There are 52 million bicyclists and 100 million bicycles in America, according to the job search site Zippia, and the nation’s cities have responded to the surging recreational and commuting interest, health benefits, and environmental advantages of increased bicycle ridership. They’ve created more bike trails and car-free zones, taken measures to improve bike safety, and provided greater accessibility to bike facilities. And a profusion of bike clubs, shops, and cycling events are populating American urban centers.
To determine America’s overall best cities to ride a bike in 2023, 24/7 Tempo consulted a study conducted by LawnStarter, a lawn care company that frequently conducts research into city and state amenities. The study compared the 200 largest U.S. cities based on 27 differently weighted metrics across six pertinent categories, drawing on data from 16 government and private sources. The categories included access (number of bike trails, bike shops, etc.), ride quality (number of top-rated bike trails and related data), safety (state biking laws, cycling-related fatalities, bike thefts, etc.), and climate. Community facilities and events were also considered. (Beware if you’re cycling in one of the states where speeding kills the most people.)
Click here to see the overall best cities to ride a bike in 2023
Coastal cities – San Francisco, New York, and Portland (Oregon) – occupied the top four spots, because of their access to well-designed trails and vibrant biking communities.
San Francisco, one of 10 California cities on the list, is first in biking access, ride quality, and the number of bike repair and supply shops and bike rental facilities per square mile. (Its spectacular climate doesn’t hurt either.) Second-place New York City is first in the community ranking and second in access. Its NYC Streets Plan goals include new protected bike lanes in the nation’s most populated city. A second-place score for ride quality and a third-place showing for access enabled Portland, Oregon, to land the third spot overall. (These three are definitely not among the cities where the fewest people exercise.)
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40. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
> Access rank: 33/200
> Ride quality rank: 66/200
> Safety rank: 35/200
> Climate rank: 57/200
> Overall score: 40.67
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39. Rochester, New York
> Access rank: 31/200
> Ride quality rank: 19/200
> Safety rank: 120/200
> Climate rank: 113/200
> Overall score: 41.04
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38. Irvine, California
> Access rank: 112/200
> Ride quality rank: 22/200
> Safety rank: 51/200
> Climate rank: 17/200
> Overall score: 41.18
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37. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> Access rank: 29/200
> Ride quality rank: 34/200
> Safety rank: 61/200
> Climate rank: 177/200
> Overall score: 41.38
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36.St. Petersburg, Florida
> Access rank: 49/200
> Ride quality rank: 54/200
> Safety rank: 142/200
> Climate rank: 64/200
> Overall score: 41.63
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35. Pasadena, California
> Access rank: 60/200
> Ride quality rank: 10/200
> Safety rank: 58/200
> Climate rank: 17/200
> Overall score: 42.73
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34. Colorado Springs, Colorado
> Access rank: 22/200
> Ride quality rank: 131/200
> Safety rank: 101/200
> Climate rank: 104/200
> Overall score: 42.88
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33. Tucson, Arizona
> Access rank: 27/200
> Ride quality rank: 11/200
> Safety rank: 195/200
> Climate rank: 66/200
> Overall score: 42.9
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32. Boise City, Idaho
> Access rank: 92/200
> Ride quality rank: 8/200
> Safety rank: 185/200
> Climate rank: 83/200
> Overall score: 43.27
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Source: bradleyhebdon / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
31. Long Beach, California
> Access rank: 35/200
> Ride quality rank: 15/200
> Safety rank: 48/200
> Climate rank: 16/200
> Overall score: 43.72
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30. Charlotte, North Carolina
> Access rank: 17/200
> Ride quality rank: 75/200
> Safety rank: 17/200
> Climate rank: 73/200
> Overall score: 43.78
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29. Orlando, Florida
> Access rank: 30/200
> Ride quality rank: 51/200
> Safety rank: 18/200
> Climate rank: 71/200
> Overall score: 43.98
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28. Alexandria, Virginia
> Access rank: 87/200
> Ride quality rank: 25/200
> Safety rank: 1/200
> Climate rank: 76/200
> Overall score: 45.74
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27. Houston, Texas
> Access rank: 5/200
> Ride quality rank: 28/200
> Safety rank: 31/200
> Climate rank: 199/200
> Overall score: 45.85
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26. Tampa, Florida
