The everyday new automobile immediately prices virtually $49,000 – close to a report excessive. Used automobiles are additionally flirting with all-time highs. That’s as a result of automobile costs skyrocketed through the pandemic and have hardly fallen since, making automobile possession one of many largest monetary burdens People face.
A current survey discovered that almost half of People say automobile prices are standing in the best way of economic stability. However in most U.S. cities, proudly owning a automobile is virtually a requirement. This creates a divide between those that personal a automobile and those that don’t (typically a racial one), impacting socioeconomic alternative, well being outcomes, and extra.
That’s why it issues to have the ability to get round with no automobile – and in some cities, it’s potential. On this article, Redfin actual property highlights the highest 10 U.S. cities the place you don’t want a automobile, ranked by their “Car-Free Score.”
These cities supply sturdy public transportation, walkable neighborhood cores, and strong bike infrastructure. Be taught extra about how scores have been calculated within the methodology.
>> Be taught extra about essentially the most walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly cities.
The most effective cities for car-free dwelling
Cambridge, MA
New York, NY
San Francisco, CA
Berkeley, CA
Boston, MA
Jersey Metropolis, NJ
Washington, D.C.
Chicago, IL
Philadelphia, PA
Minneapolis, MN
1. Cambridge, MA
Automotive-Free Rating: 84.6 | Stroll Rating: 90 | Bike Rating: 96 | Transit Rating: 70
House to Harvard College, MIT, and a dense mixture of historic neighborhoods, Cambridge is one of the best metropolis within the U.S. for car-free dwelling. It excels in all three classes: Walkability, bikeability, and transit-friendliness.
Strolling: Most of Cambridge is constructed on a human scale. Neighborhoods like Harvard Sq. and Central Sq. pack groceries, cafes, parks, and pharmacies inside a couple of blocks – excellent for day by day errands on foot.
Biking: Cambridge is a nationwide chief in bike infrastructure. The town has protected lanes on main corridors like Massachusetts Ave and Broadway, dozens of Bluebikes stations, and seamless hyperlinks to regional trails just like the Minuteman Bikeway and the Charles River path.
Public transportation: Because it’s simply throughout the Charles River from Downtown Boston, Cambridge is deeply linked to Larger Boston by the MBTA. The Purple Line subway anchors the transit community, with stops in Harvard, Porter, Central, and Kendall. Bus routes fill within the gaps.
Cambridge properties on the market | Cambridge homes for lease | Cambridge flats for lease
2. New York, NY
Automotive-Free Rating: 81.5 | Stroll Rating: 88 | Bike Rating: 69 | Transit Rating: 89
New York Metropolis is among the best locations within the U.S. to dwell with no automobile. In reality, lower than half of residents even personal one, due to dense neighborhoods, dependable transit, and a road community constructed for strolling.
Strolling: NYC is among the most walkable cities on this planet. Manhattan neighborhoods just like the West Village, SoHo, and the Higher West Aspect are filled with outlets, providers, and parks inside a 5-10 minute stroll. The outer parts of the town are a bit tougher to navigate on foot.
Biking: Biking has surged in reputation due to Citi Bike, protected bike lanes, and greenways just like the Hudson River Greenway and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. The town is quickly increasing its bike community with a give attention to security and connectivity.
Public transportation: New York is America’s chief in public transportation. The subway community alone has 672 stations – practically as many because the mixed complete of all different subway techniques within the nation. Buses, ferries, and trains fill within the gaps.
New York properties on the market | New York homes for lease | New York flats for lease
3. San Francisco, CA
Automotive-Free Rating: 79.1 | Stroll Rating: 89 | Bike Rating: 72 | Transit Rating: 77
San Francisco isn’t nearly tech firms and bay views – it’s additionally among the finest cities within the nation to dwell with no automobile. Its small structure, robust public transit system, and rising community of motorcycle lanes make it easy to go vehicle-free.
Strolling: Regardless of its famously steep streets, San Francisco is amazingly walkable. Neighborhoods like North Seaside, the Mission, and Hayes Valley are particularly pedestrian-friendly, with outlets, eating places, homes, and transit stops in accessible clusters.
Biking: San Francisco’s bike community has grown quickly lately. Protected lanes on corridors like Valencia Avenue and JFK Promenade, together with the flat “Wiggle” route, make biking an more and more viable possibility. Bay Wheels bike-share provides comfort for fast journeys.
Public transportation: An in depth mixture of Muni buses, streetcars, and lightweight rail serve 158 million journeys yearly, whereas BART connects San Francisco to the broader Bay Space.
San Francisco properties on the market | San Francisco homes for lease | San Francisco flats for lease
4. Berkeley, CA
Automotive-Free Rating: 75.1 | Stroll Rating: 85 | Bike Rating: 83 | Transit Rating: 60
Berkeley is a pacesetter in pedestrian-first city planning. Pair that with a small footprint, gentle climate, and facilities like UC Berkeley, and Berkeley turns into among the finest cities for car-free dwelling.
