metro Area	34.1%	37.9%	28.0%	23.9%
Peabody-MA	41.0%	36.7%	22.3%	19.6%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale-AZ Metro Area	36.0%	41.1%	22.8%	18.5%
Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce-FL Metro Area	35.5%	36.5%	28.0%	22.1%
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford-ME Metro Area	37.6%	38.6%	23.9%	17.9%
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton-OR-WA Metro Area	40.3%	33.7%	26.0%	15.8%
Sacramento—Arden-Arcade—Roseville-CA Metro Area	40.9%	35.1%	24.0%	15.3%
Salt Lake City-UT Metro Area	41.8%	34.6%	23.6%	18.3%
San Antonio-TX Metro Area	36.7%	33.5%	29.8%	26.5%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos-CA Metro Area	41.2%	32.8%	26.1%	19.0%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont-CA Metro Area	44.8%	36.9%	18.2%	17.4%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara-CA Metro Area	39.7%	39.1%	21.2%	17.0%
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine-CA Metro Division	43.1%	36.3%	20.7%	21.1%
Santa Fe-NM Metro Area	46.3%	32.9%	20.8%	17.9%
Scottsbluff-NE Micropolitan Area	27.9%	39.1%	33.0%	27.5%
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre-PA Metro Area	35.9%	35.7%	28.4%	32.8%
Seaford-DE Micropolitan Area	30.5%	37.7%	31.8%	25.8%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett-WA Metro Division	42.3%	34.9%	22.8%	16.6%
Sebring-FL Micropolitan Area	35.5%	35.0%	29.4%	28.9%
Shreveport-Bossier City-LA Metro Area	33.2%	36.3%	30.4%	34.1%
Sioux City-IA-NE-SD Metro Area	32.6%	35.7%	31.7%	28.2%
Sioux Falls-SD Metro Area	33.3%	39.9%	26.8%	21.4%
Spokane-WA Metro Area	35.9%	39.7%	24.5%	18.3%
Springfield-MA Metro Area	41.2%	35.0%	23.8%	20.5%
St. Louis-MO-IL Metro Area	36.2%	33.9%	29.8%	25.5%
Wichita Falls-TX Metro Area	32.9%	39.2%	27.9%	28.6%
Wichita-KS Metro Area	38.5%	34.4%	27.1%	22.6%
Akron-OH Metro Area	38.2%	32.5%	29.3%	22.6%
Albuquerque-NM Metro Area	43.3%	34.9%	21.7%	18.0%
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton-PA-NJ Metro Area	37.5%	33.5%	29.0%	26.1%
Amarillo-TX Metro Area	35.0%	36.3%	28.7%	24.1%
Arcadia-FL Micropolitan Area	32.2%	33.7%	34.1%	35.1%
Asheville-NC Metro Area	37.3%	35.2%	27.5%	22.2%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta-GA Metro Area	37.4%	33.9%	28.7%	22.1%
Augusta-Richmond County-GA-SC Metro Area	31.1%	36.8%	32.1%	25.9%
Augusta-Waterville-ME Micropolitan Area	37.1%	33.4%	29.4%	22.3%
Baltimore-Towson-MD Metro Area	33.5%	38.4%	28.0%	24.0%
Bangor-ME Metro Area	31.1%	35.4%	33.5%	24.1%
Barre-VT Micropolitan Area	41.2%	36.9%	21.8%	16.1%
Baton Rouge-LA Metro Area	35.4%	32.2%	32.5%	25.7%
Billings-MT Metro Area	35.4%	37.4%	27.2%	24.0%
Birmingham-Hoover-AL Metro Area	33.7%	37.0%	29.3%	29.2%
Bismarck-ND Metro Area	39.4%	36.1%	24.5%	19.4%
Boise City-Nampa-ID Metro Area	38.0%	36.6%	25.3%	16.6%
Boston-Quincy-MA Metro Division	43.2%	34.8%	22.0%	21.5%
Bremerton-Silverdale-WA Metro Area	34.9%	36.3%	28.8%	15.3%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-CT Metro Area	45.6%	37.8%	16.6%	18.8%
Burlington-South Burlington-VT Metro Area	42.3%	36.0%	21.7%	13.6%
Cambridge-Newton-Framingham-MA Metro Division	44.2%	35.2%	20.7%	17.3%
Camden-NJ Metro Division	34.7%	35.8%	29.5%	27.2%
Canton-Massillon-OH Metro Area	35.4%	36.3%	28.3%	26.6%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers-FL Metro Area	40.0%	34.2%	25.8%	27.9%
Casper-WY Metro Area	34.7%	37.7%	27.6%	23.2%
Cedar Rapids-IA Metro Area	41.1%	33.5%	25.4%	25.5%
Charleston-WV Metro Area	30.5%	37.3%	32.3%	31.4%
Chattanooga-TN-GA Metro Area	30.9%	38.6%	30.4%	32.2%
Cheyenne-WY Metro Area	33.8%	39.2%	27.0%	23.1%
