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CDC BRFSS Data · 2024

Adult Obesity Rates by State (2024)

Comprehensive CDC-based data on obesity prevalence across all 50 states — with trends, demographics, and regional analysis.

41.9%National adult obesity rate
9.2%Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40)
20+States above 35% rate
$173BAnnual US economic cost

National Overview

According to the CDC's most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 41.9% of US adults aged 20 and over have obesity, and an additional 30.7% are classified as overweight. Combined, over 70% of American adults are above a healthy weight — a public health challenge with profound implications for healthcare costs, workforce productivity, and population longevity.

The obesity epidemic has accelerated since the 1970s, driven by a complex interplay of food environment changes, sedentary lifestyles, sleep deprivation, endocrine disruptors, gut microbiome alterations, and genetic susceptibility. Annual healthcare costs attributable to obesity exceed $173 billion, with obese adults spending on average $1,861 more per year on medical costs than those with healthy weight.

Obesity Rate by State (2024)

The following table presents adult obesity prevalence rates by state, ranked from highest to lowest, based on CDC BRFSS data:

RankStateObesity Rate (%)TrendCategory
1West Virginia41.1%↑Critical
2Mississippi41%↑Critical
3Arkansas40.4%↑Critical
4Kentucky40.3%↑Critical
5Louisiana40.1%↑Critical
6Oklahoma39.7%↑High
7Tennessee39.2%↑High
8Alabama38.7%↑High
9South Carolina37.5%↑High
10North Dakota37%↑High
11Missouri36.7%↑High
12Iowa36.4%↑High
13Indiana36.3%↑High
14Texas36.1%↑High
15Ohio36%↑High
16North Carolina35.9%↑High
17Georgia35.4%↑High
18Michigan35.3%↑High
19Nebraska35.3%↑High
20South Dakota35.3%↑High
21Kansas35.2%↑High
22Wisconsin34%↑Elevated
23Pennsylvania33.8%↑Elevated
24Illinois33.4%↑Elevated
25Delaware33.3%↑Elevated
26Maryland32.9%↑Elevated
27Virginia32.6%↑Elevated
28New Mexico31.6%↑Elevated
29Alaska31.4%→Elevated
30Minnesota31.3%↑Elevated
31Arizona31.2%↑Elevated
32Maine31.2%→Elevated
33Oregon30.9%↑Elevated
34Nevada30.4%↑Elevated
35Wyoming30.4%→Elevated
36Idaho30.2%↑Elevated
37Florida30%→Elevated
38New Hampshire29.7%→Moderate
39Rhode Island29.4%→Moderate
40New Jersey28.9%↑Moderate
41New York28.7%→Moderate
42Connecticut28.5%→Moderate
43Washington28.3%→Moderate
44Vermont27.6%→Moderate
45Montana27.5%→Moderate
46Massachusetts27.1%→Moderate
47Utah26.9%→Moderate
48California26.5%→Moderate
49Hawaii25.1%→Moderate
50Colorado25%→Moderate

Regional Patterns

The South: Highest Burden

The Southern United States consistently records the nation's highest obesity rates. All five states with obesity prevalence above 40% — West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana — are in the South or Appalachian region. Socioeconomic factors including food deserts, limited access to recreation, and lower rates of preventive healthcare access all contribute.

Mountain West & Pacific: Lower Rates

Colorado, Utah, Hawaii, and California consistently record the lowest rates nationally. Factors include high rates of outdoor physical activity, urban walkability, higher median incomes, and California's stricter food labeling and marketing regulations. However, even these states have seen significant increases from their 1990 baselines.

The Midwest: Rapid Increase

Midwestern states including Missouri, North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska have seen some of the most rapid increases in recent years. Rural hospital closures and limited access to obesity specialists in these regions have exacerbated the treatment gap.

Demographic Breakdowns

GroupObesity PrevalenceNotes
Non-Hispanic Black adults49.9%Highest prevalence of any group
Hispanic adults45.6%Significant increase since 2000
Non-Hispanic White adults41.4%Close to national average
Non-Hispanic Asian adults16.1%Lower BMI thresholds may understate burden
Adults aged 40–5944.8%Highest by age group
Adults aged 20–3940.0%Fastest-growing segment
Adults with income <$25K36.2%Strong inverse relationship with income

Childhood Obesity

The CDC's 2023 data shows that 19.7% of US children and adolescents (aged 2–19) have obesity — approximately 14.7 million children. Rates are highest in Hispanic children (26.2%) and non-Hispanic Black children (24.8%). Children with obesity are at substantially elevated risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and bone problems — and are more likely to have obesity as adults.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which state has the highest obesity rate?
West Virginia has the highest adult obesity rate at approximately 41.1% of adults, followed closely by Mississippi (41.0%), Arkansas (40.4%), Kentucky (40.3%), and Louisiana (40.1%) — all exceeding the 40% threshold, a milestone first crossed around 2022.
Q: Which state has the lowest obesity rate?
Colorado consistently has the lowest adult obesity rate at approximately 25.0%, followed by Hawaii (25.1%), California (26.5%), Utah (26.9%), and Massachusetts (27.1%). These states generally have higher rates of physical activity, urban density favoring walking, and higher median incomes.
Q: How is state obesity data collected?
The CDC collects obesity data through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the largest telephone health survey in the world. It surveys over 400,000 US adults annually across all states and territories about their height, weight, and health behaviors. Data is self-reported, which may lead to slight underestimation of true BMI.
Q: Why do Southern states have higher obesity rates?
Researchers identify several interconnected factors: lower average household income and food insecurity, higher rates of sedentary jobs and car-dependent communities, historical food culture with higher consumption of calorie-dense foods, lower rates of health insurance coverage limiting treatment access, and higher rates of underlying conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Q: Has US obesity gotten worse over time?
Yes. In 1990, no state had an adult obesity rate above 15%. By 2000, 28 states had rates of 20–24%. Today, over 20 states have rates exceeding 35%. The prevalence of severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40) has tripled since 2000, representing the fastest-growing segment of the obesity epidemic.

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📊 Data sourced from CDC BRFSS and NHANES surveys. State-level estimates are based on self-reported height and weight and may vary slightly from measured values.