- Cities
- United States
- Seattle
How walkable is Seattle?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Seattle has a walkability score of 80 out of 100 across the 5 km around its center, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. It is the 7th most walkable of the 58 cities ranked in the United States.
What's within walking distance of the center
3,819 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Seattle. The nearest grocery is about 2 minutes away on foot. Every category earns full or nearly full points.
Groceries
- 611 Supreme, 3 min
- The Naked Grocer, 3 min
Restaurants & bars
- Meet Korean BBQ, 1 min
- La Josie's, 1 min
Shopping
- Kpop Nara Seattle, 1 min
- The Last Drop Bottle Shop - Capitol Hill, 1 min
Coffee
- Starbucks, 3 min
- Bauhaus Strong Coffee, 3 min
Banks
- Salal Credit Union – First Hill Branch, 7 min
- KeyBank, 7 min
Parks
- Freeway Park, 7 min
- Cal Anderson Park, 7 min
Schools
- O'Dea High School, 11 min
- International Montessori Academy, 11 min
Books & libraries
- Horizon Books, 7 min
- Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 min
Culture & entertainment
- Miners Landing, 3 min
- Erickson Theatre, 4 min
Measured from the center at 47.6140, -122.3254, the point near Seattle'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 123 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
Seattle's score of 80 is the average across the 5 km around its center, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 98 within 1 km of the center, 85 from 1 to 3 km out and 72 from 3 to 5 km out. 34 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. 84% 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 Seattle. 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 | 98 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 85 | 95% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 72 | 71% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver, Canada | 192 km | 83 |
| Portland, Oregon, United States | 233 km | 75 |
| Calgary, Canada | 711 km | 69 |
Questions about walking in Seattle
Is Seattle a walkable city?
Around its center, yes. Seattle has a walkability score of 80 out of 100 across the 5 km around its center, which makes it very walkable: most 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 7th of 58 cities in the United States and joint 127th 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. Seattle ranks 7th with 80.
How does Seattle compare with nearby cities?
Seattle sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 80, against Vancouver (83, 192 km away), Portland, Oregon (75, 233 km away) and Calgary (69, 711 km away).
Which part of Seattle is most walkable?
Seattle'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 98 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the north-west (averaging 89) and falls most to the north-east (62).
Why is Seattle'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 Seattle'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 Seattle's walkability score calculated?
For Seattle it is the average of 57 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 48 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 Seattle?"