If Americans are finding it harder to hit the road on four wheels this summer because of soaring gasoline prices, the two-wheel option is looking a lot more attractive in cities around the country.
To identify 2022’s 30 best cities for biking in the U.S., 24/7 Tempo reviewed a ranking created to mark World Bicycle Day (June 3) by LawnStarter, a lawn-care start-up that conducts research into city and state amenities. The site drew on data from some 16 U.S. government and non-government websites, including bicycle-specific ones, to rank the 200 largest American cities across five categories of differently weighted metrics: access (bike lanes and trails, bike shops, and rental facilities, etc.), safety (including natural hazards and road conditions), climate (days of extreme heat and cold, rainfall, percentage of sunny days, and air quality), community (bike clubs and the like), and events (number of bike tours, races, and events). The site then averaged the ranking across the metrics to compute an overall score out of 100 possible points, with the highest score being the best.
According to LawnStarter, the bigger cities grade out higher in the metrics because they’ve invested in good biking infrastructure such as bike trails to support dense populations. That helps explain why San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis, and New York hold some of the top spots in the “Access” category, which includes bike lanes and trails, bike shops, and rental facilities. (Here are the 25 best cities for active people.)
College towns such as Eugene, Oregon; Madison, Wisconsin; Austin, Texas; and Fort Collins, Colorado, also are among the best cities for biking in 2022.
The Pacific Northwest had three cities – Eugene and Portland, Oregon; and Seattle – on the list, perhaps not surprising given their reputation for high quality of life. You might not expect to find Northeastern cities like Buffalo and Jersey City on the list, however. Though their ranking was hurt by lower scores in the “Climate” category, they made up for it in “Access” ranking for Buffalo and “Safety” score for Jersey City. (For life in general and not just for biking, these are America’s safest cities.)
After being cooped for so long during the pandemic, Americans are itching to get outdoors and exercise and this has boosted interest in cycling. Here’s the rub – the havoc the virus has wrought on the supply chain is causing delays for importing bicycles and the parts for them.
35. Buffalo, NY
> Overall score: 44.96
> Access rank: #19 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #44 best
> Climate rank: #176 best
> Community rank: #56 best
> Events rank: #49 best
34. Charlotte, NC
> Overall score: 46.36
> Access rank: #58 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #25 best
> Climate rank: #80 best
> Community rank: #108 best
> Events rank: #64 best
33. Arlington, VA
> Overall score: 46.97
> Access rank: #35 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #39 best
> Climate rank: #104 best
> Community rank: #27 best
> Events rank: #45 best
32. Tampa, FL
> Overall score: 47.3
> Access rank: #32 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #31 best
> Climate rank: #75 best
> Community rank: #42 best
> Events rank: #103 best
31. Miami, FL
> Overall score: 47.64
> Access rank: #8 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #68 best
> Climate rank: #88 best
> Community rank: #74 best
> Events rank: #31 best
30. Durham, NC
> Overall score: 47.69
> Access rank: #43 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #18 best
> Climate rank: #94 best
> Community rank: #134 best
> Events rank: #172 best
29. Jersey City, NJ
> Overall score: 48.19
> Access rank: #41 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #17 best
> Climate rank: #168 best
> Community rank: #46 best
> Events rank: #125 best
28. Boise City, ID
> Overall score: 48.53
> Access rank: #55 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #35 best
> Climate rank: #71 best
> Community rank: #22 best
> Events rank: #31 best
27. Fremont, CA
> Overall score: 48.66
> Access rank: #29 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #29 best
> Climate rank: #7 best
> Community rank: #86 best
> Events rank: #83 best
26. Austin, TX
> Overall score: 48.7
> Access rank: #85 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #15 best
> Climate rank: #131 best
> Community rank: #30 best
> Events rank: #27 best
25. Houston, TX
> Overall score: 50.44
> Access rank: #27 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #26 best
> Climate rank: #195 best
> Community rank: #52 best
> Events rank: #10 best
24. San Antonio, TX
