Adult Obesity Prevalence by U.S. State (2026)

What the 2024 data shows

The CDC's latest Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps, released December 3, 2025 using 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, confirm that adult obesity remains widespread across the United States. In 2024, every state, the District of Columbia, and all three reporting territories had an obesity prevalence of 25% or higher — meaning at least one in four adults met the threshold of a body mass index of 30 or above.

The numbers span a wide range. West Virginia (41.4%) and Mississippi (40.4%) led the nation, the only two states at or above 40%; the U.S. territory of Guam (40.2%) joined them. At the other end, Colorado (25.0%) had the lowest rate of any state, narrowly below the District of Columbia (25.5%), with Hawaii and Massachusetts (both 27.0%) and New Jersey (27.7%) rounding out the lowest tier.

Regional patterns

The geography is consistent with long-running trends. The CDC's regional summaries place the Midwest highest (35.9%) and the South close behind (34.5%), while the West (30.2%) and Northeast (30.3%) sit notably lower. The Deep South and Appalachia form the heaviest cluster — Louisiana (39.2%), Alabama (38.9%), Arkansas (38.9%), Indiana (38.4%), Kentucky (37.2%) and Wisconsin (37.4%) all rank near the top. The lowest-prevalence states concentrate along the coasts and the Mountain West: Colorado, California (29.1%), New York (29.5%), Florida (29.6%) and Vermont (29.0%).

By CDC's banding, 8 states plus DC fell in the 25–<30% range, 22 states in 30–<35%, 17 states (plus Puerto Rico at 36.2% and the Virgin Islands at 37.7%) in 35–<40%, and 2 states plus Guam at 40% or above.

Important caveats

These figures come from self-reported height and weight gathered by telephone survey, not measured exams. Research consistently shows self-report understates true obesity, because respondents tend to overstate height and understate weight — so actual prevalence is likely higher than these maps indicate. BRFSS estimates also carry sampling uncertainty; each state value in the source file is published with a 95% confidence interval, and small-sample states show wider intervals. Tennessee could not be shown for 2024 because of insufficient data. Year-to-year or state-to-state comparisons should account for these survey limitations. This article is informational only and does not provide medical advice.