10 Easiest Cities to Live Without a Car

Wondering about the easiest cities to live without a car? Great, you have come to the right page then, as we were also wondering about that and decided to conduct a little research to determine the best cities in the US for pedestrians.

For most modern people nowadays, it is hard to imagine living in those previous, simpler times, isn’t it? Can you imagine your life without the internet, smartphone, without a car? What would you miss the most? Let’s go even further, can you imagine living without electricity? Probably can’t, or don’t want to imagine what you do without it. And how about, living without a car? And using your legs to get somewhere for a change?

Thankfully, this is still not so hard to imagine, and there are in fact people who can afford to have a car, but just don’t find it too necessary. Some of them probably live in one of these cities below, but not all of them. So, do you know what turns people away from the idea of having a car (presuming that lack of money is not in the game)?

It can be various reasons, but the most common ones are: different expenses of maintaining a car such as registration and insurance (speaking of car insurance don’t forget to check our article on top 10 highest rates auto insurance companies in America), hating to be stuck in traffic, endangering the environment, enjoying to walk or ride a bike instead and hence take care of your health. As you can see, these are all good and solid reasons why some people decide they are better without a car.

Of course, there are many reasons why someone should have a car, and we all agree that owning a car also bring many advantages and conveniences. In the end, it all comes down to where you live and for what kind of travel you need a car. If no other option for traveling to work is available, then having a car is necessary. This is why we’ve decided to conduct this research and find those cities in America which offer a pedestrian paradise.

To determine 10 easiest cities to live without a car in the US, we relied upon the newest walkability research conducted by a private company called Walk Score. In this study, more than 3,000 large cities and 10,000 neighborhoods across the US, Canada, and Australia were examined in three different categories – walk, transit, and bike. Walk score represents how walkable a city is, by analyzing things such as – various walking paths that lead to close amenities, pedestrian friendliness (based upon population density and road metrics). Transit score depicts how efficiently public transport functions in a city. And, the last but not the least, bike score tells us if a city is bike friendly or not.

Instead of just using walk score, we decided to combine transit and bike score to get a little different list, possibly the one that is more precise in answering the topic – US cities that are easiest to live without a car. Since, we can’t argue about walkability being the most important factor for the subject, first, we’ve taken the 10 US cities with the highest walk score. Then, for those 10 we’ve combined their bike and transit scores to get our ultimate ranking. Hence, to pick our 10 easiest cities to live without a car we gave a huge advantage to walkability, and then we included the other two factors giving them equal significance.  So, let’s finally check those cities in which living without a car is easy as it should be!

 

10. Newark, New Jersey

Walk Score: 80

Transit Score: 64.9

Bike Score: 51.1

With less than 300,000 residents, Newark offers some good conditions to people who want to live without a car. While its walkability is great, transit score and bike score are somewhat lower, so while you can easily make it anywhere on foot, you would not enjoy your bike ride in every part of the city. Best neighborhoods for pedestrians in Newark include University Heights, Newark Central Business District, and North Ironbound.

 

9. Miami, Florida

Walk Score: 78.3

Transit Score: 59.4

Bike Score: 59.7

Oh, Miami, a city known for being a very popular vacation destination. And as we see from this list, it is also one of the best places in the US for people who want to live without owning and driving a car. According to scores above, the city is very walkable, has many transportation options, and it is somewhat bikeable.

 

8. Seattle, Washington

Walk Score: 72.9

Transit Score: 57

Bike Score: 63

Although Seattle is already a very walkable city, it still works on becoming even better,  which proves its constant rail system upgrading.  Besides good transportation Seattle has some bike infrastructures to offer to its residents. The most pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods in Seattle include Belltown, Pioneer Square, and Downtown.

 

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Walk Score: 78.3

Transit Score: 66.8

Bike Score: 67.5

Even though Philadelphia has a somewhat lower walk score than the 10th entry on this list of 10 easiest cities to live without a car, its bike score is much better, and transit score as well, is a little better. Best neighborhoods to enjoy long walks in Philadelphia are Center City West and Avenue of the Arts South.

 

6. Chicago, Illinois

Walk Score: 77.5

Transit Score: 64.7

Bike Score: 70.2

The first city on our list of easiest cities to live without a car that has a bike score high enough to be characterized as a very bikeable city, Chicago, is also both very walkable and has good transit. Considering that Chicago has more than 2.6 million residents, it is really admiring to see that it has such a good biking arrangements. Not having a car in Chicago is definitely not a problem for people who like to walk, bike or/and go by public transport.

 

5. Jersey City, New Jersey

Walk Score: 87

Transit Score: 70

Bike Score: 66.3

With a walk score of amazing 87, it is safe to say that in Jersey City “most errands can be accomplished on foot”. Add to that an excellent transit score and you’ll get a city in which living without an automobile brings no issues. Although bike score is not as big as the other two scores, it is still possible to accomplish some errands with your bike. If you are looking for the best places in Jersey City for strolling around, then go to McGinley Square, or Journal Square, or Historic Downtown.

 

4. Washington DC, DC

Walk Score: 77

Transit Score: 70.6

Bike Score: 69.5

In the 4^th place on our list of 10 easiest cities to live without a car is Washington DC. Although it has many long bike roads, it lacks 0.5 points to become very bikeable. If they continue to work on making the city more bike-friendly and to work on improving public transportation, It is possible that in the near future Washington DC will become a city that is even more convenient for the people who don’t like to own a car. And for those who enjoy walking more than riding a bike, Walk Score recommends these neighborhoods in Washington DC – U-Street, Downtown-Penn Quarter-Chinatown, and Dupont Circle.

3. Boston, Massachusetts

Walk Score: 80.7

Transit Score: 74.4

Bike Score: 70.3

Boston ranks 3rd on our list of easiest cities to live without a car. It is known as “the walking city” which already says a lot about its walkability. And, a walk score of 80.7 just confirms it once again. Still, the city wouldn’t be placed as high on this list as it is unless it had a great bike and transit scores. So, yes, Boston is also very bikeable and offers good public transportation to its residents. The best areas for enjoying your walks in this pedestrian-friendly city contain Beacon Hill, North End, and Chinatown.

 

2. New York City, New York

Walk Score:  88.9

Transit Score: 84.1

Bike Score: 65.1

Could you guess that Bigg Apple would find its place on this list and that it will rank as high? Oh, well, scores don’t lie, and New York, which can boast about many things, can also be proud of its public transportation. Moreover, it has the highest walk score among all large cities included in the research. Considering that it hosts more than 8.4 million residents its walk, transit and bike score deserve an applause. What is even more admiring is constant effort of its residents to improve biking conditions in the city by adding new bike lanes. Best neighborhoods for pedestrians? Here they are: Chinatown, Flatiron District, and Little Italy.

1. San Francisco, California

Walk Score: 85.7

Transit Score: 80.4

Bike Score: 75.1

And, finally, the easiest city to live without a car is the beautiful city of San Francisco. The city scored pretty high in all three categories, and hence being very walkable and bikeable and having great public transportation too, it ranked the best on this list. Its perfect neighborhoods for people who like to walk are Lower Nob Hill, Downtown-Union Square, and Chinatown.

This wraps it up for our list of easiest cities to live without a car.