With July being National Park and Recreation Month and parks contributing to better community cohesion, property values and public health, the leading personal finance social media network WalletHub took an in-depth look at 2014's Best & Worst Cities for Recreation.

In an effort to educate Americans on the value of an active lifestyle and the importance of public open spaces in their communities and finances, WalletHub compared the 100 largest U.S. cities and highlighted those with the most diverse opportunities for recreation, sports and culture. We used 24 key metrics to explore a number of factors— from the cost of movie tickets and parkland acreage to the affordability of food prices and spending on parks per resident — that contribute to the overall quality of each city’s offerings.
 

 
Key Stats

• Madison, Wis., has 88 times more park playgrounds per capita than Laredo, Texas.

• The percentage of population with walkable park access is 3.6 times higher in San Francisco than in Charlotte, N.C.

• Hialeah, Fla, has 36 times less parkland (as a percentage of the city area) than Anchorage, Alaska.

• Washington, D.C., spends 30 times more on parks per capita than Detroit.

• Anaheim, Calif., has 94 times more coffee shops per capita than Laredo, Texas.

• Scottsdale, Ariz., has 41 times more music venues per capita than Laredo, Texas.

• Las Vegas has 27 times more attractions per capita than Chesapeake, Va.

• Bowling is 3.5 times cheaper in Buffalo, N.Y., than in New York City.