Strolling: Downtown Berkeley, Elmwood, and North Berkeley are designed round pedestrians. Eating places, markets, bookshops, and pharmacies are often just some blocks from properties and employment. Elsewhere, flat terrain and traffic-calmed streets make strolling usually secure and nice.
Biking: Berkeley pioneered bike boulevards – low-traffic streets prioritized for cyclists – and continues to develop its protected bike lanes alongside key corridors like Bancroft Means and Milvia Avenue. The Ohlone Greenway and Bay Path join Berkeley to neighboring cities for longer commutes.
Public transportation: Three BART stations (Downtown, North Berkeley, and Ashby) present quick, frequent entry to Oakland, San Francisco, and the remainder of the Bay Space. AC Transit buses fill in native routes, together with direct strains to Emeryville, Richmond, and UC Berkeley’s campus.
Berkeley properties on the market | Berkeley homes for lease | Berkeley flats for lease
5. Boston, MA
Automotive-Free Rating: 74.7 | Stroll Rating: 83 | Bike Rating: 69 | Transit Rating: 72
Boston’s dense neighborhoods, cobblestone streets, and legacy infrastructure make it very best for getting round sans-vehicles. As some of the compact main cities within the U.S., many Boston residents can dwell their entire lives with out ever needing a automobile. The bigger metropolitan space is much extra car-dependent, although.
Strolling: Neighborhoods just like the North Finish, Again Bay, and South Finish are full of facilities stitched collectively by a tightly packed road grid. Most locals can full day by day errands completely on foot – the truth is, each resident lives inside a ten minute stroll from a park.
Biking: Boston’s bike community is booming, with protected lanes on routes like Massachusetts Ave and Washington Avenue. The town’s Bluebikes bike-share program has over 4,000 bikes throughout tons of of stations.
Public transportation: The MBTA (the “T”) serves your entire area with 4 rail strains and a strong community of buses and commuter trains. The T is the fourth-most in style subway system within the nation.
Boston properties on the market | Boston homes for lease | Boston flats for lease
6. Jersey Metropolis, NJ
Automotive-Free Rating: 73.1 | Stroll Rating: 87 | Bike Rating: 64 | Transit Rating: 71
Jersey Metropolis gives comfort with out Manhattan crowds. It’s walkable, dense, and extremely well-connected by rail, ferry, and bus.
Strolling: Downtown, the Waterfront, and Journal Sq. are essentially the most walkable neighborhoods within the metropolis. Nonetheless, most areas are filled with eating places, pharmacies, and grocery shops inside strolling distance of housing and transit.
Biking: Jersey Metropolis’s Bike infrastructure continues to develop, with in style routes alongside Grand Avenue and Montgomery Avenue. The Citi Bike program, shared with NYC, makes it simple to journey between Jersey Metropolis and Hoboken.
Public transportation: PATH trains are the go-to possibility for commuters, with service to Manhattan and Newark 24 hours a day. NJ Transit serves the remainder of the town and state, boasting the longest commuter rail community within the nation.
Jersey Metropolis properties on the market | Jersey Metropolis homes for lease | Jersey Metropolis flats for lease
7. Washington, D.C.
Automotive-Free Rating: 71.5 | Stroll Rating: 77 | Bike Rating: 70 | Transit Rating: 69
The nation’s capital can also be among the many most people-friendly cities within the nation. Together with top-tier landmarks and loads of transit, Washington, D.C. demonstrates a dedication to enhance via public enter and motion.
Strolling: With dense neighborhoods, brief blocks, and a mixture of housing and retail, D.C. makes it simple to get round on foot. One report acknowledged it as essentially the most walkable metropolis within the nation. Areas like Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill are one of the best for pedestrians.
Biking: D.C. continues to construct out its protected bike lanes, connecting extra neighborhoods annually. The town is at the moment working to create a long-term infrastructure plan. framework. There are additionally hundreds of Capital Bikeshare bikes out there throughout the larger DMV.
Public transportation: D.C.’s Metro system connects most main neighborhoods and extends into Maryland and Virginia. Frequent trains and a dense bus community make it simple to get round with out counting on a automobile.
Washington, D.C. properties on the market | Washington, D.C. homes for lease | Washington, D.C. flats for lease
8. Chicago, IL
Automotive-Free Rating: 71.3 | Stroll Rating: 77 | Bike Rating: 72 | Transit Rating: 65
Chicago blends a grid-based structure with robust transit and bike infrastructure, making it some of the pedestrian-friendly cities within the nation.
Strolling: Chicago’s downtown core is essentially the most walkable by far, in neighborhoods just like the Loop, Logan Sq., and Hyde Park. Within the often-cold winter, the underground and aboveground Pedway is the easiest way to get round downtown. Summertime brings common road festivals that encourage strolling.
Biking: Biking is a significant a part of metropolis life in Chicago. The town has over 300 miles of motorcycle lanes – many protected – together with high-traffic commuter routes like Milwaukee Avenue and the 18-mile Lakefront Path.
