154 Cities Earn Marks in Updated Bike Score Rankings

Walk Score released an updated ranking of the best cities for biking—including Bike Scores for a total of 154 U.S. cities—in time for Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month.

2 minute read

May 17, 2015, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Bike Commuting

Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious / flickr

"Minneapolis is the most bikeable city in the U.S., according to the latest ranking by Walk Score," reports a post on Redfin by Rachel Musiker (Walk Score is a Redfin company). Musiker adds: "With a Bike Score of 81.3, Minneapolis has a strong lead over San Francisco (75.1) and Portland (72.0)."

Walk Score updated the Bike Score rankings to commemorate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, which concluded on May 15. The rankings mentioned above are for cities with a population of greater 300,000. Several college towns, led by Cambridge, Massachusetts and Davis, California, actually have higher Bike Scores. Walk Score now provides Bike Scores for 154 cities in total.

The post includes several angles of insight into the rankings, including a point about infrastructure.

"Thanks to investments in infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and networks of bike paths, several cities saw big increases in their Bike Scores since the 2013 ranking. On average, cities that ranked in the top 20 saw an increase of more than two Bike Score points. Chicago’s Bike Score increased by almost nine full points, from 61.5 in 2013 to 70.2 today. In the past two years, the Chicago Department of Transportation has launched and grown the Divvy bike share system and expanded its on-street bike network to include more than 225 miles of bike lanes and routes. Expect the city’s score to climb in the next five years as Mayor Emanuel’s Chicago Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 includes completion of a 645-mile network of on-street bikeways by 2020."

Thursday, May 14, 2015 in Redfin

Aerial view of homes on green hillsides in Daly City, California.

Depopulation Patterns Get Weird

A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.

April 10, 2024 - California Planning & Development Report

Aerial view of Oakland, California with bay in background

California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million

Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.

April 11, 2024 - Los Angeles Times

Large blank mall building with only two cars in large parking lot.

Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House

If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.

April 18, 2024 - Central Penn Business Journal

Young woman and man seated on subway car looking at phones.

Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features

It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.

7 hours ago - BGR

Ohio state capitol dome against dramatic lightly cloudy sky.

Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production

A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.

April 19 - Daytona Daily News

Aerial view of Interstate 290 or Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant

Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.

April 19 - Streetsblog Chicago

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.