The Best Cities to Live in Without a Car (2024)

The Best Cities to Live in Without a Car

Author

David specializes in data, data journalism, and all topics related to homeownership. He’s won multiple national awards for content marketing and comes from strong background in journalism. His work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, CNN, Buzzfeed, Business Insider, Good Morning America, ESPN, and many more.

Reviewer

Lora Novak

Reviewed By

Lora Novak

Senior Editor

Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.

Updated On

January 1, 2024

Gas prices are at an all time high and drivers are feeling it in their bank accounts. As prices continue to soar in the US, many may be considering alternatives to traditional commuting and car use. Whether you are looking to decrease your carbon footprint or your overall gasoline costs, Today’s Homeowner conducted a study to find the best (and worst) cities in America to live in without a car.

We analyzed data on the 99 largest cities and ranked them according to seven factors, such as accessibility to transit and safety. Read on for the complete rankings and explanation of the methodology behind this study.

Main Findings

These are the best cities to live in and navigate without a car. The table below shows the overall rank, total score, and specific factor-category rank. It’s searchable and sortable so take a look as see how your city stacked up!

Rank	City, State	Total Score	Accessibility	Safety
1	New York City, NY	70.25	1	48
2	San Francisco, CA	51.96	5	44
3	Arlington, VA	51.54	8	9
4	Chicago, IL	48.04	3	78
5	Boston, MA	47.96	9	50
6	Newark, NJ	47.04	10	41
7	Fremont, CA	45.83	12	7
8	Jersey City, NJ	45.69	14	31
9	Washington, DC	45.18	7	76
10	Pittsburgh, PA	44.55	23	34
11	Philadelphia, PA	44.26	11	77
12	Oakland, CA	43.98	6	89
13	Irvine, CA	43.71	21	2
14	Miami, FL	43.57	4	45
15	Seattle, WA	43.12	13	51
16	Los Angeles, CA	41.44	2	60
17	Long Beach, CA	41.36	24	36
18	Madison, WI	40.52	26	16
19	Honolulu, HI	39.82	28	12
20	Portland, OR	39.16	22	39
21	Atlanta, GA	38.48	38	13
22	St. Paul, MN	38.46	19	63
23	Austin, TX	37.57	56	35
24	Baltimore, MD	37.47	17	92
25	Lexington, KY	37.44	68	16
26	Anaheim, CA	37.39	47	22
27	Plano, TX	37.12	45	6
28	Denver, CO	37.09	16	67
29	San Jose, CA	36.78	42	29
30	Buffalo, NY	36.77	34	80
31	Frisco, TX	36.71	53	3
32	San Diego, CA	36.5	31	23
33	Glendale, AZ	35.82	61	1
34	Minneapolis, MN	35.73	18	83
35	Lincoln, NE	35.65	36	32
36	Aurora, CO	35.44	29	72
37	Mesa, AZ	35.4	65	24
38	Richmond, VA	35.19	48	21
39	Corpus Christi, TX	35.06	49	65
40	Las Vegas, NV	35.05	15	40
41	Henderson, NV	34.74	58	11
42	St. Louis, MO	34.45	20	97
43	Cincinnati, OH	34.42	35	71
44	Sacramento, CA	34.2	39	57
45	New Orleans, LA	34.15	43	90
46	Toledo, OH	34.08	51	79
47	Reno, NV	33.99	55	47
48	Chula Vista, CA	33.94	57	20
49	St. Petersburg, FL	33.14	50	55
50	Virginia Beach, VA	32.88	66	4
51	Omaha, NE	32.8	46	52
52	Cleveland, OH	32.77	40	96
53	Durham, NC	32.69	83	68
54	Norfolk, VA	32.37	54	53
55	Santa Ana, CA	32.37	52	30
56	Garland, TX	32.21	69	14
57	Columbus, OH	31.99	60	45
58	Milwaukee, WI	31.91	25	94
59	Tampa, FL	31.79	41	38
60	Dallas, TX	31.74	33	66
61	Albuquerque, NM	31.58	27	91
62	Orlando, FL	31.42	62	69
63	Chandler, AZ	31.06	84	10
64	Paradise, NV	31.01	73	28
65	Colorado Springs, CO	30.6	59	49
66	Fort Worth, TX	30.51	64	43
67	Tucson, AZ	30.49	67	58
68	Stockton, CA	30.44	44	88
69	Chesapeake, VA	30.18	93	26
70	Irving, TX	29.34	80	18
71	Riverside, CA	29.18	77	33
72	Laredo, TX	29.01	87	19
73	Lubbock, TX	28.83	89	81
74	Gilbert, AZ	28.57	94	5
75	Fresno, CA	28.28	70	56
76	Scottsdale, AZ	27.95	95	8
77	Phoenix, AZ	27.94	32	64
78	Houston, TX	27.34	30	87
79	San Antonio, TX	27.25	85	62
80	Arlington, TX	27.18	79	42
81	Tulsa, OK	27.13	78	82
82	El Paso, TX	26.58	92	15
83	Detroit, MI	26.57	37	98
84	Fort Wayne, IN	26.19	99	26
85	Greensboro, NC	25.92	74	73
86	Kansas City, MO	25.76	71	93
87	Louisville, KY	25.53	90	54
88	Raleigh, NC	24.56	75	25
89	Nashville, TN	24.51	81	84
90	Indianapolis, IN	24.03	88	70
91	Jacksonville, FL	24.01	82	58
92	Anchorage, AK	23.87	63	85
93	Bakersfield, CA	23.44	96	37
94	Oklahoma City, OK	23.11	97	61
95	Wichita, KS	22.97	91	75
96	North Las Vegas, NV	22.64	76	95
97	Charlotte, NC	21.37	86	74
98	Winston-Salem, NC	20.21	98	86
99	Memphis, TN	15.89	72	99

Summary

Our analysis found that New York City is the best city to live in and navigate without a car or vehicle. It received the highest composite score in the accessibility category – meaning it provides the best access to parks, public transportation, education and healthcare while factoring in commute times. San Francisco, Arlington, Chicago and Boston rounded out the rest of the top five spots.

Wichita, North Las Vegas, Charlotte, Winston Salem and Memphis received the lowest rankings for best carless cities. The bottom five cities all ranked poorly for accessibility and had higher-than-average crime rates, ultimately making them less ideal for those looking to reduce car use through public transit and walking.

Methodology

To find the most practical cities to live in without a car, we looked at data for the 99 largest cities in the United States. We ranked the cities using two major categories:

Accessibility
Safety

Each city was graded on an 85 – point scale, with a score of 85 representing the ideal city for carless residents or those who wish to drive less.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all categories to calculate the best cities to navigate without a car and used the results to rank-order our sample.

65 points

Average commute time (number of minutes commuting 1 way to work each day)—Full Weight
Access to education (number of schools per city)—Full Weight
Access to healthcare (number of hospital beds per 1000 residents)—Full Weight
Access to public transit (average public transit trips per resident per year)—1.5 Weight
Distance to parks (percentage of people within 10 minute walk to a park) —Double Weight

20 points

Safety (crime rate per 100,000 people)—Double Weight

Sources

US Census Bureau
Fivethiryeight.com
Moneygeek.com
Tpl.org
Healthcaredive.com
National Association of Realtors
Titlemax.com