Gallery: Top 10 large, bicycle-friendly American cities

As micromobility becomes increasingly popular, cities that have invested in bicycle-friendly infrastructure and crafted favorable policies are well positioned to adapt to future changes. A new analysis from the advocacy organization People for Bikes ranks the most cyclist-friendly cities in America, ranking them by size—small, medium and large. The top 10 large cities based on the ranking can be viewed in the gallery above. 

The complete list, which includes a tool to look up cities listed in the database, can be found at People for Bikes’ website. Among all cities, regardless of population size, the top three bicycle-friendly cities based on metrics like average driving speed and infrastructure are: Provincetown, Mass., Davis, Calif. and Minneapolis, Minn.

“While many city planners talk about the ‘15-minute city,’ Provincetown’s relatively small footprint allows residents and visitors alike to traverse the town in just seven minutes by bike, thanks in large part to its main drag, Commercial Street, being one-way for cars but two-way for bicycles,” a brief about the findings says. “A proliferation of bike racks adorning the front of local businesses and even lining the beach gives riders a front-row parking spot no matter where they need to go.”

The annual ranking is based on an analysis of People For Bikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis software program, which measures the quality and connectivity of a city’s bike network, according to the organization’s website. The analysis takes into account local driving speeds, the number of protected bicycle lanes, spaces that have been reallocated for other purposes, transit network connections, and intersections, and other things pertinent to city streets and bike infrastructure.

The 2023 analysis ranks 1,484 cities of all sizes and throughout the United States. Of those, 916 are small, 499 are medium, and 69 are large cities. Large cities have a population greater than 300,000; medium cities have a population between 50,000 and 300,000, and small cities have a population less than 50,000.

“Each city receives a City Ratings score on a scale of 0-100. A low score (0-20) indicates a weak bike network, meaning the city lacks safe bikeways or there are gaps in the network,” the brief says. “A high score (80-100) indicates that most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes that serve people of all ages and abilities. For larger cities, a score of 50 is the tipping point to becoming a great place to bike.”

The top large American cities were Seattle, Wash., Minneapolis, Minn., and San Fracisco, Calif. Davis, Calif., Berkeley, Calif. and Boulder, Colo. were ranked as the top three medium cities. Crested Butte, Colo., Provincetown, Mass. and Blue Diamond, Nev. were listed as the top small U.S. cities, and also ranked among the top eight best cities for cyclists globally.