In 11 American cities where you don’t need a car to live in, we’ll provide a great list of the best cities to live when there’s no car to be had.
It’s hard for us living in more rural areas to believe, but some people who live in these cities literally don’t have cars. Not because they wrecked theirs, just because they’ve never needed one. The kids don’t scramble to get their license as soon as they’re old enough, and hardly anyone has a garage.
As unbelievable as this may sound, it also seems pretty desirable as well. Imagine never having to pay for gas, never having to go to the mechanic, never having to worry about a flat tire, and never getting lost when your GPS randomly goes haywire.
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People love walkable cities, and not only because it means not worrying about a car. It also means more exercise. Walking is very beneficial to health, and biking is even more so. Or, even if you take a taxi or subway, you have to walk a little to get one.
It allows for more social interaction with the people in your city, whether through passing them on the street or having a chat on the metro. Plus, you get to enjoy the beauty of your city more as well. It’s very true that walkers and bikers notice their surroundings much more than drivers do.
Or, maybe you just want to go on a vacation without the added cost of a car rental. These cities are great summer hotspot options, and you’ll not only come back more relaxed, but tanner and skinnier too. (For more great walkable locations, see also 11 Best Places to Visit in the USA Without a Car.)
We utilized a great resource to rank this article, a site called Walk Score. You can type in literally any place on the planet and it will give you its walk score, and bike and transit score if applicable. A walk score is simply a gauge of how easy it is to walk from place to place within a city. 100 is the highest possible score, but only a few places on the earth match that (one of them is on this list). We took this article on MSN and calculated each listed city’s score. The results are below, with the highest scores at the bottom of the list.
Visit the Walk Score website for more specifics about how the scoring works, but otherwise here’s our list of American cities where you don’t need a car to live in. Enjoy!
11. Seattle, Washington
walk score: 73, bike score: 63, transit score: 57
First on our list is this Pacific treasure, filled with awe-striking views, a fancy library and so much coffee.
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10. Washington D.C.
walk score: 77, bike score: 69, transit score: 71
Take a jaunt through a few museums and historic landmarks on your way home from work courtesy of Washington D.C that ranks 10th on the list of American cities where you don’t need a car to live in.
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9. Downtown Miami, Florida
walk score: 79, bike score: 60, transit score: 59
Shortcuts through the sand on a beautiful beach make walking in this city so worthwhile.
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8. Newark, New Jersey
walk score: 80, bike score: 51, transit score: 65
Not only is there easy transportation throughout the city, but there’s easy transportation to basically anywhere else in the world through their gigantic airport.
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7. Minneapolis, Minnesota
walk score: 69, bike score: 81, transit score: 58
Yes, Minnesota’s cold, but at least you have a chance to warm up by taking a swift stroll. (Even though you’d probably rather have the much warmer option of a heated car.)
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6. Jersey City, New Jersey
walk score: 87, bike score: 66, transit score: 70
It seems this city on our list of American cities where you don’t need a car to live in needs a score for water transportation to, because it’s a safe bet that Jersey City’s kayaking score would be pretty high as well.
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5. Chicago, Illinois
walk score: 78, bike score: 70, transit score: 78
It’s a classic American city, has great pizza and it’s walkable too. What more could you ask for?
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4. Boston, Massachusetts
walk score: 81, bike score: 70, transit score: 74
We are continuing our list of American cities where you don’t need a car to live in with Boston that seems like a great place to be when you’re short on wheels. Just look at it.
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3. San Francisco, California
walk score: 86, bike score: 75, transit score: 80
Not only is this city that ranks 3rd on the list of American cities where you don’t need a car to live in beautiful, but it’s expertly designed to suit walkers and those without a vehicle. And who wouldn’t want to walk through this breathtaking place at night?
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2. Center City West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
walk score: 99, bike score: 96, transit score: 100
The home of the Philly cheesesteak is also apparently home to a lot of great transportation services, as well as a walker-friendly design.
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1. Union Square, New York City, New York
walk score: 100, bike score: 85, transit score: 100
Unsurprisingly, NYC came out as number one. It’s known for its massive size and incredible walkability. The subway automatically gives this city a 100 in transportability as well.
That concludes our list of 11 American cities where you don’t need a car to live in! And for a bonus city, Oakland, California was the runner up. Thanks for reading!
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