The US State With The Most Walkable Cities Is Full Of Coastal Gems And Mountain Hideaways

The United States is notoriously unwalkable. Sprawling suburban infrastructure, drive-thru fast food, spread-out amenities — it's all a recipe for car-dependent communities. In fact, the country even invented the word "jaywalking" to describe foot passengers inconveniently crossing the street. Despite this reputation, most Americans still desire walkable streets. According to a 2022 survey from YouGov, 70% of Americans said they would prefer to have "all areas in a town or city accessible by sidewalks, making it easier to walk anywhere."

So, we can't blame pedestrians for their predicament. Lots of U.S. cities don't invest in sidewalks or encourage developers to prioritize them, leading to Americans walking far less than many Europeans do. Thankfully, "car-free" is becoming somewhat of a flex, and having a high walkability score puts certain states at an advantage. According to Walk Score's most recent rankings of 130 cities in the U.S. and Canada, the state that takes gold for the most walkable cities is California, a destination that boasts developed downtowns, rugged mountains, and everything in between. With 17 walkable cities on the list (beating Texas' 13), it's a winning state for sidewalk supporters.

California's fourth-biggest city based on population, San Francisco, has a walk score of 88.7 on the site, inching past famously walkable New York City. Flying high with a score of 91 is the popular LA suburb of West Hollywood, which is considered one of the most walkable areas in all of California. Less recognizable areas are also primed for perambulating, like Albany to the north (a score of 84) and Imperial Beach to the south (a score of 69). Many of the Golden State's most pedestrian-friendly regions lie along the coast, with stunning ocean views as an added bonus.

Across California, people are lacing up their sneakers instead of jumping in cars. San Francisco earned a platinum rating from the Walk Friendly Communities program, and smaller northern locales are also known to be relatively walkable. This includes Monterey, despite its proximity to one of America's most famous drives — the section of the coast near Big Sur with striking cliff views.

In the south, San Diego boasts a highly pedestrianized downtown, Coronado has walkable and bike-friendly streets, and many of Los Angeles' beach areas are easy to meander. For example, Long Beach has a walk score of 73, while Santa Monica hosts one of California's most accessible beaches and celebrates a score of 83. Plus, around 22 miles off the shore of LA is Santa Catalina Island, a tranquil, walker-friendly paradise once home to Marilyn Monroe. Today, tourists are prohibited from driving there, so it's golf carts or feet only.

If you're searching for mountain regions with fewer exhaust fumes, San Bernardino is around 60 miles inland from LA at the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. The area features rustic vacation spots like Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake, but San Bernardino itself offers a respectable walk score of 69. Then there's South Lake Tahoe, which sits at 6,237 feet in elevation and around 188 miles from San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Its score of 46 is less impressive, but the downtown area provides plentiful public transport and mural-covered streets. Plans have also been proposed to build a pedestrian-friendly city near the San Francisco Bay Area that will deliver walkable streets to around 400,000 people. From the mountains to the coast, California prides itself on having some of the most walkable areas in the U.S., and new developments continue to prioritize life on foot.