In celebration of a Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we’ve updated our ranking of Most Bikeable Large U.S. Cities.

Portland narrowly edges out hilly San Francisco for the top spot, with Denver (home of the legendary B-cycle bike share) coming in a close third.

Top 10 Most Bikeable Large U.S. Cities

1. Portland (Bike Score: 70.3)

2. San Francisco (Bike Score: 70.0)

3. Denver (Bike Score: 69.5)

4. Philadelphia (Bike Score: 68.4)

5. Boston (Bike Score: 67.8)

6. Washington D.C. (Bike Score: 65.3)

7. Seattle (Bike Score: 64.1)

8. Tucson (Bike Score: 64.1)

9. New York (Bike Score: 62.3)

10. Chicago (Bike Score: 61.5)

Note: to keep our rankings apples-to-apples the list above only includes cities with 500,000 or more residents.

Smaller cities like Cambridge, MA crushed it with a Bike Score of 92 and Davis, Boulder, and Berkeley all scored in the high 80s.  Minneapolis also deserves an honorable mention with a Bike Score of 79.

Bike Score Now Available For 100+ Cities

Portland Bike Score Heatmap

Bike Score is now available for over 100 U.S. cities.

Type your address into the “Get a Walk Score” field at the top of this page to get your Bike Score.

Across the U.S. bicycle commuting grew 47% between 2000 and 2011. However, in cities that are making investments in bicycle infrastructure and education (which includes all of the Top 10 Bike Score cities listed above), bicycle commuting has grown 80% over the same period. This trend is leading a growing number of multi-family developers to build bike-friendly housing with secure storage spaces for bicycles and even putting repair shops in the buildings.

Search by Bike Time

Find a Bikeable Place to Live

With Walk Score’s unique apartment search by commute time you can find places to live within an easy bike commute to work.

If you’re still not biking, ask yourself if you’d like to be healthier, save money, and save the world.

More Details

• Bike Score is compiled from a data set that includes bike infrastructure, hilly terrain, number of bikers on streets and more.
• Want to add Bike Score to your site? Request a Bike Score API for your site.
• Contact us to learn how you can use Bike Score data in your research and analysis.

Bike Score: Built by bikers, for bikers!

Walk Score is growing! Earlier this year we launched our first ranking of Canadian cities and neighborhoods and just last week extended our international footprint to Australia.

We’ve also been busy adding to our suite of Walk Score Professional products and services including our Travel Time API and ChoiceMaps, a new way for real estate companies and cities to measure and analyze neighborhoods.

And today, we’re happy to share that Walk Score is now on more than 20,000 real estate sites and that we’re delivering over a quarter billion scores per month. Thank you!

Real-time map of addresses looked up on Walk Score:

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Your vote helps us create a more walkable world!

With a Walk Score of 63, Sydney tops our first ranking of Most Walkable Australian Cities and Suburbs. To arrive at this ranking, we rated the walkablity of more than 100 Australian cities and 3,000 suburbs.  Read the official press release and our ranking methodology.

Australia’s 10 Most Walkable Large Cities

1. Sydney (Walk Score: 63)
2. Melbourne (Walk Score: 57)
3. Adelaide (Walk Score: 54)
4. Brisbane (Walk Score: 51)
5. Perth (Walk Score: 50)
6. Newcastle (Walk Score: 49)
7. Wollongong (Walk Score: 48)
8. Gold Coast (Walk Score: 48)
9. Central Coast (Walk Score: 41)
10. Canberra (Walk Score: 40)

Australians can also look up the Walk Score of their individual addresses and find Walk Score ratings on Harcourts.com.au, Homehound.com.au, realestateworld.com.au, WestRealEstate.com.au and other leading Australian real estate sites.

“Adding Walk Score to our real estate research products resulted in a significant uplift in our site usage,” said Tom White, CEO of PriceFinder.com.au. “The thirst for relevant and useful local information, from buyers, sellers and agents alike, cannot be overlooked and Walk Score provides this in spades. We especially appreciate the insights Walk Score brings to consumers looking to lower the cost of their transportation by selecting locations that suit their preferred transport options.”

Walkability Boosts Health and Real Estate Value

Walkable neighbourhoods offer a number of health and economic benefits. For example, a 10-year long study of Australians by the University of Melbourne found that walkable neighbourhoods with proximity to shops, parks and public transit improve people’s health and wellbeing. And, over the past decade, home values in Sydney’s walkable neighbourhoods have outperformed the rest of the city and can attract a 20% premium.