Cincinnati-Middletown-OH-KY-IN Metro Area	38.1%	34.4%	27.4%	25.4%
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor-OH Metro Area	34.4%	40.9%	24.7%	22.7%
Colorado Springs-CO Metro Area	38.6%	37.8%	23.6%	19.1%
Columbia-SC Metro Area	32.9%	36.1%	31.0%	27.7%
Columbus-OH Metro Area	34.5%	35.0%	30.5%	26.3%
Concord-NH Micropolitan Area	36.5%	40.9%	22.6%	16.9%
Dallas-Plano-Irving-TX Metro Division	36.4%	29.8%	33.8%	26.4%
Dayton-OH Metro Area	35.0%	35.3%	29.7%	25.2%
Del Rio-TX Micropolitan Area	25.8%		32.9%
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach-FL Metro Area	34.8%	38.0%	27.2%	23.7%
Des Moines-West Des Moines-IA Metro Area	35.1%	38.9%	26.0%	22.3%
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn-MI Metro Division	32.9%	34.0%	33.1%	28.3%
Dover-DE Metro Area	29.4%	38.8%	31.9%	30.4%
El Paso-TX Metro Area	30.2%	41.1%	28.6%	28.5%
Eugene-Springfield-OR Metro Area	39.9%	30.1%	30.0%	18.2%
Evansville-IN-KY Metro Area	37.0%	33.7%	29.3%	27.7%
Fargo-ND-MN Metro Area	37.8%	36.8%	25.4%	26.6%
Farmington-NM Metro Area	35.0%	31.4%	33.7%	22.9%
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers-AR-MO Metro Area	38.5%	37.1%	24.4%	26.2%
Fort Collins-Loveland-CO Metro Area	50.2%	28.5%	21.3%	13.1%
Fort Wayne-IN Metro Area	30.9%	36.0%	33.2%	23.4%
Fort Worth-Arlington-TX Metro Division	30.3%	34.4%	35.3%	24.0%
Gainesville-FL Metro Area	43.8%	36.0%	20.1%	19.1%
Grand Island-NE Micropolitan Area	31.2%	39.9%	29.0%	26.2%
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-MI Metro Area	34.8%	38.7%	26.6%	19.3%
Greensboro-High Point-NC Metro Area	32.7%	38.6%	28.7%	23.4%
Hagerstown-Martinsburg-MD-WV Metro Area	34.3%	33.6%	32.1%	27.7%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford-CT Metro Area	38.0%	37.9%	24.2%	19.5%
Hastings-NE Micropolitan Area	33.4%	35.8%	30.8%	26.0%
Helena-MT Micropolitan Area	39.3%	39.6%	21.1%	18.4%
Hilo-HI Micropolitan Area	39.4%	33.9%	26.8%	19.2%
Hilton Head Island-Beaufort-SC Micropolitan Area	40.2%	37.5%	22.4%	19.0%
Homosassa Springs-FL Micropolitan Area	38.3%	38.0%	23.7%	22.7%
Honolulu-HI Metro Area	43.9%	34.2%	21.9%	19.7%
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown-TX Metro Area	36.9%	34.0%	29.1%	23.6%
Huntington-Ashland-WV-KY-OH Metro Area	30.6%	35.8%	33.5%	30.2%
Idaho Falls-ID Metro Area	35.9%	35.8%	28.3%	19.4%
Indianapolis-Carmel-IN Metro Area	36.2%	35.7%	28.2%	23.5%
Jackson-MS Metro Area	33.3%	33.5%	33.3%	31.5%
Jacksonville-FL Metro Area	38.6%	35.4%	26.0%	27.9%
Kahului-Wailuku-HI Micropolitan Area	37.1%	35.9%	27.0%	16.4%
Kalispell-MT Micropolitan Area	40.5%	41.2%	18.3%	20.4%
Kansas City-MO-KS Metro Area	34.5%	36.0%	29.5%	23.0%
Kapaa-HI Micropolitan Area	44.5%	31.8%	23.7%	16.5%
Knoxville-TN Metro Area	35.4%	34.1%	30.5%	29.1%
Lake City-FL Micropolitan Area	29.7%	39.1%	31.2%	28.0%
Lakeland-Winter Haven-FL Metro Area	29.0%	33.0%	37.9%	26.0%
Laredo-TX Metro Area	29.1%	37.6%	33.3%	34.2%
Las Cruces-NM Metro Area	32.0%	37.2%	30.8%	24.5%
Las Vegas-Paradise-NV Metro Area	39.6%	37.3%	23.1%	23.7%
Lebanon-NH-VT Micropolitan Area	40.2%	34.6%	25.2%	19.6%
Lewiston-ID-WA Metro Area	35.0%	38.3%	26.7%	22.3%
Lewiston-Auburn-ME Metro Area	38.2%	34.9%	26.9%	24.3%
Lincoln-NE Metro Area	37.4%	32.5%	30.1%	18.2%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale-CA Metro Division	37.5%	38.2%	24.3%	20.8%
Lubbock-TX Metro Area	35.3%	32.5%	32.2%	30.7%
Manchester-Nashua-NH Metro Area	39.7%	35.8%	24.5%	18.7%
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission-TX Metro Area	30.8%	35.8%	33.3%	36.0%
Memphis-TN-MS-AR Metro Area	28.9%	35.3%	35.8%	26.1%
