California claimed six of the 10 best US cities for sober living, while Texas filled all five of the bottom spots, according to a new study from Mandala Healing Center shared with Becker’s.
The study ranked 70 major US cities on a 0-100 scale using 10 weighted factors: Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per 100,000 residents (15%), rehab facilities per 100,000 residents (14%), substance use treatment centers per 100,000 residents (14%), Narcotics Anonymous meetings per 100,000 residents (12%), opioid treatment programs per 100,000 residents (10%), sober events and alcohol-free activities per 100,000 residents (10%), share of adult binge drinkers (8%), park access and outdoor recreation score (8%), transit score (5%) and walk score (4%). Higher total scores indicate a stronger overall environment for sober living and recovery support.
Sources include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Recovery.com, FindTreatment.gov, Eventbrite, Trust for Public Land, Walk Score and the National Library of Medicine.
Top 10 cities for sober living:
- Newark, N.J.
- Long Beach, Calif.
- Anaheim, Calif.
- Irvine, Calif.
- Santa Ana, Calif.
- Baltimore
- Hempstead, N.Y.
- Washington, D.C.
- Oakland, Calif.
- Riverside, Calif.
Bottom 10 cities for sober living:
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Oklahoma City
- El Paso, Texas
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Houston
- Austin, Texas
- San Antonio
| Rank | City | State | Rehab Facilities per 100K Residents | SUD Treatment Centers per 100K Residents | Opioid Treatment Programs per 100K Residents | Total Score |
| 1 | Newark | N.J. | 44.68 | 113.66 | 31.49 | 74.21 |
| 2 | Long Beach | Calif. | 191.63 | 54.78 | 6.09 | 57.12 |
| 3 | Anaheim | Calif. | 51.24 | 71.03 | 8.15 | 51.91 |
| 4 | Irvine | Calif. | 62.38 | 53.43 | 4.32 | 51.19 |
| 5 | Santa Ana | Calif. | 59.31 | 66.21 | 6.59 | 46 |
| 6 | Baltimore | Md. | 49.21 | 43.15 | 11.77 | 42.22 |
| 7 | Hempstead | N.Y. | 49.58 | 36.46 | 10.99 | 41.82 |
| 8 | Washington | D.C. | 8.36 | 18.8 | 2.37 | 38.78 |
| 9 | Oakland | Calif. | 48.33 | 22.93 | 4.5 | 36.11 |
| 10 | Riverside | Calif. | 14.34 | 17.08 | 2.44 | 35.78 |
| 11 | Islip | N.Y. | 5.27 | 18.74 | 2.93 | 34.25 |
| 12 | Cincinnati | Ohio | 36.84 | 22.36 | 9.13 | 31.04 |
| 13 | Minneapolis | Minn. | 43.04 | 31.81 | 3.27 | 30.51 |
| 14 | Boston | Mass. | 45.86 | 21.12 | 5.64 | 29.65 |
| 15 | Miami | Fla. | 33.78 | 12.37 | 2.16 | 29.28 |
| 16 | San Francisco | Calif. | 24.76 | 10.95 | 2.11 | 28.24 |
| 17 | Cleveland | Ohio | 32.03 | 13.25 | 3.31 | 28.13 |
| 18 | Philadelphia | Pa. | 20.7 | 10.51 | 2.56 | 27.11 |
| 19 | Atlanta | Ga. | 31.69 | 15.09 | 3.02 | 26.73 |
| 20 | Portland | Ore. | 11.32 | 12.44 | 1.91 | 25.88 |
| 21 | New York | N.Y. | 2.59 | 4.5 | 1.22 | 25.39 |
| 22 | Sacramento | Calif. | 26.62 | 8.32 | 1.48 | 25.28 |