Public transportation: The CTA’s “L” system reaches practically each neighborhood on the town, with 24-hour practice service on choose strains and an intensive internet of buses and commuter trains that attain suburbs like Naperville and Wheaton.
Chicago properties on the market | Chicago homes for lease | Chicago flats for lease
9. Philadelphia, PA
Automotive-Free Rating: 69.4 | Stroll Rating: 75 | Bike Rating: 67 | Transit Rating: 67
Philadelphia is changing into more and more recognized for its top-tier walkability. Strolling from the Schuylkill River to Penn’s touchdown is an satisfying breeze that brings you thru a few of the area’s most well-known landmarks. The town isn’t completed stretching its car-free legs but, both, with a long time of enhancements lined up.
Strolling: Middle Metropolis is Philly’s bread and butter, the place you’ll discover most necessities inside a brief stroll. Slender streets, brief blocks, and easy accessibility to transit and bike lanes make strolling a seamless a part of day by day life. Queen Village and Fishtown are different prime spots.
Biking: Philadelphia has plans to create a Excessive-High quality Bike Community by 2040, and at the moment creates miles of latest paths yearly. For many who don’t personal a bicycle, Indego gives bike-sharing.
Public transportation: SEPTA’s mixture of subways, trolleys, buses, and commuter rail provides residents entry to virtually each nook of the town. The Broad Avenue and Market-Frankford strains run ceaselessly and type the spine of Philly’s transit community.
Philadelphia properties on the market | Philadelphia homes for lease | Philadelphia flats for lease
10. Minneapolis, MN
Automotive-Free Rating: 69.0 | Stroll Rating: 71.4 | Bike Rating: 84 | Transit Rating: 55
Thanks partly to Transfer Minneapolis, Minneapolis has develop into a pacesetter in energetic transportation. It has the best Bike Rating of any main U.S. metropolis and is dedicated to walkability and climate-friendly infrastructure.
Strolling: The crown jewel of Minneapolis’ walkability is its skyway system. These climate-controlled, interconnected walkways give pedestrians entry to 80+ blocks of car-free indoor walkways – excellent for chilly winters.
Biking: Minneapolis is essentially the most bikeable main metropolis within the U.S., due to its flat terrain and distinctive path community. The Midtown Greenway and Cedar Lake Path type a biking spine via the town, supported by a powerful native bike tradition and statewide assist. The Good Trip app gives ridesharing.
Public transportation: Whereas a smaller transit system, the METRO mild rail strains hyperlink downtown to the airport and suburbs. Bus routes just like the A and D strains present sooner service on key corridors and out to the Twin Metropolis’s suburbs.
Minneapolis properties on the market | Minneapolis homes for lease | Minneapolis flats for lease
The advantages of going car-free
Ditching the automobile can present quite a few advantages to your self and your neighborhood. Listed here are a couple of highlights.
Monetary financial savings and financial development: Eliminating automobile possession can save the typical American over $15,000 yearly on gas, insurance coverage, parking, and taxes. Strolling, biking, or taking transit additionally encourages spending and boosts economies.
Improved well being and happiness: Common motion from strolling or biking improves bodily health, reduces stress, and might result in an extended life. Cities that put money into pedestrian infrastructure and public transportation report more healthy and happier residents, fewer site visitors fatalities, and higher air high quality.
Environmental advantages and comfort: Private transportation is the biggest supply of greenhouse gases within the U.S., so decreasing dependence on it will probably considerably cut back carbon emissions. Public transit, specifically, can cut back your carbon footprint by two-thirds per kilometer – all whereas saving time throughout peak durations.
The place can we go from right here?
Cities have traditionally grown round folks. That’s why pre-industrial cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia include dozens of bite-sized metropolis facilities, typically with a grocery retailer and different facilities simply accessible on foot.
At present, following a century of car-centric city planning, this concept is resurfacing because the “15-minute city.” The time period was popularized in Paris as a mannequin for constructing neighborhoods the place the whole lot you want is only a 15-minute stroll, bike, or transit journey away. Specialists imagine this technique advantages everybody in the long run and can assist cut back humanity’s carbon footprint. Cities from Portland, OR, to Cedar Rapids, IA have plans to implement this idea.
The overwhelming majority of People have by no means skilled this life-style. In Atlanta, for instance, simply 10% of journeys happen in a 15-minute radius. However when offered the choice, folks naturally gravitate towards handy, car-free journeys.
There’ll at all times be conditions the place driving is simpler or sooner, and in most U.S. cities, automobile possession is important. However as extra cities prioritize human-sized design, these tradeoffs might finally fade.
Methodology
We ranked the cities the place individuals are least prone to want a automobile by calculating a “Car-Free Score” for all U.S. cities with a inhabitants of 100,000 or larger. We calculated this rating by taking the geometric imply of every metropolis’s Stroll Rating, Bike Rating, and Transit Rating by way of Walkscore.com, a Redfin firm. Every rating is on a scale from 0-100. We opted for the geometric imply to be able to higher account for outliers within the information.
