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- Austin, Texas
How walkable is Austin, Texas?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Austin, Texas has a walkability score of 71 out of 100 across the 5 km around its center, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. It is the 19th most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States.
What's within walking distance of the center
2,198 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Austin, Texas. The nearest grocery is about 2 minutes away on foot. Every category earns full or nearly full points.
Groceries
- Paseo Brands, 3 min
- Lowe's Market, 4 min
Restaurants & bars
- P. Terry's Burger Stand, 1 min
- Chuys restaurant, 1 min
Shopping
- Anthropologie, 1 min
- H&M, 1 min
Coffee
- The Coffee Bar, 1 min
- Progress Coffee, 1 min
Banks
- TD Ameritrade, 1 min
- Charles Schwab, 1 min
Parks
- Republic Square, 6 min
- Roberta Crenshaw Overlook at Shoal Beach at Town Lake Metro Park, 8 min
Schools
- Austin High School, 6 min
- Headwaters School River Campus, 12 min
Books & libraries
- Austin Public Library Foundation, 1 min
- Faulk Central Library, Austin Public Library, 8 min
Culture & entertainment
- Comedy in the Capital, 1 min
- Colorado Lease, 2 min
Measured from the center at 30.2672, -97.7431, the point near Austin, Texas's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the center there are about 85 street intersections per km², and blocks average 93 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Austin, Texas's score of 71 is the average across the 5 km around its center, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 95 within 1 km of the center, 77 from 1 to 3 km out and 65 from 3 to 5 km out. 60% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot. Walkability falls off steeply away from the center, so check a specific address on the map.
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Austin, Texas. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the center. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Center | 100 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 95 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 77 | 75% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 65 | 47% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| San Antonio, United States | 119 km | 68 |
| Houston, United States | 236 km | 79 |
| Fort Worth, Texas, United States | 277 km | 59 |
| Dallas, United States | 294 km | 75 |
| Nuevo Laredo, Mexico | 356 km | 70 |
Questions about walking in Austin, Texas
Is Austin, Texas a walkable city?
Around its center, yes. Austin, Texas has a walkability score of 71 out of 100 across the 5 km around its center, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. Its center scores 100. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks 19th of 58 cities in the United States and joint 267th of 690 worldwide on How Walkable.
What is the most walkable city in the United States?
New York City is the most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with a score of 93. Austin, Texas ranks 19th with 71.
How does Austin, Texas compare with nearby cities?
Austin, Texas sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 71, against San Antonio (68, 119 km away), Houston (79, 236 km away) and Fort Worth, Texas (59, 277 km away).
Which part of Austin, Texas is most walkable?
Austin's most walkable area is its center, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 100. Walkability averages 95 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the north (averaging 83) and falls most to the west (40).
Why is Austin, Texas's score different from its Walk Score?
Walk Score's city scores average every neighborhood within the city limits, weighted by where people live, so they count outer suburbs that the 5 km around Austin, Texas's center leaves out, and they are usually lower. Address by address the two agree closely: across 46 addresses in the United States and Canada, How Walkable's scores were 5.9 points from Walk Score's on average, as the accuracy study at howwalkable.com/accuracy shows.
How is Austin, Texas's walkability score calculated?
For Austin, Texas it is the average of 86 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 52 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames.
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