> Overall score: 50.64
> Access rank: #39 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #13 best
> Climate rank: #140 best
> Community rank: #123 best
> Events rank: #17 best
23. Salt Lake City, UT
> Overall score: 50.66
> Access rank: #12 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #113 best
> Climate rank: #93 best
> Community rank: #23 best
> Events rank: #3 best
22. Orlando, FL
> Overall score: 51.14
> Access rank: #18 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #14 best
> Climate rank: #92 best
> Community rank: #70 best
> Events rank: #103 best
21. Richmond, VA
> Overall score: 51.62
> Access rank: #38 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #22 best
> Climate rank: #101 best
> Community rank: #31 best
> Events rank: #40 best
20. Sacramento, CA
> Overall score: 51.87
> Access rank: #24 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #16 best
> Climate rank: #37 best
> Community rank: #35 best
> Events rank: #149 best
19. Los Angeles, CA
> Overall score: 52
> Access rank: #60 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #32 best
> Climate rank: #29 best
> Community rank: #10 best
> Events rank: #14 best
18. Tempe, AZ
> Overall score: 52.34
> Access rank: #73 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #5 best
> Climate rank: #56 best
> Community rank: #15 best
> Events rank: #65 best
17. Alexandria, VA
> Overall score: 52.56
> Access rank: #21 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #4 best
> Climate rank: #104 best
> Community rank: #33 best
> Events rank: #89 best
16. Philadelphia, PA
> Overall score: 52.63
> Access rank: #53 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #11 best
> Climate rank: #141 best
> Community rank: #32 best
> Events rank: #24 best
15. San Jose, CA
> Overall score: 52.89
> Access rank: #14 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #28 best
> Climate rank: #4 best
> Community rank: #40 best
> Events rank: #39 best
14.San Diego, CA
> Overall score: 53.53
> Access rank: #25 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #30 best
> Climate rank: #11 best
> Community rank: #28 best
> Events rank: #12 best
13. Albuquerque, NM
> Overall score: 53.78
> Access rank: #15 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #23 best
> Climate rank: #55 best
> Community rank: #50 best
> Events rank: #29 best
12. Fort Collins, CO
> Overall score: 54.23
> Access rank: #7 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #34 best
> Climate rank: #79 best
> Community rank: #6 best
> Events rank: #94 best
11. Madison, WI
> Overall score: 54.66
> Access rank: #17 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #7 best
> Climate rank: #183 best
> Community rank: #9 best
> Events rank: #125 best
10. Chicago, IL
> Overall score: 57.1
> Access rank: #33 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #3 best
> Climate rank: #192 best
> Community rank: #18 best
> Events rank: #7 best
9. Washington, DC
> Overall score: 59.34
> Access rank: #16 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #20 best
> Climate rank: #104 best
> Community rank: #1 best
> Events rank: #15 best
8. Seattle, WA
> Overall score: 60.18
> Access rank: #6 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #21 best
> Climate rank: #81 best
> Community rank: #3 best
> Events rank: #31 best
7. Denver, CO
> Overall score: 60.94
> Access rank: #9 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #10 best
> Climate rank: #83 best
> Community rank: #11 best
> Events rank: #9 best
6. Boston, MA
> Overall score: 61.57
> Access rank: #11 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #2 best
> Climate rank: #114 best
> Community rank: #16 best
> Events rank: #17 best
5. Eugene, OR
> Overall score: 62.21
> Access rank: #3 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #8 best
> Climate rank: #95 best
> Community rank: #5 best
> Events rank: #28 best
4. Portland, OR
> Overall score: 63.4
> Access rank: #2 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #12 best
> Climate rank: #63 best
> Community rank: #2 best
> Events rank: #20 best
3. New York, NY
> Overall score: 64.45
> Access rank: #4 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #9 best
> Climate rank: #152 best
> Community rank: #12 best
> Events rank: #2 best
2. Minneapolis, MN
> Overall score: 65.52
> Access rank: #5 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #1 best
> Climate rank: #153 best
> Community rank: #7 best
> Events rank: #12 best
1. San Francisco, CA
> Overall score: 72.13
> Access rank: #1 best out of 200 cities
> Safety rank: #27 best
> Climate rank: #7 best
> Community rank: #4 best
> Events rank: #5 best