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- Lexington, Kentucky
How walkable is Lexington, Kentucky?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Lexington, Kentucky (Lexington-Fayette) has a walkability score of 53 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 52nd most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the center
937 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Lexington, Kentucky. The nearest grocery is about 12 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, parks and schools.
Groceries
- Griffith's Market, 16 min
- F&D Market, 17 min
Restaurants & bars
- Martine's Pastries, 5 min
- Tony's of Lexington, 6 min
Shopping
- Lexington Market East End, 5 min
- Albert Couture, 6 min
Coffee
- Julep Cup, 6 min
- Manchester Coffee Co., 6 min
Banks
- Independence Bank, 6 min
- WesBanco Bank, 7 min
Parks
- Charles Young Park, 3 min
- Northeastern Park, 3 min
Schools
- Ecumenical Preschool, 7 min
- The Learning Tree Preschool and Daycare, 9 min
Books & libraries
- Black Swan Books, 13 min
- Lexington Public Library, 15 min
Culture & entertainment
- Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center, 8 min
- The White-Pool House Museum, 12 min
Further than usual
- The nearest restaurant is 5 minutes from the center on foot, against 1 minute for the median city ranked.
- The nearest shop is 5 minutes from the center on foot, against 1 minute for the median city ranked.
Measured from the center at 38.0420, -84.4871, the point near Lexington, Kentucky'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 103 street intersections per km², and blocks average 90 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Lexington, Kentucky's score of 53 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, 61 from 1 to 3 km out and 44 from 3 to 5 km out. 27% 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 Lexington, Kentucky. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the center. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Center | 85 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 87 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 61 | 39% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 44 | 10% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville, Kentucky, United States | 116 km | 59 |
| Cincinnati, United States | 120 km | 59 |
| Indianapolis, United States | 241 km | 56 |
| Columbus, Ohio, United States | 247 km | 64 |
| Nashville, Tennessee, United States | 294 km | 62 |
Questions about walking in Lexington, Kentucky
Is Lexington, Kentucky a walkable city?
Partly. Lexington, Kentucky has a walkability score of 53 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 85. 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 52nd of 58 cities in the United States and joint 553rd 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. Lexington, Kentucky ranks joint 52nd with 53.
How does Lexington, Kentucky compare with nearby cities?
Lexington, Kentucky is less walkable than its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 53, against Louisville, Kentucky (59, 116 km away), Cincinnati (59, 120 km away) and Indianapolis (56, 241 km away).
Which part of Lexington, Kentucky is most walkable?
The streets just around Lexington's center are its most walkable, averaging 87 within 1 km. The center itself, the point with the most places in walking range, scores 85. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the south-west (averaging 63) and falls most to the south (35).
Why is Lexington, Kentucky'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 Lexington, Kentucky'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 Lexington, Kentucky's walkability score calculated?
For Lexington, Kentucky 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; 23 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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