The Best Community in America for Bike Commuting

According to the American Community Survey, conducted every year by the US Census Bureau, there were 864,883 people who used a bicycle as their primary means of transportation to work in 2012 in the US.

Now, in a new report from the League of American Bicyclists, Where We Ride: An Analysis of Bicycling in American Cities, we’re getting a more detailed look at the bicycle commuters throughout the nation as well as insight into several broad trends.

Taking into account population and bicycle mode share, the League’s list of communities where commuting by bike is most popular is as follows:

Philadelphia, PA, leads for cities with a population of 1,000,000+ with a 2.3 percent share of bicycle commuters.

For cities with population of 500,000 – 999,999, Portland, OR, leads with 6.1 percent.

Boulder, CO, boasts a 12.1 percent bicycling mode share and leads cities with populations between 200,000 and 499,999.

And in Davis, CA, with 19.1 percent of commuters taking to their bicycles, the city leads for populations 50,000 and 200,000 as well as being the highest in the country.

The report also reveals the 25 cities in America with the most (estimated) bicycle commuters, how all 50 states rank according to bicycle commuters as a share of all commuters, how cities with a high percentage of bicycle commuters compare to other cities in their regions, how cities compare based upon multimodal commuters, looking beyond just bikes to other forms of transportation that involve more physical activity, including walking and transit, and cities where a majority of bicycle commuters are women.

bikeleague.org