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How walkable is Cincinnati?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Cincinnati has a walkability score of 59 out of 100 across the 5 km around its center, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. It is the joint 42nd most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with 2 others.
What's within walking distance of the center
1,481 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Cincinnati. The nearest grocery is about 5 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for groceries, restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, parks, schools and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- Market On Main, 8 min
- Kroger, 9 min
Restaurants & bars
- Somerset Bar, 4 min
- Boba Cha, 4 min
Shopping
- Miss Monroe Boutique, 5 min
- Metro by T-Mobile, 6 min
Coffee
- Eastern Product, 7 min
- Collective Espresso, 9 min
Banks
- TruPartner CU, 10 min
- U.S. Bank ATM, 10 min
Parks
- Schiller Hughes Recreation Area, 2 min
- Jackson Hill Park, 3 min
Schools
- Rothenberg Elementary School, 3 min
- Corban Learning Center, 7 min
Books & libraries
- Iris Book Cafe, 8 min
- Smith & Hannon Bookstore, 10 min
Culture & entertainment
- Woodward Theater, 8 min
- Gorilla Cinema, 8 min
Further than usual
- The nearest shop is 5 minutes from the center on foot, against 1 minute for the median city ranked.
Measured from the center at 39.1154, -84.5115, the point near Cincinnati'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 105 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
Cincinnati's score of 59 is the average across the 5 km around its center, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 87 within 1 km of the center, 72 from 1 to 3 km out and 49 from 3 to 5 km out. 43% 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 Cincinnati. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the center. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Center | 95 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 87 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 72 | 59% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 49 | 26% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Lexington, Kentucky, United States | 120 km | 53 |
| Louisville, Kentucky, United States | 145 km | 59 |
| Indianapolis, United States | 158 km | 56 |
| Columbus, Ohio, United States | 160 km | 64 |
| Cleveland, United States | 356 km | 62 |
Questions about walking in Cincinnati
Is Cincinnati a walkable city?
Partly. Cincinnati has a walkability score of 59 out of 100 across the 5 km around its center, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. Its center scores 95. 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 42nd of 58 cities in the United States and joint 471st 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. Cincinnati ranks joint 42nd with 59.
How does Cincinnati compare with nearby cities?
Cincinnati is at least as walkable as its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 59, against Lexington, Kentucky (53, 120 km away), Louisville, Kentucky (59, 145 km away) and Indianapolis (56, 158 km away).
Which part of Cincinnati is most walkable?
Cincinnati's most walkable area is its center, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 95. Walkability averages 87 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the south (averaging 69) and falls most to the south-west (42).
Why is Cincinnati'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 Cincinnati'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 Cincinnati's walkability score calculated?
For Cincinnati it is the average of 84 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 36 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 Cincinnati?"