For many U.S. cities, 2024 was a year of recovery and rebound. As COVID-era funds wind down, cities are pursuing new and sustainable funding sources for critical infrastructure and investments in healthier communities, paving the way for long-term progress and resilience.
To meet the moment, CityHealth and its partners formed new relationships with city leaders and staff — laying the groundwork for policy adoption this year and into the future. Through partnership and continued community engagement, city leaders are advancing impactful health-promoting policy that are helping to build stronger, healthier cities for all.
Key Findings
- In 2024, 63% of America’s 75 largest cities earned an overall medal.
- 7 cities earned an overall gold medal: Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio, and St. Louis.
- Nine cities showed progress by improving their medals in 2024, including eight that moved from overall bronze medals to overall silver medals: Albuquerque, Aurora, Baltimore, Lincoln, Long Beach, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Ana. One city, Omaha, earned its first overall medal, a bronze.
- CityHealth awarded 422 individual policy medals across all 12 policies, including 161 (+7%) gold medals, 113 (+15%) silver medals, and 148 (-3%) bronze medals.
- Policies with the highest penetration include: High-Quality, Accessible Pre-K (73 medals), Greenspace (54 medals), and Affordable Housing Trusts (46 medals).
Explore the 2024 Medals
Resources for Cities & Partners
2024 Annual MEDALS Webinar
Hear our government affairs experts discuss policy successes from the past year and learn what cities should look for in 2025.
How Does Your City Rate?
See how America’s 75 largest cities stack up when it comes to adopting equitable, health-promoting policies. Cities can earn overall medals as well as individual medals for each of CityHealth’s 12 policies.