> Access rank: 42/200
> Ride quality rank: 35/200
> Safety rank: 28/200
> Climate rank: 64/200
> Overall score: 45.94
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25. Miami, Florida
> Access rank: 4/200
> Ride quality rank: 31/200
> Safety rank: 123/200
> Climate rank: 57/200
> Overall score: 46.15
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24. Austin, Texas
> Access rank: 20/200
> Ride quality rank: 48/200
> Safety rank: 29/200
> Climate rank: 117/200
> Overall score: 46.27
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23. Albuquerque, New Mexico
> Access rank: 9/200
> Ride quality rank: 42/200
> Safety rank: 33/200
> Climate rank: 92/200
> Overall score: 46.28
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22. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Access rank: 54/200
> Ride quality rank: 36/200
> Safety rank: 16/200
> Climate rank: 111/200
> Overall score: 46.72
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21. Atlanta, Georgia
> Access rank: 14/200
> Ride quality rank: 37/200
> Safety rank: 20/200
> Climate rank: 80/200
> Overall score: 46.93
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20. Oakland, California
> Access rank: 15/200
> Ride quality rank: 12/200
> Safety rank: 106/200
> Climate rank: 8/200
> Overall score: 47.08
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19.Salt Lake City, Utah
> Access rank: 23/200
> Ride quality rank: 14/200
> Safety rank: 128/200
> Climate rank: 145/200
> Overall score: 47.23
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18. Fort Collins, Colorado
> Access rank: 94/200
> Ride quality rank: 5/200
> Safety rank: 85/200
> Climate rank: 148/200
> Overall score: 47.32
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17. Fremont, California
> Access rank: 43/200
> Ride quality rank: 20/200
> Safety rank: 12/200
> Climate rank: 8/200
> Overall score: 48.6
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16. San Antonio, Texas
> Access rank: 8/200
> Ride quality rank: 6/200
> Safety rank: 26/200
> Climate rank: 169/200
> Overall score: 48.85
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15. Eugene, Oregon
> Access rank: 38/200
> Ride quality rank: 17/200
> Safety rank: 21/200
> Climate rank: 67/200
> Overall score: 48.92
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14. Sacramento, California
> Access rank: 19/200
> Ride quality rank: 41/200
> Safety rank: 8/200
> Climate rank: 37/200
> Overall score: 49.65
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13. Los Angeles, California
> Access rank: 40/200
> Ride quality rank: 50/200
> Safety rank: 7/200
> Climate rank: 33/200
> Overall score: 49.97
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11. San Jose, California
> Access rank: 44/200
> Ride quality rank: 27/200
> Safety rank: 14/200
> Climate rank: 8/200
> Overall score: 50.31
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11. Madison, Wisconsin
> Access rank: 39/200
> Ride quality rank: 29/200
> Safety rank: 25/200
> Climate rank: 164/200
> Overall score: 50.84
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10. Minneapolis, Minnesota
> Access rank: 90/200
> Ride quality rank: 9/200
> Safety rank: 5/200
> Climate rank: 166/200
> Overall score: 51
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9. San Diego, California
> Access rank: 16/200
> Ride quality rank: 74/200
> Safety rank: 6/200
> Climate rank: 4/200
> Overall score: 51.83
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8. Chicago, Illinois
> Access rank: 11/200
> Ride quality rank: 21/200
> Safety rank: 19/200
> Climate rank: 181/200
> Overall score: 52.26
Source: DenisTangneyJr / E+ via Getty Images
7. Boston, Massachusetts
> Access rank: 24/200
> Ride quality rank: 13/200
> Safety rank: 3/200
> Climate rank: 84/200
> Overall score: 52.43
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6. Denver, Colorado
> Access rank: 10/200
> Ride quality rank: 18/200
> Safety rank: 9/200
> Climate rank: 187/200
> Overall score: 54.84
Source: Matt Anderson / iStock via Getty Images
5. Washington, D.C.
> Access rank: 7/200
> Ride quality rank: 16/200
> Safety rank: 22/200
> Climate rank: 76/200
> Overall score: 56.42
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4. Seattle, Washington
> Access rank: 6/200
> Ride quality rank: 4/200
> Safety rank: 24/200
> Climate rank: 40/200
> Overall score: 59.05
Source: jbentley09 / iStock via Getty Images
3. Portland, Oregon
> Access rank: 3/200
> Ride quality rank: 2/200
> Safety rank: 30/200
> Climate rank: 31/200
> Overall score: 61.6
Source: TomasSereda / iStock via Getty Images
2. New York, New York
> Access rank: 2/200
> Ride quality rank: 3/200
> Safety rank: 13/200
> Climate rank: 108/200
> Overall score: 62.69
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Source: dell640 / iStock via Getty Images
1. San Francisco, California
> Access rank: 1/200
> Ride quality rank: 1/200
> Safety rank: 27/200
> Climate rank: 8/200
> Overall score: 67.21
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