Everyone deserves to live in a walkable neighborhood. But how many Americans really do? America Walks’ new Interactive Walkable Land Use Tool goes beyond the question of “how walkable is my state or city” and asks “how many people in my state or city live in places that are walkable.” Further, it pulls from the U.S. Census data to to reveal the demographics of who lives in these areas.
Explore the drop-down menus below to uncover trends and learn more about walkability in your own community.
What’s at stake?
This tool helps us gain a clearer understanding of how many people benefit from walkability, setting a baseline for future progress. Over time, we can track whether more Americans are gaining access to walkable communities—or if car-focused policies continue to block access to the benefits of improved health, safety, environmental sustainability, and stronger social connections.
This approach also emphasizes the need for more housing in walkable neighborhoods, not just better streets. Both are key to creating places where people can easily get to where they need to go.
As it stands, the current data reveals a striking reality: only a small number of people live in the most walkable areas, while the majority reside in places rated below average or least walkable. This highlights significant disparities in walkability across different regions.
Methodology
America Walks developed the Walkable Land Use Tool by combining two main data sources:
- The EPA National Walkability Index (NWI), which ranks every U.S. Census block group by its relative walkability.
- The American Community Survey (ACS), which provides yearly demographic and socioeconomic data.
Together, these datasets help us understand where communities have strong “land use bones” that support walkability and where there’s room for improvement.
What the Index Measures
The EPA’s National Walkability Index focuses on built-environment features that encourage people to walk or roll. These include:
- Street design
- Intersection density
- Proximity to public transit
- Diversity of land uses
We then compared this information with data from the American Community Survey, a yearly survey that gives details about the people and communities in the U.S. Research consistently shows that people living in areas with these characteristics walk more and experience related health benefits.
How the Walkable Land Use Score Is Calculated
To develop a single, comparable score for each community, we:
- Started with EPA’s block-group scores, which range from 1 to 20.
- Averaged these scores across each community, weighted by population to reflect where people actually live.
- Converted the results to a 10-point scale “walkability score” for easier comparison and visualization.
Data Limitations and Caveats
Walkability is determined by factors like street intersection density, proximity to transit, and diverse land use. Research shows that people in walkable neighborhoods walk or use mobility devices more often, benefiting from an active lifestyle. However, the National Walkability Index currently does not include measures like sidewalks, disability access, shade, and street-level amenities.
The data limitations highlight the need for more research. America Walks supports efforts to close these gaps for a clearer understanding of neighborhoods with inadequate infrastructure and the factors that influence residents’ behavior. We’re grateful for the important research already showing the strong connection between land use, active living, and health outcomes.
Reference Materials
Smart Location Database technical info:
Methodology/data sources:
The latest iteration of the National Walkability Index was published in 2021, using a variety of data sources published between 2017 and 2020. For the demographic estimates used in this analysis, we used the American Community Survey’s five-year estimates for 2015-2019. These are the latest data compatible with the geographies used by the National Walkability Index.
NWI methodology:
