These are the best US cities for people who love to run

• Arlington, Virginia, was ranked the best U.S. city for running. It has the highest number of races relative to its population size.
• The study found that the cities that rated highest for running also tended to have high property prices.  
• Southwestern cities tended to rate the poorest for running, as they generally require a car to navigate and have fewer park areas.

Nearly 17 million people competed in 30,400 U.S. road races in 2016, according to data from Running USA. But for Americans who are truly passionate about getting their daily steps in, not all cities are equal. Some cities are better for runners who prefer to run outdoors. While others are better for those who value access to competitive races. Below we look at these and other factors to rank the best cities for runners.

We looked at data for 100 U.S. cities across eight factors. Specifically we looked at data on the number of races per 10,000 residents, walkability, safety, housing cost as a percent of income, gyms per 10,000 residents, percent of a city covered by parkland and percent of residents with access to a park. Check out our data and methodology below to see where we got our data and how we put it together.

Key findings

• Southwest USA is car territory— Cities in Southwestern states like Arizona and Nevada ranked at the bottom of this study. In total cities in those two states occupy five of the bottom 10 cities for runners. Those cities tend to have little parkland and are not very walkable.
• Tradeoff between walkability and housing costs — In general the most walkable cities tend to be the more expensive ones. Cities like Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C. are all in the top 10 most walkable cities but also come with high housing costs.

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1. Arlington, VA

Arlington, Virginia ranks first. Anyone who lives and runs in Arlington is probably aware of the large number of races in the city. According to our data, no city in the study has more races relative to population size than Arlington.

And if road races are not your speed, there are plenty of other ways to run in this city. It has top 10 scores for number of gyms per 10,000 residents and percent of residents who have park access.

2. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis has top 15 scores in six out of the eight metrics, so no matter what kind of running you prefer the city should have something for you. The city's best scores come in pedestrian fatality rate and percent of residents with access to parks. It ranked second and fourth in those metrics, respectively.

Of course, winters in Minneapolis can be brutal, so outdoor running may be difficult for much of the year. Fortunately, the city also has a top 10 score in the number of gyms per 10,000 residents, meaning those who want to stay in shape on a treadmill during the cold months can do so.

3. (tie) Madison, WI

After Minneapolis comes another Midwest city, Madison, Wisconsin. In Madison, almost 9% of the workforce walks to work. That suggests this is a good city for those who prefer to get around using their two feet. It also leaves open the opportunity to jog to work.

According to our data, Madison also has the second-highest number of gyms per 10,000 residents in the study.