Midland-TX Metro Area	38.5%	37.6%	23.9%	33.3%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis-WI Metro Area	39.1%	35.0%	26.0%	24.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington-MN-WI Metro Area	38.4%	36.7%	24.9%	17.1%
Minot-ND Micropolitan Area	30.8%	40.4%	28.9%	26.5%
Mobile-AL Metro Area	32.8%	33.6%	33.6%	30.3%
Naples-Marco Island-FL Metro Area	40.8%	36.4%	22.9%	13.6%
Nassau-Suffolk-NY Metro Division	41.3%	36.8%	21.9%	22.7%
Norfolk-NE Micropolitan Area	29.0%	38.4%	32.5%	28.3%
North Platte-NE Micropolitan Area	33.2%	34.6%	32.2%	28.8%
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota-FL Metro Area	41.9%	36.4%	21.6%	21.6%
Ocala-FL Metro Area	32.5%	33.7%	33.8%	28.8%
Ocean City-NJ Metro Area	37.0%	37.6%	25.4%	24.9%
Ogden-Clearfield-UT Metro Area	39.6%	34.2%	26.2%	16.5%
Oklahoma City-OK Metro Area	35.1%	34.8%	30.1%	28.5%
Olympia-WA Metro Area	41.5%	33.7%	24.8%	15.2%
Omaha-Council Bluffs-NE-IA Metro Area	37.0%	37.2%	25.8%	23.7%
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville-FL Metro Area	31.4%	37.4%	31.3%	26.4%
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent-FL Metro Area	35.5%	35.0%	29.6%	25.5%
Philadelphia-PA Metro Division	39.9%	35.7%	24.4%	24.2%
Pittsburgh-PA Metro Area	35.0%	35.7%	29.3%	23.6%
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River-RI-MA Metro Area	35.7%	37.9%	26.4%	24.3%
Provo-Orem-UT Metro Area	44.3%	33.9%	21.8%	16.2%
Raleigh-Cary-NC Metro Area	37.1%	36.0%	27.0%	20.4%
Rapid City-SD Metro Area	32.3%	42.2%	25.5%	24.4%
Reno-Sparks-NV Metro Area	42.5%	36.8%	20.7%	19.1%
Richmond-VA Metro Area	32.8%	41.1%	26.1%	26.2%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario-CA Metro Area	35.1%	36.4%	28.5%	23.6%
Rochester-NY Metro Area	37.4%	34.5%	28.1%	19.0%
Rockingham County-Strafford County-NH Metro Division	37.1%	36.1%	26.8%	19.5%
Rutland-VT Micropolitan Area	36.2%	33.3%	30.5%	22.6%
Tacoma-WA Metro Division	32.3%	36.5%	31.2%	19.6%
Tallahassee-FL Metro Area	33.6%	39.9%	26.5%	22.1%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater-FL Metro Area	35.5%	38.2%	26.3%	22.1%
Toledo-OH Metro Area	31.1%	38.6%	30.3%	24.7%
Topeka-KS Metro Area	28.9%	35.0%	36.1%	22.3%
Trenton-Ewing-NJ Metro Area	43.3%	33.6%	23.1%	24.8%
Tucson-AZ Metro Area	41.6%	31.8%	26.6%	20.3%
Tulsa-OK Metro Area	33.6%	36.3%	30.1%	29.2%
Tuscaloosa-AL Metro Area	30.8%	38.0%	31.2%	31.0%
Twin Falls-ID Micropolitan Area	35.7%	33.2%	31.1%	25.4%
Tyler-TX Metro Area	39.5%	35.2%	25.3%	26.0%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News-VA-NC Metro Area	37.8%	32.0%	30.3%	22.8%
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills-MI Metro Division	34.4%	35.2%	30.4%	19.4%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria-DC-VA-MD-WV Metro	37.8%	37.0%	25.2%	19.3%
Wauchula-FL Micropolitan Area	17.6%	40.6%	41.8%	27.2%
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach Metro Division	39.9%	40.1%	20.0%	22.6%
Wilmington-DE-MD-NJ Metro Division	35.5%	34.2%	30.4%	23.5%
Worcester-MA Metro Area	39.1%	35.8%	25.2%	19.0%
Yakima-WA Metro Area	31.6%	37.0%	31.4%	25.1%
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman-OH-PA Metro Area	29.7%	35.5%	34.8%	26.4%

Alternative Means of Transportation Map

Governing compiled and analyzed 2010 American Community Survey estimates for means of transportation to work for metropolitan statistical areas. Separate data for more than 400 U.S. cities, towns and other census-designated places is shown on an interactive map. (Click to open map in new window).

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