Apartment & Rental Search in Australia

Apartment Search by Commute Time in Sydney

Today, we’re also excited to launch our unique apartment and rental search for Australia. Search rental listings in major cities across the country by Walk Score and commute time and mode preference (foot, bike, transit, car) on the web and with our updated iPhone app.

Australian Real Estate Opportunity

Australian real estate professionals can now use Walk Score to their advantage. Showcase your properties and market yourself as a local expert. Boost your home listings with neighbourhood information including nearby amenities and commute times.

Learn more about Walk Score for real estate professionals.

Car-free trips might be the travel industry’s next big trend. Explore a destination by foot, rent a bike for a few hours, zip across town thanks to public transit and take a day-trip excursion via car share. You’ll save money and curb your carbon footprint. Walking around has always been the best way to see a destination and have an authentic, local experience.

What are the best US cities leisure or business travelers can visit sans car?

To answer this question, we examined the Walk Score, Transit Score and availability of car shares within a 15-minute walk of more than 5,000 hotels across the U.S. These 10 cities offer more hotel rooms in walkable neighborhoods and green transportation options than any other.

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Boston
4. Washington, DC
5. Seattle
6. Chicago
7. Philadelphia
8. Los Angeles
9. Honolulu
10. Portland

Travelers can save money, get exercise and lower their carbon footprint by walking from hotel to art museums, eateries, nightlife and shops while on a trip. And who doesn’t like the convenience of being able to get a cup of coffee, snack or drink without getting in a car?

Minneapolis didn’t make this ranking, but has the highest Bike Score in the US. Cycling and using bike shares are more ways travelers can go car-free. Meet Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association’s Brandon Vasquez says, “Being a large city for biking, we always suggest leaving the car and using the our great public transportation options, as well as the Nice Ride bike sharing program. You can access a large majority of Minneapolis on two wheels, with two feet or via the mass transit system (bus and light rail).”

Travel trends point toward growth of car-free or car-light trips:

• Car Share Use Grows: Travel & Leisure’s most important travel trends for 2013 highlights changing travel preferences among Millenials and the growth of transportation-sharing models including car shares, bike shares and ride sharing. The New York Times reported that the number of people belonging to car-share services grew by 44% from 2011 to 2012.

• Bike Shares Expand: More cities are investing in bike shares where you can rent by the hour to traverse town or sightsee and many hotels rent bikes on site. Bike shares weren’t part of our city ranking for car-free travel, but several of the top 10 cities already have bike shares programs including New York, Boston, and Washington, DC.

• Travelers Seek Savings: Development Counsellors International reports that as travelers begin hitting the road on leisure trips in larger numbers following the economic recession, one thing remains constant – regardless of the cost of the trip, consumers are looking to get the most for their dollar. Have you checked the cost to park your car at a downtown hotel recently?

• Business Travel Shifts Gears: According to Carlson Wagonlit business travel trends in 2013, companies are looking to control ground transportation costs and to track carbon footprint and emissions from travel.

Find a Hotel Near Your Destinations

By popular demand, we extended our unique commute time search features to travel planning. With our new Hotel Search Demo you can now find hotels by travel time (by car, bus, bike or foot) to destinations, attractions or meetings and within close proximity to public transit, car shares and more.

Walk Score also just launched ChoiceMaps to show the depth of amenity choice like restaurants, public transit, car shares and bike shares. Below is a screen shot showing depth of choice of car and bike shares around Chicago. Learn more about our suite of products and services for travel providers.

Honolulu photo: Go Hawaii

Energy. Action. Gear. Business. Politics. Networking. All were on display at the 2^nd annual National Women’s Bicycling Forum in Washington, DC this March.

I first heard about the National Women’s Bicycling Forum (NWBF) last October during a coffee date with Susi Wunsch from VeloJoy. She attended their first gathering in 2012 and had great things to say about the event. So when registration opened for 2013, I signed up right away.

Group ride hosted by Black Women Bike DC kicks off the 2013 National Women’s Bicycling Forum

NWBF preceded the National Bike Summit with the theme of “Women Mean Business.” The forum was an exciting combination of women leaders, advocates, entrepreneurs and industry experts focusing on growing the impact of women in bicycling.

Biking Entertainment

Ladies gathered the night before the event to pedal with Black Women Bike DC and enjoy a launch party with Washington Area Bicyclist Association. There was great energy at the party with old friends catching up, long distance (online) friends meeting for the first time and speakers such as Elly Blue and NWBF organizer Carolyn Szczepanski. During the forum, attendees snapped portraits at a photobooth, browsed vendors in the Women Bike Pop-up Shop and the NYC Bike Dancers surprised us all with a performance.

