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Massachusetts ranked first in a 2024 analysis of Apple Heart & Movement Study data, with 67.2% of participating Apple Watch users averaging at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week. New York followed at 66.0%, and Connecticut at 64.1%.
The result is narrower than the headline suggests: it measures Apple Watch participants who met a specific activity threshold, not the exercise habits or overall fitness of every resident in each state.
The reported state results
| Rank group | State | Share meeting the benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 67.2% |
| 2 | New York | 66.0% |
| 3 | Connecticut | 64.1% |
| Lowest three | Oklahoma | 41.4% |
| Lowest three | Louisiana | 41.3% |
| Lowest | Mississippi | 38.5% |
In practical terms, roughly two-thirds of the qualifying participants in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut reached the study’s weekly target. In Mississippi, the figure was 38.5%.
The figures come from a reported March 2024 analysis of the Apple Heart & Movement Study.
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What was actually ranked?
The analysis did not rank states by total exercise minutes, average steps, average calories burned, or the percentage of all residents who meet federal activity guidelines.
Instead, it compared the share of participating Apple Watch users who averaged at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week. That means the defensible interpretation is:
Massachusetts had the highest share of participating Apple Watch users reaching this particular weekly activity benchmark among the reported results.
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It does not establish that Massachusetts residents as a whole exercise more than Mississippi residents as a whole, or that Massachusetts is objectively the nation’s fittest state.
What is the 150-minute exercise benchmark?
The benchmark is based on the American Heart Association’s commonly cited activity recommendation: at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or an equivalent combination. The guidance also recommends muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days per week.
This state comparison concerns only the 150-minute moderate-aerobic threshold. Reaching it does not mean the participant necessarily completed the strength-training portion of the recommendation.
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Moderate activity is generally intense enough to raise breathing or heart rate while still allowing conversation, though not singing. The reported methodology describes moderate intensity as approximately 64–76% of maximum heart rate or 12–14 on the Borg 6–20 perceived-exertion scale. Those are useful comparison definitions, not perfect measurements of exertion for every individual.
How Apple Watch measured activity
The study used Apple Watch’s Exercise Minutes metric. Minutes could be accumulated through:
- Brisk activity detected automatically while the watch was being worn;
- Workouts started or recorded in Apple’s Workout app; and
- Activity data supplied by compatible third-party apps.
This is broader than a diary of formal gym sessions. Walking briskly to work, for example, may count if the watch detects sufficient intensity. Conversely, activity can be missed when the watch is removed, not worn consistently, or fails to recognize the movement.
Heart-rate-based classification can also vary with age, medication, fitness level, sensor quality, and individual physiology. Exercise Minutes is valuable for tracking and comparison, but it is not the same as a medically supervised exercise assessment.
Who was included?
The reported analysis included 92,793 Apple Heart & Movement Study participants who had at least six weeks of activity days across a 12-month period.
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Rank #3
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Without those details, small differences between states should not be treated as statistically or practically decisive.
Why this is not a population fitness league table
Apple Watch owners are not a random cross-section of the United States. Ownership requires a compatible Apple ecosystem and the ability and willingness to buy and use the device. Participants may differ from their state’s wider population in income, age, health interest, access to technology, location, and willingness to enroll in research.
There is also a wear-time limitation. A watch cannot record activity during periods when it is not worn. That may affect people who remove it for work, household tasks, swimming, contact sports, or other activities. If non-wear patterns differ between states or groups, the comparison can be affected.
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The threshold introduces another limitation: someone averaging 149 minutes per week is classified differently from someone averaging 150 minutes, even though the practical difference is tiny.
For those reasons, the study should be read as an analysis of observed behavior among participating Apple Watch users—not as a census of American exercise habits.
What might explain the differences?
The ranking itself does not prove why the states differed. Possible contributing factors include:
Rank #4
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- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
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- Walkability, sidewalks, trails, and population density;
- Climate and seasonal conditions;
- Urban, suburban, and rural settlement patterns;
- Income, Apple Watch ownership, and access to technology;
- Work schedules and physically demanding occupations;
- Access to gyms, parks, healthcare, and organized recreation;
- Age distribution and baseline health; and
- Differences in Apple Watch adoption and research participation.
These are plausible explanations, not findings established by the state comparison. The data do not show that weather, income, urban planning, or any other single factor caused a state to rank higher or lower.
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Different health rankings can produce different winners because they measure different things and use different samples.
- Government surveys are better suited to population-wide estimates, but are often self-reported.
- Public-health rankings may combine obesity, chronic disease, healthcare, and socioeconomic measures rather than direct activity data.
- Step-count studies measure walking volume, not necessarily moderate-intensity aerobic minutes.
- Cardio Fitness or VO₂ max is more directly related to aerobic capacity, but it is not the same as weekly exercise duration.
- Other wearables sample different customers and use different sensors, algorithms, and definitions.
So a state can rank differently in an Apple Watch activity analysis, a government physical-activity survey, and a VO₂ max comparison without the datasets contradicting one another.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is this still the latest state ranking?
No current replacement state-by-state table is established by the supplied sources. The reported percentages originate from coverage published in March 2024.
Apple later announced the broader Apple Health Study in February 2025, building on earlier research projects including the Heart & Movement Study. In a January 2026 update, Apple said the Heart & Movement Study had included more than 250,000 U.S. participants. That larger participation figure is not the same as the 92,793-person subset used for this state analysis, and the surfaced update does not replace the reported state percentages with a new ranking.
Apple’s earlier Heart & Movement activity analysis also examined more than 18 million Apple Watch workouts during September 22, 2020, through September 22, 2021. That was a separate analysis and should not be confused with the state comparison.
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- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Do not confuse it with the Apple Heart Study
The Apple Heart & Movement Study examines physical activity and heart health in collaboration with Apple, the American Heart Association, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Apple describes the project through its research overview.
It is different from the Stanford Medicine Apple Heart Study, which focused on irregular heart rhythms. That separate study is described in Apple’s Stanford announcement.
What the result means for Apple Watch owners
The useful takeaway is not that buying an Apple Watch will make someone fitter. The study shows how a wearable can turn a broad recommendation into a trackable weekly target: accumulate enough moderate activity to reach 150 Exercise Minutes.
An Apple Watch is not required to pursue that goal. People can use another wearable, a phone, a paper log, or a simple weekly routine. Apple Watch owners should also remember that missed wear time can make their personal total look lower than their actual activity.
For readers choosing a tracking ecosystem, Apple Watch is the most directly relevant device to this particular study. Garmin may suit runners and cyclists who prioritize battery life and training metrics; Fitbit may suit general activity and sleep tracking across a broader ecosystem; Samsung Galaxy Watch is a natural option for many Android users; and Oura focuses more heavily on sleep and recovery. None of those products provides an equivalent source for the state ranking, because their users and measurement algorithms differ.
Apple’s Apple Watch and Apple Fitness+ pages contain current product and service details. The free Apple Research app is for eligible users who want to volunteer for studies, not for personalized medical advice or guaranteed health results.
Bottom line
Among the 92,793 qualifying Apple Heart & Movement Study participants analyzed, Massachusetts had the highest reported share meeting an average of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, at 67.2%. New York and Connecticut followed. Mississippi had the lowest reported share, at 38.5%.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThat is a finding about participating Apple Watch users and a specific Exercise Minutes threshold—not proof that one state’s entire population is healthier, more athletic, or more active than another’s.
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