


What are the most cyclist-friendly cities in America – where the bike lanes are protected, the intersections safe and greenways stretch distantly into the horizon?
Look no further than the Bay Area, according to a new ranking of 2023’s Best Places to Bike by the Boulder-based advocacy group PeopleForBikes. Out of nearly 1,500 cities in the U.S., Minneapolis ranks first for the most cyclist-amenable major city, followed by San Francisco. For medium-sized cities, Davis in Yolo County — the home of the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, followed by Ankeny, Iowa, and Berkeley.
“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. 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.”
Here are the top five best places to bike in 2023 from the large and medium-sized city categories. For the complete list check out the full ranking:
Large cities (population above 300,000)
- Minneapolis (68 percent score)
- San Francisco (63 percent score)
- Seattle (62 percent score)
- Philadelphia (57 percent score)
- Portland, Ore. (56 percent score)
Medium cities (population 50,000-300,000)
- Davis, Calif. (77 percent score)
- Ankeny, Iowa (74 percent score)
- Berkeley (72 percent score)
- Boulder (68 percent score)
- Corvallis, Ore. (63 percent score)