New York City bike dancers entertain attendees between sessions on business, politics and social aspects of women biking

Nuts and Bolts and Tips to Inspire More Bicycling Women

• Closing the gender gap: The first break-out sessions for the day included a great mix of advocacy, community, retail and industry perspectives—I really wish I could have attended them all. I attended the Insight from the Industry: 3 Keys to Closing the Gender Gap session with speakers from Gazelle Imports, REI, Giant Bikes and Advanced Sport International. The conversation got a bit heated, but pushed forward the need for the bike industry and retailers to start paying more attention to women—from race enthusiasts to commuters to lifestyle riders.
• Rides and retail for women: More break-out sessions included From Road Block to Gateway: Rides and Races that Engage More Women (covering social aspects of riding—making rides and races a key way to engage more women). I attended Bike Shop Barrier: Making Bike Retail More Welcoming to Women with owners of Pedal Chic, Clever Cycles, West Town Bikes and Huckleberry Bicycles. As a designer selling in various retail spaces, I was really interested to hear what these shops are doing to draw more women. We heard a lot about friendly customer service, thoughtful merchandising and a safe environment to ask questions.

Biking Pioneers, Women Leaders and Innovators

• Industry pioneer Georgena Terry and owner of Sweet Pea Bikes, Natalie Ramsland were inspiring and full of laughs, discussing everything from steel frames fit for women to the politics of wheel size.
• US Representative Duckworth used bicycling to recover from war injury: Our lunch keynote speaker was the ever-inspiring Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, first Asian-American congresswoman from Illinois and first disabled woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives. Duckworth spoke about equity, recovery and determination. She lost both legs and damaged her right arm during the Iraq War when the helicopter she piloted was shot down in 2004. She found hand-crank bicycling to be a powerful part of her recovery.
  • NYC Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan received a standing ovation before her keynote speech. Sadik-Khan’s work has made New York City a leader in bicycle infrastructure and advocacy. (NYC is ranked 9^th most bikeable US city by Walk Score via Bike Score.) She emphasized the positive economic impact on businesses near new bicycling infrastructure. An amazing speaker, Sadik-Khan offered a tip to NYC visitors: “If you stop for a minute in Brooklyn, someone is going to chain a bike to you.”

The event left me inspired, energized and with new friends that share the same passion—getting more women on two wheels every day.

Photos: Brian Palmer

It’s great to see more cities adopting plans with goals around access to neighborhood amenities.  For example, Washington DC’s new sustainability plan has a goal of having 75% of residents within a 5 minute walk of healthy food.  But access is only part of the story, depth of choice matters too.

In the travel industry, we’re seeing innovative companies like Airbnb providing more neighborhood information to help people decide where to stay.  For example, if you love eating, you might want to stay in a neighborhood with a lot of restaurant choices.

Real estate analysts want to track how places are changing over time.  For example, whether a neighborhood is economically vibrant (more businesses are opening) or whether a neighborhood is on the decline (more businesses closing).

We’re excited to announce ChoiceMaps^TM, a new way to measure access and choice in neighborhoods.

You can explore live ChoiceMaps for New York, Washington DC, Chicago, and Seattle.

Restaurant Choices in New York City

In New York, the average person can walk to 12 restaurants in 5 minutes (remember New York includes Staten Island).  To perform this analysis, we’re using our new Travel Time API to compute 32,000,000 walking times for 8.2 million people to over 21,000 restaurants.  And we’re doing this in real-time (try moving the time slider on one of the live maps).

Measuring Neighborhood Choice

Let’s look at depth of choice in Midtown Manhattan vs. my home town of Topeka, Kansas.  The average Midtown resident can walk to a staggering 1,251 restaurants in 20 minutes, but in Topeka you can only walk to an average of 7 restaurants in 20 minutes.  Midtown offers 179 times the number of choices!

In 20 minutes, you can walk to a staggering 1,251 restaurants in Midtown, Manhattan.

Tracking Neighborhoods Trends

Walk Score data subscribers now have access to historical and trend data for cities and neighborhoods.  Cities can use Walk Score to track the percentage of residents who can access various amenities — and how this changes over time.  Real estate analysts can track whether a neighborhood is becoming more or less walkable or how public transit service is increasing or decreasing.

For example, returning to DC’s sustainability plan, here’s a map of people who can walk to fresh food in 5 minutes.  Cities can use this type of historical and trend analysis to track their progress against their goals. Contact us to learn more about ChoiceMaps for your city.

Map of Food Access in Washington DC

And a hat tip to all of the planners attending the American Planning Association National Conference in Chicago who are hard at work to create more walkable cities.  Thank you!

