Going Green - 2024's Best Cities for Car-Free Living

 

In a country where the car is king of the road, which cities are the best for living without a set of wheels? With over one-third of Americans eager to abandon their automobiles and new car-free neighborhoods emerging to meet the demand, HVAC Gnome ranked 2024's Best Cities for Car-Free Living. We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on 4 categories. We looked at each city’s walkability, bikeability, transit ridership, and pedestrian safety, among 23 total metrics. See the 10 best (and 10 worst) cities to live without a car below, followed by key stats from our report.

Best Cities for Car-Free Living Rank City 1 San Francisco, CA 2 Boston, MA 3 New York, NY 4 Washington, DC 5 Honolulu, HI 6 Chicago, IL 7 Jersey City, NJ 8 Seattle, WA 9 Richmond, VA 10 Pittsburgh, PA Worst Cities for Car-Free Living Rank City 1 Mobile, AL 2 Memphis, TN 3 Jackson, MS 4 Huntsville, AL 5 Baton Rouge, LA 6 Clarksville, TN 7 Montgomery, AL 8 Birmingham, AL 9 Macon, GA 10 Greensboro, NC

Key Insights: Dense, walkable cities like San Francisco (No. 1), Boston (No. 2), and New York (No. 3) walked, bused, and biked to the top of our ranking, with impressive public transit and substantial communities living car-free. Richmond, Virginia (No. 9), stands out as the only city in the top 10 without a light rail or street trolley system. River City rolled to the top due to its big biking culture and acclaimed rapid bus transit system. Many top-ranking cities, such as San Francisco (No. 1), Washington (No. 4), and Seattle (No. 8), also faced some of the highest rates of bike thefts. Residents of Portland, Oregon (No. 17), dealt with the most bike thefts — nearly 296 per 100,000 residents.  In 2019, the Kansas City Metro pioneered the zero-fare bus movement. 9 cities in our ranking — such as Richmond, Virginia (No. 9), Worcester, Massachusetts (No. 19), and Tucson, Arizona (No. 25) — were fare-free at the time of writing.  Sprawling Southern cities, such as Jackson, Mississippi (No. 198), and Memphis, Tennessee (No. 199), swerved to the bottom of our ranking, alongside Mobile, Alabama, in last place. Car-less residents aren’t so mobile in these cities, which lack the infrastructure to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe. Memphis disappoints with the 3rd-highest rate of pedestrian fatalities behind Macon, Georgia (No. 192), and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (No. 150). Thankfully, local organizations in Memphis are making efforts to curb traffic violence with streetscaping projects.  3 Texas suburbs — McKinney (No. 117), Grand Prairie (No. 158), and Pasadena (No. 182) — lack a public bus service, leaving residents disconnected from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metros. Having no bus transit access can be particularly challenging for low-income families living in McKinney’s food desert.   Helpful Links: See Where Your City Ranks Full Study Article Expert Insights Methodology Why is car-free living important to HVAC Gnome? Fewer cars on the road reduce air and noise pollution, but air quality matters both inside and outside your home. HVAC Gnome can help improve your indoor air quality. For air duct cleaning, AC installation, and AC repairs, HVAC Gnome connects you to the best heating and air professionals in your area.     More from HVAC Gnome:  HVAC Maintenance Checklist How Much Does an HVAC Inspection Cost in 2023? How Much Does HVAC Maintenance Cost in 2023? How Much Does HVAC Installation Cost in 2023? How Much Does a New Furnace Cost? How Much Does an AC Unit Cost in 2023? How Much Does a Heat Pump Cost in 2023?