The National Walkability Index classifies municipalities into seven categories, reflecting how well the built environment supports walking and access to everyday destinations.

• Very High Walkability (17.32–20.00): Compact, mixed-use communities with highly connected street networks and excellent transit access where walking is a practical mode of transportation.
• High Walkability (14.60–17.31): Well-connected municipalities with diverse land uses and strong pedestrian infrastructure that support many daily trips on foot.
• Above Average Walkability (11.88–14.59): Balanced communities where both walking and driving are viable, offering connected neighborhoods and convenient access to services and employment.
• Moderate Walkability (9.16–11.87): Communities combining older walkable neighborhoods with newer suburban development, where walking is practical locally but less convenient across the municipality.
• Below Average Walkability (6.44–9.15): Predominantly suburban environments with separated land uses and greater automobile dependence, limiting walking for everyday travel.
• Low Walkability (3.72–6.43): Low-density development with limited street connectivity and few nearby destinations, making most trips automobile dependent.
• Very Low Walkability (1.00–3.71): Rural or highly dispersed suburban communities where disconnected streets, single-use development, and limited pedestrian infrastructure provide little support for walking.

Planning Implications

Municipal walkability reflects how land-use planning, transportation infrastructure, and urban design influence accessibility. Higher-scoring municipalities generally provide (Cervero & Kockelman, 1997; Ewing & Cervero, 2010; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2021):

• Better access to jobs, schools, parks, and services (Ewing & Cervero, 2010; Frank et al., 2006).
• More transportation choices beyond the automobile (Ewing & Cervero, 2010).
• Greater opportunities for active transportation and healthier lifestyles (Frank et al., 2006).
• More efficient land use and stronger commercial districts (Jacobs, 1961; Speck, 2022).

Lower-scoring municipalities may improve walkability by enhancing street connectivity, expanding pedestrian infrastructure, encouraging mixed-use development, improving transit access, and promoting infill development (Cervero & Kockelman, 1997).

Understanding Municipal Walkability

Municipal walkability scores provide a consistent way to evaluate how the built environment supports pedestrian accessibility (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2021). By comparing municipalities nationwide, the American Walkability Atlas helps planners, local governments, researchers, and residents identify strengths, recognize opportunities for improvement, and better understand how planning decisions shape walkability.

Geographic Patterns in Municipal Walkability

Analysis of American Walkability Atlas data indicates walkability follows clear regional patterns that reflect differences in development history and urban form.

• Northeast Corridor: Municipalities from Boston to Washington, D.C. consistently exhibit the nation’s highest walkability due to compact development, connected street grids, and extensive transit systems (Hamidi & Ewing, 2014; Jacobs, 1961).
• Great Lakes and Upper Midwest: Older industrial cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh generally maintain above-average walkability through traditional neighborhood development.
• West Coast: Municipalities around San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and parts of Southern California benefit from higher densities, mixed-use development, and expanding transit networks.
• Sun Belt: Many municipalities across Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida display moderate to below-average walkability as a result of postwar suburban expansion and automobile-oriented development, although older downtowns often remain highly walkable (Hamidi & Ewing, 2014; Jackson, 1987).
• Rural Areas and Great Plains: Lower-density development and greater distances between destinations typically result in lower walkability scores.

Within metropolitan areas, a clear pattern also emerges: older central cities and inner-ring suburbs generally achieve higher walkability than newer suburban communities, where disconnected street networks and single-use development become more common (Cervero & Kockelman, 1997; Ewing & Cervero, 2010; Hamidi & Ewing, 2014; Speck, 2022).

Overall Pattern

Municipal walkability closely reflects the history of urban development in the United States. Older communities built before widespread automobile ownership generally achieve higher walkability through compact design, connected streets, and mixed land uses, while newer suburban municipalities tend to be more automobile dependent. Together, these patterns illustrate how planning decisions continue to shape pedestrian accessibility across the country (Jackson, 1987; Jacobs, 1961; Speck, 2022).