Guest post by Anne Taylor Hartzell, Hip Travel Mama blogger

Everyone knows the benefits of exercise–but did you know that your child’s exercise regimen actually impacts how well they perform in class? In a recent study by Professor Niels Egelund of Aarhus University in Denmark, it was discovered that children who walk or bike to school concentrate far better and longer than their carpooling counterparts.

The study of 19,527 school children ages 5-19 found that there is a strong connection between diet and exercise and a child’s ability to concentrate. It also showed that children who exercise more than two hours a week outside of school have an advantage over other students during the school day.

That advantage has garnered the attention of parents all over the United States, and in response, several different programs are now being implemented in communities across the nation, hoping to inspire young children to ditch the daily car commute to the classroom.

One program, Safe Routes to School, contributes to this cause nationally. They help communities build safe routes to schools so that parents and their children can feel comfortable heading to school on bikes or on foot. Safe Routes also provides school and community groups with funding for training, awareness, and strategies to encourage children to walk and bike to school.

Inspired to get your kid on the road to better health and a better education? Here are a few tips to get moving:

• Find Your Walk Score: First, do a search to get your Walk Score and map out your neighborhood’s walk/bike to school routes.
• Form a Community Walk Group: Safe Routes suggests forming a community group with families in your neighborhood and working together to begin the process of making transportation without a car a great option.
• Engage Your School: Speak with your child’s school about the possibility of joining a program like Safe Routes to make sure that all aspects of your child’s life support trying a new commute—and reaping the rewards.
• Join International Walk to School Month in October and commit to walk/bike with your child to school throughout the month.

What are ways you are making walking or biking to school a priority? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: Wisconsin Bike Fed

American Heart Association’s National Walking Day April 3, 2013 and National Walk to Work Day April 5, 2013 aim to get people moving.

Walk. Stroll. Gallup. The US Department of Health and Human Services has designated the first Friday of April as National Walk to Work Day. American Heart Association and many other national organizations embrace the cause as well, and the American Heart Association created National Walking Day (first Wednesday each April). We at Walk Score whole-heartedly support these efforts. No surprise. Walking is one of the easiest ways to boost your health and prevent physical and mental illness. It’s free and with spring in the air and winter waning, now is the time to walk more. Suggestions for how to easily participate in National Walking Day or National Walk to Work Day:

1. Walk to and/or from work.
2. Walk to a public transit stop that’s a little further than your normal stop.
3. Walk during lunch. Take a picnic and eat at a park. Vitamin D will drown any sorrows and new scenery will refresh your mind.
4. Hold a walking meeting instead of conference room gatherings.
5. Walk with a friend after work.
6. Stand more often while working. Make any phone calls while standing.

Kudos to the US Department of Health and Human Services for creating such a simple and good day in which everyone of any age and ability can participate. The American Heart Association recommends you “ditch your desk” in April to take a 30-minute walk around your office or office neighborhood.

See Walk Score’s top 10 health benefits of walking. Walk Score gives more reasons to embrace walkability and drive less and live more.

Photo: American Heart Association

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” –Mahatma Gandhi

Want to advocate for improved walking and biking infrastructure, but not sure how to start? Anywhere you live, there is likely to be a walking or biking non-profit ready to help you get involved or be a voice for change. From group bike rides to lobbying tools to encouraging kids to walk or bike more—a bevy of resources is at your fingertips.

Get started improving walking or biking routes in your area with these tools, tips, success stories and inspiring ideas.

