Minneapolis, Portland, OR and Chicago are the most bikeable cities in the U.S. for the second year in a row.
That’s according to updated rankings from Bike Score®, a tool by Redfin company Walk Score® that rates the bike-ability of neighborhoods, cities, and addresses. Scores are based on several factors including access to bike lanes and hilliness. Cities where daily errands can be accomplished by bike score 90 points and above, cities where biking is convenient for most trips score 70 to 89 points and cities with some bike infrastructure score 50-69 points.
Here’s a ranking of the top 10 U.S. cities (with populations of more than 300,000) for biking:
| Rank | City | Bike Score | Change in Bike Score from 2018 | Previous rank (2018) |
| 1 | Minneapolis, MN | 84 | +2 | 1 |
| 2 | Portland, OR | 82 | +1 | 2 |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | 73 | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | Denver, CO | 73 | +2 | 4 |
| 5 | San Francisco, CA | 72 | +1 | 5 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | 70 | +1 | 7 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | 70 | 0 | 6 |
| 8 | New York, NY | 70 | +2 | 8 |
| 9 | Washington, D.C. | 69 | +2 | 9 |
| 10 | Long Beach, CA | 69 | +8 | 16 |
Pushing Minneapolis and Portland to the top of the list, with scores of 84 and 82, was local government commitment to creating new bike infrastructure for environmental, health, affordability and safety reasons. Minneapolis has hundreds of miles of both on-street and off-street cycling lanes. The Portland bike plan, with a goal of full implementation by 2030, includes hundreds of miles of bikeways.
“Fair-weather bikers like myself are out in full force during the summer months in Minneapolis, but you still see bike commuters with ski goggles year-round,” said local Redfin agent James Garry. “Homebuyers moving to Minneapolis from a different area are always pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to bike everywhere here. The streets have dedicated protected bike lanes, many of which connect to suburban trails, and a lot of companies provide locker and shower facilities for bicycle commuters. The city’s bike culture is especially important to buyers looking at downtown condos, as they’re often looking to get rid of at least one car.”
Portland Redfin agent Daniel Brooks said dedicated bike lanes throughout the city and the Tilikum Crossing Bridge, a car-free bridge for use by cyclists, pedestrians, and public transit, contribute to the area’s bike-friendly culture.
“We live in a relatively small area that makes for a short bike commute to work,” Brooks said. “I’ve worked with a lot of clients who buy homes on the east side of Portland and bike to work downtown over the Tilikum bridge. We’re also seeing more newly built condos with limited parking, which encourages people to ditch their cars as their main mode of transportation and rely on bikes.”
Denver, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C. again take spots four through nine on Bike Score rankings, though Boston and Seattle have switched places since 2018. Long Beach, CA broke into the top 10 this year, pushing Sacramento to 11th.
Top 5 Bike Score increases
St. Louis experienced the biggest increase in its Bike Score from 2018, up nine points to 62. It’s followed by Long Beach, CA, up eight points to 69.
“Long Beach added several new bike lanes to its city streets in the last few years and divided the beach path so there are designated lanes for bikers and pedestrians. The path runs along a white sand beach, providing direct access to the Pacific Ocean and the city’s popular Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier,” said local Redfin agent Costanza Genoese Zerbi. “Although there has been some controversy around adding bike lanes to crowded city streets—some people believe they can cause congestion and safety issues—I count myself among Long Beach residents who take advantage of the sunny Southern California weather and the bike-friendly paths.”
After Long Beach come Corpus Christi, TX (up 8 points to 49); Pittsburgh (up 6 points to 57) and Memphis (up 6 points to 44).
None of the cities tracked by Bike Score with populations of more than 300,000 had lower scores than last year.
New cities and neighborhoods
Redfin now has Bike Score information for the 2,500 most populated cities in the U.S. Every city with Walk Score rankings now has Bike Score rankings, as well.
Go to Walk Score’s website to see the Bike Score rankings for both United States and Canadian cities. If you’re interested in a specific state or city rating, use the following URL structure with your state abbreviation: https://www.walkscore.com/WA/
Check out the most bikeable Canadian cities of 2020.
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