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Turns out “I’m walkin’ here!” isn’t just a punchline, it’s a lifestyle.
According to a new report from analytics firm StreetLight, New Yorkers—at least in four out of five boroughs—are walking and biking at rates the rest of the country can only dream of. Manhattan leads the nation in “active transportation,” with a whopping 59-percent of trips made on foot or by bike. Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx also rank in the top 10 U.S. counties for non-car travel.
The odd borough out is Staten Island, where a staggering 87-percent of trips still happen by car, placing it closer to the national norm. Across most of the U.S., active transportation remains the exception: In more than two-thirds of the counties analyzed, fewer than 1 in 10 trips involve walking or biking.
Density—and a transit system that, for all its faults, actually works—is what sets New York apart. “New York is a city in the United States that's done the most to support safe walking and cycling,” Michael Replogle, former NYC DOT deputy commissioner, told Gothamist. Add in policies like congestion pricing and reliable mass transit, and it’s no wonder New Yorkers are pounding the pavement in record numbers.
The study excluded low-density areas and focused on trips over 300 meters, offering a more apples-to-apples comparison among urban centers. And it wasn’t just NYC making the leaderboard: Hudson County, New Jersey (home to Jersey City and Hoboken), ranked fifth, just ahead of Boston and Philly. With its tight street grid, PATH access and sky-high density, Hudson is a walker’s paradise, too.
Meanwhile, sprawling cities like Los Angeles and Chicago didn’t even crack the top ranks. The takeaway? If you build a city for cars, people will drive. If you build it for humans, they’ll walk. Walking and biking are part of a broader push toward rethinking urban mobility. Experts say high density, good transit and safe infrastructure are what make foot-powered travel possible and popular.
In the end, New Yorkers walk more—duh. But it’s not because we’re better people (OK, maybe a little), but because the city actually makes it doable. And that, says StreetLight, might just be the future of urban life.