Here are the best and worst American cities for car-free living according to new report

Top 10 Best Cities for Car-Free Living

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Boston, MA
3. New York, NY
4. Washington, DC
5. Honolulu, HI
6. Chicago, IL
7. Jersey City, NJ
8. Seattle, WA
9. Richmond, VA
10. Pittsburgh, PA

Bottom 10 Worst Cities for Car-Free Living

1. Mobile, AL
2. Memphis, TN
3. Jackson, MS
4. Huntsville, AL
5. Baton Rouge, LA
6. Clarksville, TN
7. Montgomery, AL
8. Birmingham, AL
9. Macon, GA
10. Greensboro, NC

The city of Pittsburgh

Key Insights

• Dense, walkable cities such as San Francisco, Boston, and New York lead the ranking, boasting robust public transit systems, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and vibrant car-free communities.
• Richmond, Virginia, stands out as the only city in the top 10 without a light rail or street trolley system, relying instead on a strong biking culture and a praised rapid bus transit network.
• Despite their high rankings, cities like San Francisco, Washington, and Seattle face significant challenges related to bike theft, with Portland, Oregon, experiencing the most incidents.
• The zero-fare bus movement, pioneered by the Kansas City Metro in 2019, has influenced several cities in the ranking to adopt fare-free public transportation.
• Southern cities with sprawling layouts, such as Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee, struggle with low pedestrian and cyclist safety due to insufficient infrastructure.
• Memphis ranks third in pedestrian fatalities, following Macon, Georgia, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• Three Texas suburbs, McKinney, Grand Prairie, and Pasadena, lack public bus services, impacting low-income families living in McKinney’s food desert.

Behind the Ranking

The report categorizes factors into four categories—Access, Commute Culture, Safety, and Climate—each assigned specific weights based on their significance. Factors within these categories include metrics like bike scores, walk scores, transit scores, crime indexes, and climate-related data.

The HVAC Gnome study collected data from various sources for each of the 200 largest U.S. cities, assigning scores out of 100 points to determine their overall rankings. The cities with the highest overall scores secured the coveted “Best” spots, while the lowest-ranking cities were deemed the “Worst.”

Final Thoughts

Owning a vehicle can be a financial burden, with car ownership costs on the rise. Public transportation, in contrast, offers a more cost-effective and safer alternative. Some cities are even implementing “open streets” concepts to enhance pedestrian and cyclist safety. Additionally, choosing public transportation over personal vehicles contributes to a reduction in emissions by up to 45%, improving air quality and sustainability.

For more on why car-free cities are the next big thing, check out this article.