One of the highlights of Strava's 2017 report was its tally of which U.S. states ran the most, ranked by total number of runs logged by Strava users from October 2016 to October 2017.
Not surprisingly, many of the states on the list are also among the 10 most populous states in the country. In order to give the little guys their due, we (ACTIVE) added a list of the 10 most active running states or territories per capita.* For good measure, we've also included data on average miles per run by state, complete with a Top 10 list in that category, too.
* 2017 Population data source: U.S. Census Bureau:
Most Runs Per Capita
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These rankings account for population size. The total number of runs logged by Strava users was divided by the total population of the state--yep, even babies and 100-year-olds. From least to most, here are the top 10.
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Most Runs Logged
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This is simply the number of runs logged by Strava users in each state. There is no minimum distance or speed required to constitute a "run."
#10 Illinois
898,770 runs
.070 runs per capita (#33)
5.38 miles per run (#5)
6th most populous state (US Census Estimates, July 2017)
#9 Washington
958,438 runs
.129 runs per capita (#10)
5.14 miles per run (#18)
13th most populous state
#8 North Carolina
995,137 runs
.097 runs per capita (#15)
4.88 miles per run (#39)
9th most populous state
#7 Massachusetts
1,010,534 runs
.147 runs per capita (#7)
5.28 miles per run (#10)
15th most populous
#6 Pennsylvania
1,033,289 runs
.080 runs per capita (#25)
5.10 miles per run (#24)
5th most populous state
#5 Colorado
1,273,395 runs
.227 runs per capita (#2)
5.15 miles per run (#17)
21st most populous state
#4 Florida
1,281,717 runs
.061 runs per capita (#46)
4.60 miles per run (#48)
3rd most populous state
#3 New York
1,729,217 runs
.087 runs per capita (#20)
5.39 miles per run (#4)
4th most populous state
#2 Texas
1,925,123 runs
.068 runs per capita (#36)
4.75 miles per run (#47)
2nd most populous state
#1 California
5,620,083 runs
.142 runs per capita (#8)
5.03 miles per run (#30)
1st most populous state
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Since there is no mileage minimum to determine what counts as a "run," we wanted to give a shout-out to the states whose runners may not have run as often, but who went the distance when they did.
10. Massachusetts: 5.28
9. Oregon: 5.29
8. Minnesota: 5.32
7. North Dakota: 5.32
6. Alaska: 5.35
5. Illinois: 5.38
4. New York: 5.39
3. Vermont: 5.43
2. Montana: 5.46
1. Wyoming: 5.56
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New York, Colorado and Washington each managed to place in the Top 20 in all three categories, but only one state made the Top 10 in all three. The most active running state in 2017? Massachusetts!
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