Fresno ranked among the sweatiest cities in the US

The city once dubbed America’s meth capital has landed on yet another bizarre ranking — and this time, it’s downright disgusting.

Fresno — already enjoying a strange little redemption tour through national rankings — was named California’s sweatiest city in a new Waterboy study.

The hydration brand analyzed 30 years of NOAA climate data across 80 major US cities to determine where heat, humidity and climate conditions put the biggest strain on the body.

The study created a Hydration Demand Score using metrics including heat index, average temperature, dew point, relative humidity, overnight low temperatures, annual heat caution days, seasonal humidity patterns and warm-night frequency.

Fresno ranked No. 39 nationally with a Hydration Demand Score of 16.1, according to the study.

The city also recorded 62 high-demand days and 1,668 annual risk hours, with July listed as its peak month.

During Fresno’s sweatiest stretch, moderate exercise requires an estimated 23.7 ounces of fluid replacement per hour, according to the study.

The city was famously featured in British filmmaker Louis Theroux’s 2009 documentary “The City Addicted to Crystal Meth,” which explored the devastating toll meth use had taken on parts of Fresno.

But Fresno has recently been on a very different kind of streak.

The city previously ranked No. 84 in WalletHub’s 2026 “Best Summer Travel Destinations” list and No. 138 in the company’s “Best Places to Raise a Family” rankings.

In the new sweat study, Bakersfield followed closely behind Fresno as California’s second-sweatiest city, ranking No. 43 nationally with a Hydration Demand Score of 15.9.

Bakersfield actually recorded more high-demand days than Fresno — 92 compared to Fresno’s 62 — and had California’s highest estimated fluid loss during moderate exercise at 24.8 ounces per hour.

San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside rounded out California’s top five sweatiest cities in the study.

Still, California’s inland cities appeared to face a far heavier hydration burden than its coastal metros.

Fresno, Bakersfield and Riverside all recorded more than 1,000 annual risk hours, while San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oxnard recorded Zero, according to Waterboy.

Nationally, the top of the list was dominated by hot, humid cities in Florida and Hawaii.

West Palm Beach was ranked America’s sweatiest city, followed by Miami, Fort Myers, Honolulu and Melbourne.

At the other end of the list, the lowest-demand cities were Colorado Springs, Denver, Spokane Boise and Albuquerque.

San Francisco was one of the lowest-demand cities in the entire study, ranking No. 71 nationally with a Hydration Demand Score of 9.6.

The city also had the lowest estimated fluid loss of any city analyzed at just 5.4 ounces per house during moderate exercise.

The Top 10 Sweatiest Cities in America

1. West Palm Beach, Fla
2. Miami, Fla
3. Fort Myers, Fla
4. Honolulu, Hawaii
5. Melbourne, Fla
6. Tampa, Fla
7. Orlando, Fla
8. New Orleans, LA
9. Houston, TX
10. Jacksonville, Fla

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters