{"id":893340,"date":"2026-10-24T19:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T19:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893340\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T19:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T19:12:13","slug":"the-most-walkable-cities-in-the-u-s-and-canada-mapped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893340\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Walkable Cities in the U.S. and Canada, Mapped"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">Walkability can be an important factor for some people when trying to decide where they want to live.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7u\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mentalfloss.com\/science\/health\/why-walking-makes-us-feel-good\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Walking<\/a> means you can ditch a car for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mentalfloss.com\/transportation\/commuting-public-transit-better-you-driving\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">public transportation<\/a>, easily get to stores and restaurants, or just be healthier by using your feet to get around town. It could also mean you live in an area that&#8217;s friendly to pedestrians or has a higher population density.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7z\">But where are these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visualcapitalist.com\/mapped-most-walkable-cities-us-canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">walkable cities<\/a>? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkscore.com\/cities-and-neighborhoods\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walk Score<\/a> looked at cities in the United States and Canada to find the best places to live if you don&#8217;t want to rely on a car and like having places within walking distance. Here are some of the cities they say are the best for walkers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m5g9zer1jxn2a7405d.jpg\" alt=\"Map highlighting the top 20 most walkable cities in the U.S. and Canada, based on Walk Score data.\" title=\"Map highlighting the top 20 most walkable cities in the U.S. and Canada, based on Walk Score data.\" width=\"0\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"8b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Map highlighting the top 20 most walkable cities in the U.S. and Canada, based on Walk Score data. | Visual Capitalist<\/p>\n<p>California, Northeast Lead List<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8m\">It may not be surprising that the most walkable city is one where it doesn&#8217;t snow normally.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8r\">San Francisco ranked highest for the most walkable city, in part due to its compact size and emphasis on walking. In fact, the city has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfmta.com\/getting-around\/walk\/pedestrian-program-and-vision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pedestrian program<\/a> to increase walking in the area. Public transportation also helps. <a href=\"https:\/\/campuslifeserviceshome.ucsf.edu\/transportation\/public-transit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BART<\/a> carries residents across San Francisco as well as neighboring areas, making it easy to walk to and from stops instead of driving. You can also ride <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sftravel.com\/info\/transportation-basics-how-to-get-around-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cable cars<\/a> and streetcars, which aren&#8217;t just for tourists.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m5ga0x9e6ppbcazw4a.jpg\" alt=\"Busy intersection in New York Manhattan\" title=\"Busy intersection in New York Manhattan\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"93\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Busy intersection in New York City. | LeoPatrizi\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"99\">It may not be surprising to see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mentalfloss.com\/geography\/cities\/25-things-you-might-not-have-known-about-new-york-city\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York City<\/a> on the list, which comes in second place. The city&#8217;s density makes it ideal for walking to shops and restaurants, while its subway system and other regional trains make great alternatives to cars. The city&#8217;s public transportation is so good that Walk Score ranked its transit system best among cities in the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9e\">Nearby Jersey City, New Jersey, came in third. It also ranked in the top five cities for best public transit, according to Walk Score. The city is mostly a densely populated area, which gives it a boost over all places that have more sprawl that requires a car to get around.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9j\">Boston took fourth place, boosted by the third-best transit system in the survey. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mentalfloss.com\/history\/9-surprising-secrets-vancouver-history\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vancouver<\/a>, British Columbia, came in fifth place and was the only Canadian city among the top 10 walkable cities, according to Walk Score.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9o\">The top 10 most walkable cities in the United States and Canada include:<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9t\">1. San Francisco, California<br \/>2. New York City, New York<br \/>3. Jersey City, New Jersey<br \/>4. Boston, Massachusetts<br \/>5. Vancouver, British Columbia<br \/>6. Chicago, Illinois<br \/>7. Washington, D.C.<br \/>8. Miami, Florida<br \/>9. Newark, New Jersey<br \/>10. Oakland, California<\/p>\n<p>Southern States Dominate Least Walkable Cities<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a3\">Larger, sprawling cities can lead to lower walkability scores, which is a big factor for some of the cities with the worst scores in Walk Score&#8217;s study.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a8\">Chesapeake, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mentalfloss.com\/geography\/states\/25-lovable-facts-about-virginia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Virginia<\/a>, came in last place with the least walkable city of the 130 cities Walk Score reviewed. The city&#8217;s walkable score was sunk by the worst score for public transit and a top 10 worst score for bikes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ad\">Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, came in second and third place. The cities also scored low when it came to transit and bikes. In fact, neither Fayetteville nor Winston-Salem has a transit system that could be scored for the survey. Both cities were also in the bottom three for residents&#8217; ability to safely bike around town.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ai\">The top 10 worst cities for walkability include:<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"an\">1. Chesapeake, Virginia<br \/>2. Fayetteville, North Carolina<br \/>3. Winston-Salem, North Carolina<br \/>4. Jacksonville, Florida<br \/>5. Montgomery, Alabama<br \/>6. Charlotte, North Carolina<br \/>7. Nashville, Tennessee<br \/>8. Gilbert, Arizona<br \/>9. Greensboro, North Carolina<br \/>10. Henderson, Nevada<\/p>\n<p>Read More:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walkability can be an important factor for some people when trying to decide where they want to live.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-893340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}