Takeaways
- The best cities for people with disabilities, according to a WalletHub analysis of 182 U.S. cities, excel in a combination of quality of life, health care, and economy. The top three are Minneapolis, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; and Scottsdale, Arizona.
- Minneapolis leads in affordable, high-quality health care and accessibility metrics (e.g., wheelchair-accessible parks and stores). Scottsdale stands out for financial factors like low poverty rates and high average income for residents with disabilities, while St. Louis ranks high for quality of life and accessibility.
- While the rankings provide a helpful starting point, prospective movers should also consider unmeasured factors such as weather, personal connection to community, and proximity to loved ones to find the best fit.
Where you live can have a huge impact on your quality of life, especially for the more than one in four Americans who live with a disability. A disability-friendly city can help people with special needs participate in the local community, access essential services and support, and live well.
Factors like accessibility, cost of health care, and cost of living can be especially important for those with disabilities considering where to call home. Taking these factors into account, a recent analysis by WalletHub ranked 182 cities nationwide to reveal the best cities for people with disabilities.
What WalletHub Measured
To calculate total overall scores, WalletHub ranked each city on three dimensions: quality of life, health care, and economy.
- Quality of life scores included the portion of residents with disabilities, wheelchair accessibility, graduation rates for people with disabilities, walkable park access, and the number of special education teachers per capita.
- The health care category considered doctor visit cost and how many people with disabilities have insurance as well as the number of doctors, nurses, and home health aides per capita. Other factors included doctor and nurse rankings, hospitals per capita, and hospital quality.
- The economy ranking included housing affordability and cost of living, median earnings, the employment rate for people with disabilities, and the share of people with disabilities living in poverty.
Other factors in this category were the number of homeless people with disabilities, the annual cost of in-home services, federal funding for disability and health programs, and waiting lists for public housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
The Top Cities for People With Disabilities
WalletHub ranked Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the best city in the United States for people with disabilities, followed by St. Louis, Missouri, and Scottsdale, Arizona. These cities ranked highly across quality of life, health care, and economy for a high overall ranking, and each stood out in a particular area.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The top city, Minneapolis, ranked first in health care and sixth in quality of life.
- It has the second-lowest monthly health insurance premium in the country, just $355.
- Its public hospitals are the eighth-best nationwide.
- The city also has an excellent rate of hospitals per capital, ranking 11th.
Accessibility for people with mobility impairments also boosted its ranking.
- The city ranked 26th-best for wheelchair-accessible grocery stores and 25th-best for entertainment per capita.
- Parks are also accessible. Ninety-eight percent of residents live within half a mile of a park. In addition, the city has the fifth-best wheelchair-accessible trails.
- Over a quarter of homes for sale are accessible.
The neighboring city of St. Paul, Minnesota, also ranked highly. In fifth place overall, it boasts a second-place health care rank.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri, ranked third for quality of life and 13th for health care. Like Minneapolis, it stood out for its health care and accessibility.
Garnering a good reputation among health care professionals, it ranks 12th-best for doctors and 11th-best for nurses.
- The city has the 19th-highest share of people with disabilities.
- Almost all (97 percent) of its parks are accessible.
- Its walkability score is strong, ranking 14 percent.
Scottsdale, Arizona
With the highest economy ranking of the top three, Scottsdale, Arizona, came in third. In addition to ranking 11th in economy, it came sixth in health care.
Health care costs are low:
- The average doctor’s visit costs $99, the ninth-lowest in the United States.
- The average monthly health care premium is the sixth-lowest, at $382.
- Arizona’s Medicaid program is the best in the country.
People with disabilities also tend to do better financially in Scottsdale, according to WalletHub:
- Scottsdale has the eighth-lowest poverty rate for people with disabilities.
- Meanwhile, it has the 10th-highest annual income for people with disabilities.
The city also has many arts and entertainment opportunities that can make life more enjoyable for residents.
Best Cities for Economy, Quality of Life, and Health Care
Though not all ranked highly overall, some cities stood out in particular categories.
The top three cities for economy are:
- Plano, Texas
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
The best places for quality of life are:
- Oakland, California
- San Francisco, California
- St. Louis, Missouri
The three cities with the highest health care rankings are:
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Las Cruces, New Mexico
Using This Rankings Report
If you have a disability or a disabled loved one and are exploring options on where to live, these rankings may be a helpful starting point. When using metrics like these, consider what matters most to you. Personal factors like proximity to loved ones, connection to community, and familiarity with an area are not reflected in these metrics but should also carry weight when making a decision about where to live.
Note that WalletHub’s report did not take weather into account. For instance, while Minneapolis boasts great park access, it is also known for its cold winters, which could make getting outside more difficult.
Also keep in mind that WalletHub only considered cities and not small towns or more rural areas.
View WalletHub’s full report for 2025.