• About urbanSCALE
    • urbanSCALE is for you if…
    • urbanSCALE is not for you if…
  • About John Karras

urbanSCALE.com

  • Blog
  • The Most Urban Cities
  • The urbanSCALE Rating System
    • u: niversal appeal
    • r: egion
    • b: uildings
    • a: mbition
    • n: eighborhoods
    • S: treets
    • C: ompactness
    • A: ccess
    • L: and use patterns
    • E: conomy
  • eBook: The 10 Traits of VIBRANT Cities
  • urbanINSIGHTS

A: ccess

Do lots of people in your city take public transportation to work?  Is there a wide range of public transportation options available in your city?  Are there carshare and bikeshare programs available in your city?  Does your city contain a high percentage of carless households?  Are the major airports in your region connected to rail transit lines?  In other words, can you access most of your city without having to get in a car?

Top 10 Cities With the Highest Level of Access (2014)

  1. Boston, MA
  2. New York, NY
  3. San Francisco, CA
  4. Philadelphia, PA
  5. Washington, DC
  6. Portland, OR
  7. Seattle, WA
  8. Chicago, IL
  9. Minneapolis, MN
  10. Miami, FL

The full list of urbanSCALE ratings for Access for all 100 cities (10 being the highest level of Access and 1 being the lowest level of Access):

Rank City State Access urbanSCALE Score
1 Boston MA 10.0
2 New York NY 9.5
3 San Francisco CA 9.3
4 Philadelphia PA 9.0
5 Washington DC 8.9
6 Portland OR 8.2
7 Seattle WA 8.1
8 Chicago IL 8.0
9 Minneapolis MN 8.0
10 Miami FL 6.5
11 San Jose CA 6.3
12 Baltimore MD 6.3
13 Atlanta GA 6.2
14 Jersey City NJ 6.1
15 Newark NJ 5.7
16 Cleveland OH 5.7
17 Denver CO 5.5
18 Pittsburgh PA 4.9
19 Los Angeles CA 4.9
20 Oakland CA 4.7
21 San Diego CA 4.6
22 St. Paul MN 4.4
23 Fort Worth TX 4.1
24 Sacramento CA 4.1
25 Phoenix AZ 4.1
26 Kansas City MO 4.1
27 Las Vegas NV 4.1
28 Austin TX 4.1
29 Nashville TN 4.0
30 St. Louis MO 3.9
31 Mesa AZ 3.9
32 Detroit MI 3.8
33 Madison WI 3.8
34 Omaha NE 3.7
35 Anaheim CA 3.7
36 Buffalo NY 3.5
37 Long Beach CA 3.5
38 Charlotte NC 3.4
39 New Orleans LA 3.4
40 Orlando FL 3.3
41 Milwaukee WI 3.3
42 Dallas TX 3.2
43 Houston TX 3.2
44 San Antonio TX 3.1
45 Columbus OH 2.9
46 Indianapolis IN 2.8
47 Louisville KY 2.7
48 Oklahoma City OK 2.6
49 Tampa FL 2.6
50 Cincinnati OH 2.5
51 Norfolk VA 2.5
52 Fremont CA 2.4
53 Memphis TN 2.4
54 Riverside CA 2.4
55 Stockton CA 2.3
56 Hialeah FL 2.3
57 Irvine CA 2.3
58 Jacksonville FL 2.1
59 Tucson AZ 2.0
60 Durham NC 1.9
61 Chula Vista CA 1.8
62 El Paso TX 1.8
63 Greensboro NC 1.8
64 Raleigh NC 1.7
65 Lincoln NE 1.7
66 San Bernardino CA 1.6
67 Santa Ana CA 1.6
68 Winston-Salem NC 1.6
69 Honolulu HI 1.5
70 Boise ID 1.4
71 Albuquerque NM 1.3
72 Irving TX 1.2
73 Reno NV 1.2
74 Birmingham AL 1.1
75 Garland TX 1.0
76 Toledo OH 1.0
77 Fresno CA 0.9
78 Aurora CO 0.9
79 North Las Vegas NV 0.8
80 Bakersfield CA 0.8
81 Anchorage AK 0.7
82 Plano TX 0.7
83 Baton Rouge LA 0.7
84 St. Petersburg FL 0.7
85 Henderson NV 0.6
86 Chandler AZ 0.6
87 Glendale AZ 0.6
88 Corpus Christi TX 0.6
89 Laredo TX 0.6
90 Lexington KY 0.6
91 Tulsa OK 0.6
92 Gilbert AZ 0.6
93 Fort Wayne IND 0.5
94 Colorado Springs CO 0.5
95 Wichita KS 0.5
96 Lubbock TX 0.5
97 Scottsdale AZ 0.5
98 Chesapeake VA 0.4
99 Virginia Beach VA 0.4
100 Arlington TX 0.2
Follow @urban_SCALE Follow on Bloglovin

Most Popular

  • 12 Strategies That Will Transform Your City’s Downtown 192,512 views
  • The 5 Features of Great Public Spaces 36,843 views
  • 10 Small Cities With Urban Amenities That Most Big Cities Lack 36,747 views
  • 5 Skylines You Won’t Recognize in 5 Years 35,150 views
  • Austin’s Population Will Surpass New York By 2100 (A Cautionary Tale About The Dangers Of Trend Analysis) 30,266 views
  • 23 Lessons I’ve Learned About Economic Development 30,143 views
  • The Truth About Traffic Congestion 24,474 views
  • The Most Urban Cities 22,890 views
  • The Most Prosperous Downtowns of the 21st Century (Part 1 of 3) 21,474 views
  • The Most Prosperous Downtowns of the 21st Century (Part 3 of 3) 18,268 views

Archives

  • September 2018
  • July 2017
  • August 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Website powered by bluehost

Email list managed by aweber

Email Marketing $19/Month!

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in