1. Do a neighborhood walkability audit. Use Walk Score’s iPhone app as organizing or grassroots vehicle for community or policy improvements (see how nonprofits used Walk Score for a walkability audit). Many community members and organizations take the grassroots approach to improving their neighborhoods. Join Walk Boston, for instance, and volunteer to document pedestrian problems by taking pictures and other activities. Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood locals rallied to take photos of sidewalk problems, broken pavement and overgrown shrubs to send it to the city of Seattle for fixes. Another active citizen used Walk Score tools to document barriers to walkability.
2. Connect with local advocacy groups. The Alliance for Biking & Walking has assembled an impressive list of bicycling and walkability/pedestrian groups across the United States and Canada. Find your local advocacy non-profit group and learn how to get involved.
3. Be a walking tour ambassador or join a group walk: Seattle’s Feet First has opportunities for walking ambassadors to lead public walks around neighborhoods across King County. Colorado’s Walk2Connect offers guided individual or group walks where you can learn about the land, meet new people and get fit.
4. Advocate for better biking and walking infrastructure. New Orleans citizens and Bike Easy organization helped get biking and walking street and sidewalk improvements built into the Super Bowl transportation upgrades in 2013. See how biking and walking advocates won victory with increased biking lanes and pedestrian improvements in New Orleans.
5. Rally and ride together: Bike San Diego offers opportunities for people to join a walk, bike and rally event to advocate for change, meet fellow people-powered enthusiasts and get outside (sans car).
6. Snap photos of your missing effin’ sidewalk: Feet First Philly has a photo contest called “Where’s my effin’ sidewalk?” Share photos of obstacles for pedestrians and bikers across Philadelphia. A uniquely Philly-attitude-celebrated activity that could be replicated in other cities.
7. Meet with professionals to discuss bike plans and make a difference: League of Illinois Bicyclists is hosting a Bike Summit on May 15 in the town of Normal, IL. Meet with more than 100 engineerings, planners, local bicycle advocates to discuss the state bike plan, how to overcome barriers to bicycling and more.
8. Get kids walking and biking: Join Safe Routes to School local movements such as using League of Michigan Bicyclists education toolkits, safety tips and legislative advocacy support. Join a local walk to school effort with other parents and kids.
9. Promote walking with wayfinding signs. Do it yourself. See how New York City introduced wayfinding signs to encourage walkers. There’s even a crowd-funding wayfinding venture started to build more wayfinding signs and the Atlantic labeled a Raleigh, North Carolina initiative “guerilla wayfinding.”
10. Promote safety with crossing flags. Learn about DIY crossing flags for neighborhood intersections. Some companies like Key Bank support walkability grassroots efforts to keep streets safe—like this crossing flag set in a Seattle neighborhood.

More inspiration and success stories happen every week. Learn more about walkability. Get outside and get involved.

Guest post by Duncan Hurd, managing editor of Momentum Mag

I truly believe that my bicycle is the ultimate urban tool. My bicycle provides a solution to every city travel problem that I may encounter. Bicycling is fast, efficient, inexpensive, and let’s not forget fun.

Like any tool, a bicycle becomes more useful if it is designed for the task at hand. The growing demand for city bikes has resulted in an increased availability of bicycles that are made to be used daily, carry items, and keep the rider free from grease and street crud.

Do you need a new bike to make city cycling simpler? Not at all. Any bicycle will do. However, there are ways to improve any bicycle so it becomes better suited to daily city use. These five simple add-ons will help make your bike an attractive daily travel tool:

1. Fend Away Street Grime with Fenders

Unless you live in a place where it never rains and the streets are kept in pristine condition, you will benefit from fenders. As far as add-ons go, fenders give you the most bang for your buck and make city cycling a cleaner experience. And not only do fenders help keep you clean, they also keep tire spray away from riders around you. Since there are so many different fenders available it is difficult to make a specific recommendation, so visit your local bike shop and explore the available options that will fit on your bicycle.

2. Take More with You in Your Front Basket

I’m almost embarrassed by how long it took me to finally add a front basket to my bicycle. I thought I’d never use it; I’ll just use my messenger bag when I need to carry things. Boy, I was wrong. I honestly couldn’t imagine benefiting as much as I do from my bicycle without that front basket. As far as low-cost improvements go, a front basket is right up there with fenders. Any wire basket will do, though if you expect to carry more delicate items I recommend finding a basket with a solid base to provide support.

3. Keep Grease Where it Belongs with a Chainguard

Bicycle chains get dirty. They pick up road grime and are the number one culprit when it comes to ruined trousers. While their availability isn’t as widespread as fenders and baskets, adding a simple chainguard will help keep your pant legs clean and keep grease where it needs to be, on your chain.

4. Light Up Your Nights with Bike Lights

Having both front and rear lights on your bicycle is one add-on that is actually a necessity. Not only does having lighting on your bicycle improve nighttime safety (and save you from traffic fines) but it also makes you more likely to ride longer. In many European countries there are strict regulations on bicycle lighting, ensuring that the majority of riders are visible at night. In North America, the laws vary but lights are still required in most places. If you tend to leave you bicycle parked outside all night look for models that are easy to remove so you can take them inside with you. Another option that will ensure you never forget your lights is to install permanent front and rear lights powered by a dynamo.

5. Keep Your Bicycle Yours with a Secure Lock

While every bicycle lock can be defeated, the best locks take thieves longer to break. The goal of a good lock is to make your bike the least attractive option to would-be thieves. Heavy chain locks and solid U-locks are the most popular choice. Look for the security rating provided by the manufacturer to give you an idea if the lock can provide the security you need.

Duncan Hurd is managing editor of Momentum Mag, an independent media company that promotes, encourages and inspires “Smart Living by Bike.” He lives in Toronto, Canada and believes that every ride is a group ride, even if those around him don’t know it yet. Subscribe to Momentum Mag’s free newsletter.

Photo: David Niddrie