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- Memphis, Tennessee
How walkable is Memphis, Tennessee?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Memphis, Tennessee has a walkability score of 57 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 46th most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the center
757 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Memphis, Tennessee. The nearest grocery is about 13 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for restaurants & bars, shopping and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- Brothers Sundry, 14 min
- Aldi, 14 min
Restaurants & bars
- Los Comales Downtown, 3 min
- Brinson's Downtown, 3 min
Shopping
- Beale Street Studios, 5 min
- Rootstock Wine Merchants, 6 min
Coffee
- Star Transportation, 10 min
- French Truck Coffee, 11 min
Banks
- Memphis Municipal EFCU, 10 min
- First Horizon Bank, 12 min
Parks
- The Edge Triangle, 8 min
- Handy Park, 12 min
Schools
- Southwest Early College High School, 12 min
- Grizzlies Prep Charter School, 14 min
Books & libraries
- Cornelia Crenshaw Memorial Library, 14 min
- Southwest Tennessee CC Bookstore - Union Campus, 14 min
Culture & entertainment
- Edge Motor Museum, 7 min
- Baobab Filmhouse, 7 min
Measured from the center at 35.1418, -90.0435, the point near Memphis, Tennessee'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 73 street intersections per km², and blocks average 113 m long. Sparser streets or longer blocks reduce the score by 1%, since they make walks longer than the straight-line distance suggests.
How far walkability reaches
Memphis, Tennessee's score of 57 is the average across the 5 km around its center, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 84 within 1 km of the center, 67 from 1 to 3 km out and 46 from 3 to 5 km out. 25 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. 33% 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 Memphis, Tennessee. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the center. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Center | 79 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 84 | 86% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 67 | 43% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 46 | 17% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Nashville, Tennessee, United States | 316 km | 62 |
| Louisville, Kentucky, United States | 516 km | 59 |
| Atlanta, United States | 543 km | 70 |
| Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | 549 km | 50 |
| New Orleans, United States | 578 km | 75 |
Questions about walking in Memphis, Tennessee
Is Memphis, Tennessee a walkable city?
Partly. Memphis, Tennessee has a walkability score of 57 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 79. 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 46th of 58 cities in the United States and joint 497th 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. Memphis, Tennessee ranks joint 46th with 57.
How does Memphis, Tennessee compare with nearby cities?
Memphis, Tennessee is less walkable than its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 57, against Nashville, Tennessee (62, 316 km away), Louisville, Kentucky (59, 516 km away) and Atlanta (70, 543 km away).
Which part of Memphis, Tennessee is most walkable?
The streets just around Memphis's center are its most walkable, averaging 84 within 1 km. The center itself, the point with the most places in walking range, scores 79. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the east (averaging 71) and falls most to the north (34).
Why is Memphis, Tennessee'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 Memphis, Tennessee'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 Memphis, Tennessee's walkability score calculated?
For Memphis, Tennessee it is the average of 66 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 22 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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