Minneapolis Ranked the No. 1 Most Bikeable Large City in USA!

BringMeTheNews: Minneapolis is the most bikeable large city in the United States, according to a new ranking by PeopleForBikes.

Moving up 31 spots from last year’s ranking, the city topped other cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Portland. St. Paul also made the top 10 at seventh overall in the large cities list.

The nonprofit PeopleForBikes compiles its annual lists through a “data-driven program that evaluates, identifies, and compares the best global cities and towns for bicycling.” It ranks different levels of nearly 1,500 cities — large, medium and small — taking into account the quality of life for cyclists in accessing places such as homes, jobs, trails and parks, retail stores, grocery stores, hospitals, and public transportation.

The average score for a U.S. city is 27, according to the rankings.

The third-largest city in the state, Rochester, ranked 153rd overall in the medium category with a score of 37. Also in the medium category is Minnesota’s fourth-most populated city, Bloomington, which ranked 466th overall with a network score of 15.

Here’s a look at each category of cities, followed by the ranking received. Small cities have a population less than 50,000; medium cities between 50,000 to 300,000; and larger cities have more than 300,000.

Large

1. Minneapolis: 68
2. San Francisco: 63
3. Seattle: 62
4. Philadelphia: 57
5. Portland: 56
6. New York City: 55
7. St. Paul: 51
8. Washington, D.C.: 45
9. Milwaukee: 45
10. Detroit: 42

Medium

1. Davis, California: 77
2. Ankeny, Iowa: 74
3. Berkeley, California: 72
4. Boulder, Colorado: 68
5. Corvallis, Oregon: 63
6. Hoboken, New Jersey: 62
7. Plainfield, New Jersey: 61
8. Ames, Iowa: 61
9. La Crosse, Wisconsin: 59
10. Longmont, Colorado: 59

Small

1. Provincetown, Massachusetts: 88
2. Crested Butte, Colorado: 87
3. Blue Diamond, Nevada: 85
4. Murdock, Nebraska: 84
5. Ashland, Wisconsin: 80
6. Jackson, Wyoming: 79
7. Aspen, Colorado: 75
8. Shorewood, Wisconsin: 74
9. Ashland, Oregon: 70
10. Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania: 69

You can search to see how your city ranked here.

“EcoCounter data show that ridership growth in the state outpaced the rest of the Midwest region,” PeopleForBikes said in the rankings.

According to the data, smaller cities show a trend of having greater scores than larger cities, as do medium-sized cities in comparison to larger ones. The best ranking for a city goes to Provincetown, Mass., with an 88 overall score. PeopleForBikes says cities that score 80-100 “indicate that most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes that serve people of all ages and abilities.”