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How walkable is Indianapolis?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Indianapolis has a walkability score of 56 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 48th most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the center
1,271 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Indianapolis. The nearest grocery is about 5 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for groceries, restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, parks, books & libraries and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- Whole Foods Market, 8 min
- Market Square Tap Room, 8 min
Restaurants & bars
- Nesso, 2 min
- The Tap, 2 min
Shopping
- Stout's Footwear, 2 min
- Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, 3 min
Coffee
- City Cafe, 3 min
- Cafe Olivia, 3 min
Banks
- Horizon Bank of Central IN, 4 min
- Regions Bank, 4 min
Parks
- Indiana World War Memorial Plaza, 2 min
- American Legion Mall, 6 min
Schools
- Central Catholic School, 10 min
- Benjamin Harrison School 2, 11 min
Books & libraries
- Indiana State Library - SHARE, 6 min
- Downtown Comics, 7 min
Culture & entertainment
- Col. Eli Lilly Civil War Museum, 3 min
- Indiana War Memorial & Museum, 3 min
Measured from the center at 39.7723, -86.1551, the point near Indianapolis'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 110 street intersections per km², and blocks average 85 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Indianapolis's score of 56 is the average across the 5 km around its center, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 93 within 1 km of the center, 64 from 1 to 3 km out and 46 from 3 to 5 km out. 25% 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 Indianapolis. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the center. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Center | 99 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 93 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 64 | 37% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 46 | 8% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, United States | 158 km | 59 |
| Louisville, Kentucky, United States | 172 km | 59 |
| Lexington, Kentucky, United States | 241 km | 53 |
| Chicago, United States | 264 km | 91 |
| Columbus, Ohio, United States | 271 km | 64 |
Questions about walking in Indianapolis
Is Indianapolis a walkable city?
Partly. Indianapolis has a walkability score of 56 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 99. 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 48th of 58 cities in the United States and joint 509th 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. Indianapolis ranks joint 48th with 56.
How does Indianapolis compare with nearby cities?
Indianapolis sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 56, against Cincinnati (59, 158 km away), Louisville, Kentucky (59, 172 km away) and Lexington, Kentucky (53, 241 km away).
Which part of Indianapolis is most walkable?
Indianapolis's most walkable area is its center, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 99. Walkability averages 93 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the north (averaging 59) and falls most to the south-west (38).
Why is Indianapolis'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 Indianapolis'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 Indianapolis's walkability score calculated?
For Indianapolis 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; 21 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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