| 23 | Orlando | Fla. | 22.1 | 12.63 | 2.87 | 24.85 |
| 24 | Mesa | Ariz. | 39.02 | 34.05 | 7.08 | 23.92 |
| 25 | Tampa | Fla. | 18.24 | 10.53 | 1.87 | 23.33 |
| 26 | Nashville | Tenn. | 17.4 | 7.86 | 0.56 | 22.66 |
| 27 | Aurora | Colo. | 40.85 | 27.23 | 6.08 | 22.31 |
| 28 | Stockton | Calif. | 2.45 | 6.42 | 1.83 | 22.22 |
| 29 | Denver | Colo. | 21.37 | 16.2 | 3.54 | 21.66 |
| 30 | Chicago | Ill. | 7.71 | 8.53 | 2.03 | 21.56 |
| 31 | Greensboro | N.C. | 15.65 | 11.5 | 2.55 | 21.55 |
| 32 | Henderson | Nev. | 13.4 | 12.85 | 2.73 | 21.54 |
| 33 | Brookhaven | N.Y. | 59.09 | 8.04 | 1.21 | 20.6 |
| 34 | Arlington | Texas | 36.25 | 15.43 | 5.39 | 19.52 |
| 35 | Kansas City | Mo. | 6.92 | 12.5 | 0.96 | 19.14 |
| 36 | San Diego | Calif. | 11.31 | 4.74 | 0.49 | 18.68 |
| 37 | Louisville | Ky. | 12.24 | 8.68 | 1.39 | 18.46 |
| 38 | Seattle | Wash. | 10.36 | 10.23 | 1.87 | 18.29 |
| 39 | San Jose | Calif. | 21.09 | 3.03 | 0.61 | 18.1 |
| 40 | Wichita | Kan. | 2.98 | 5.96 | 0.99 | 17.49 |
| 41 | Raleigh | N.C. | 8.51 | 9.67 | 1.93 | 17.44 |
| 42 | Tucson | Ariz. | 7.68 | 11.97 | 2.5 | 17.42 |
| 43 | Detroit | Mich. | 12.63 | 15.09 | 3.23 | 17.39 |
| 44 | New Orleans | La. | 11.35 | 8.23 | 0.57 | 17.21 |
| 45 | Phoenix | Ariz. | 12.09 | 11.15 | 2.23 | 17.04 |
| 46 | Urban Honolulu | Hawaii | 2.33 | 16.32 | 0.58 | 16.98 |
| 47 | Lexington | Ky. | 10.52 | 19.53 | 2.7 | 16.87 |
| 48 | Milwaukee | Wis. | 31.97 | 8.62 | 1.98 | 16.84 |
| 49 | Virginia Beach | Va. | 8.84 | 4.42 | 1.77 | 16.84 |
| 50 | Columbus | Ohio | 9.72 | 6.13 | 1.58 | 15.96 |
| 51 | Los Angeles | Calif. | 13.13 | 6.54 | 1.14 | 15.75 |
| 52 | Omaha | Neb. | 5.95 | 7.59 | 0.82 | 15.32 |
| 53 | Tulsa | Okla. | 4.57 | 4.57 | 0.96 | 15.22 |
| 54 | Albuquerque | N.M. | 4.66 | 5.73 | 2.15 | 15.16 |
| 55 | Indianapolis | Ind. | 11.97 | 9.18 | 0.67 | 14.82 |
| 56 | Dallas | Texas | 11.14 | 4.19 | 1.42 | 14.13 |
| 57 | Las Vegas | Nev. | 7.06 | 6.91 | 1.44 | 13.97 |
| 58 | Charlotte | N.C. | 7.77 | 5.32 | 0.82 | 13.94 |
| 59 | Fresno | Calif. | 10.65 | 4.33 | 1.08 | 13.57 |
| 60 | Colorado Springs | Colo. | 19.02 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 13.06 |
| 61 | Memphis | Tenn. | 5.15 | 4.82 | 0.83 | 12.79 |
| 62 | Oklahoma City | Okla. | 4.12 | 3.16 | 0.69 | 12.19 |
| 63 | El Paso | Texas | 0.88 | 1.9 | 0.29 | 11.27 |
| 64 | Jacksonville | Fla. | 3.47 | 2.5 | 0.67 | 10.03 |
| 65 | Bakersfield | Calif. | 5.9 | 2.83 | 1.18 | 9.82 |
| 66 | Corpus Christi | Texas | 0.95 | 2.84 | 0.95 | 9.63 |
| 67 | Fort Worth | Texas | 13.81 | 3.52 | 1.33 | 9.2 |
| 68 | Houston | Texas | 4.89 | 2.63 | 0.57 | 8.44 |
| 69 | Austin | Texas | 9.83 | 2.28 | 0.5 | 8.03 |
| 70 | San Antonio | Texas | 2.8 | 1.53 | 0.51 | 4.23 |
Note: This chart does not include all 10 weighted factors.
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