- Cities
- United States
- Boston
How walkable is Boston?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Boston has a walkability score of 89 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 joint 4th most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the center
4,348 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Boston. The nearest grocery is about 10 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, parks, schools, books & libraries and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- Trader Joe's, 11 min
- Savenor's Boston Is Closed, Visit Savenor's Cambridge On 92 Kirkland St., 11 min
Restaurants & bars
- The Bristol Lounge, 4 min
- The Upper Crust Pizzeria, 4 min
Shopping
- DeLuca's Cellar, 4 min
- DeLuca's Market, 4 min
Coffee
- Cobblestones, 5 min
- Nespresso, 5 min
Banks
- Eastern Bank, 3 min
- Bank of America ATM, 5 min
Parks
- Boston Common, 3 min
- Commonwealth Ave Mall, 4 min
Schools
- The Advent School, 8 min
- John Winthrop Nursery School, 9 min
Books & libraries
- Emerson College Library, 6 min
- Barnes & Noble @ Emerson College Bookstore, 6 min
Culture & entertainment
- Four-Handed Illusions: An Intimate Evening of Laughs and Wonder, 4 min
- Shakespeare on the Common, 4 min
Measured from the center at 42.3545, -71.0689, the point near Boston'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 135 street intersections per km², and blocks average 71 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Boston's score of 89 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, 92 from 1 to 3 km out and 87 from 3 to 5 km out. 15 of the 91 points within 5 km fall on water or on land without streets, such as hillsides, forest or farmland, and are left out, so the score describes only the built-up part. 89% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot. Walkability holds up well across the city.
- 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 Boston. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the center. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Center | 94 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 95 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 92 | 96% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 87 | 84% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| New York City, United States | 306 km | 93 |
| Montreal, Canada | 405 km | 82 |
| Laval, Quebec, Canada | 415 km | 60 |
| Philadelphia, United States | 436 km | 89 |
| Quebec City, Canada | 496 km | 69 |
Questions about walking in Boston
Is Boston a walkable city?
Yes. Boston has a walkability score of 89 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 94. 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 joint 4th of 58 cities in the United States and joint 33rd 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. Boston ranks joint 4th with 89.
How does Boston compare with nearby cities?
Boston sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 89, against New York City (93, 306 km away), Montreal (82, 405 km away) and Laval, Quebec (60, 415 km away).
Which part of Boston is most walkable?
Boston is most walkable beyond 2.5 km to the north-west, where walkability averages 96, more than the 95 within 1 km of its center. The center itself, the point with the most places in walking range, scores 94. It falls most to the east (71).
Why is Boston'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 Boston'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 Boston's walkability score calculated?
For Boston it is the average of 76 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 68 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.
Ask about walking anywhere in ChatGPT with the How Walkable app, for example "How walkable is Boston?"