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How walkable is Detroit?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Detroit has a walkability score of 66 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 25th most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with 2 others.
What's within walking distance of the center
1,440 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Detroit. The nearest grocery is about 7 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, parks, books & libraries and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- Bodegamkt, 9 min
- Eve's Market, 9 min
Restaurants & bars
- Rush Bowls, 2 min
- Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille, 2 min
Shopping
- Pingree Detroit Columbia Flagship Store, 2 min
- Team Store, 3 min
Coffee
- Dunkin Donuts, 6 min
- Tim Hortons, 6 min
Banks
- Detroit Tower Branch, 3 min
- Huntington Bank, 3 min
Parks
- Brush Park, 6 min
- Harmonie Park, 9 min
Schools
- Crockett Midtown High School, 20 min
- Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine, 20 min
Books & libraries
- Hilal Books, 4 min
- Skillman Detroit Public Library, 12 min
Culture & entertainment
- City Theatre, 1 min
- Mic Drop Comedy, 1 min
Measured from the center at 42.3392, -83.0518, the point near Detroit'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 88 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Detroit's score of 66 is the average across the 5 km around its center, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 90 within 1 km of the center, 75 from 1 to 3 km out and 58 from 3 to 5 km out. 51% 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 Detroit. 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 | 90 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 75 | 63% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 58 | 38% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland, United States | 145 km | 62 |
| London, Ontario, Canada | 165 km | 54 |
| Columbus, Ohio, United States | 264 km | 64 |
| Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | 280 km | 64 |
| Mississauga, Canada | 309 km | 55 |
Questions about walking in Detroit
Is Detroit a walkable city?
Partly. Detroit has a walkability score of 66 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 25th of 58 cities in the United States and joint 354th 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. Detroit ranks joint 25th with 66.
How does Detroit compare with nearby cities?
Detroit is more walkable than its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 66, against Cleveland (62, 145 km away), London, Ontario (54, 165 km away) and Columbus, Ohio (64, 264 km away).
Which part of Detroit is most walkable?
Detroit'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 90 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the south-east (averaging 79) and falls most to the east (46).
Why is Detroit'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 Detroit'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 Detroit's walkability score calculated?
For Detroit 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; 43 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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