Washington, D.C. has earned another accolade for its urban infrastructure, this time being named the No. 3 best city in the United States to live in without a car.
The ranking comes from a new study by CoworkingCafe that analyzed 114 U.S. cities to determine where residents have the easiest time ditching their vehicles.
The nation’s capital landed behind only New York City and San Francisco, thanks in large part to its strong combination of public transportation, walkability and bike-friendly infrastructure.
What makes D.C. one of the best cities in the country to live in without a car?
According to the study, Washington, D.C. is particularly strong when it comes to walking and biking.
The city received the best combined walk and bike scores in the study, while more than 9% of residents commute to work on foot.
That pedestrian-friendly environment is supported by an extensive network of sidewalks.
The study noted that D.C. has approximately 1,407 miles of sidewalks, giving residents plenty of opportunities to make everyday trips without getting behind the wheel.
Cycling is another major factor; a little more than 3% of D.C. residents commute by bike, using roughly 150 miles of recreational trails and bicycle lanes across the city.
And then there is public transportation—about 20% of D.C. residents commute using Metrorail and Metrobus, giving the city one of the strongest shares of public-transit commuters in the study.
Rail and bus connections also make it possible to travel beyond the District into neighboring communities.
What other cities ranked among the top 10?
D.C. was one of several major American cities that scored highly for car-free living.
New York City took the No. 1 spot, followed by San Francisco at No. 2, before Washington, D.C. at No. 3.
The full top 10 were:
- New York City, New York
- San Francisco, California
- Washington, D.C.
- Newark, New Jersey
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Seattle, Washington
- Miami, Florida
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Chicago, Illinois
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Northeast performed particularly well overall, accounting for nine of the study’s top 20 cities.
New York, Boston, and Philadelphia benefited from dense public-transit networks and walkable neighborhoods, while Western cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and Portland also scored well thanks to cycling and alternative transportation options.
Interestingly, Alexandria, VA, also made the broader top 20, ranking No. 17, meaning the D.C. region has two cities recognized among the country’s best places to live without a car.
How did CoworkingCafe determine the best cities to live without a car?
CoworkingCafe analyzed 13 different metrics to create its ranking, considering factors ranging from commuting habits and public transportation to walkability, biking and the availability of everyday amenities.
Only cities with complete data sets were included.
The largest component was the share of residents commuting by public transportation, which accounted for 15% of the overall index.
Walking, biking, alternative transportation such as taxis and motorcycles, public-transit station density, and transit fares each also received significant weight.
The study also incorporated Walk Score and Bike Score, public-transit reliability, coworking-space density, gas prices and the density of cultural and retail establishments.
The data came from sources including the U.S. Census, Federal Transit Administration, Walk Score, and AAA, with data from 2023, 2024, and 2026 depending on the metric.
In other words, the ranking wasn’t simply based on how many people take the Metro or how walkable a city feels.
It looked at whether residents can realistically replace a car with a combination of public transportation, walking, cycling, and nearby amenities.
