This New York borough topped the list of best U.S. cities for cyclists

Biking around New York is both sport and artform, at once terrifying (at first!) and freeing. Between expert bike shops, city-wide rentals and expanding pathways on the best bike routes in NYC, becoming a cyclist in Gotham is more relevant, and accessible, than ever. (We even mapped all the Citi Bike stations to help you get started sooner than later.)

And according to People for Bikes, a national bicycling nonprofit, not one but three New York City boroughs are highly acclaimed among cyclists and—most importantly—truly safe for those of all abilities. This year, the best large city for bicycling is Brooklyn, New York!

To curate each list, People for Bikes analyzed nearly 3,000 cities across the United States and around the world, compiling comprehensive data surrounding each city’s bike network. Every city then received a score from zero to 100, calculated by analyzing key info like protected lanes, off-street pathways, crossing and intersection treatments, safe speeds, and connectivity. A low score (0-20) indicates a weak bike network, meaning the city lacks safe bikeways or there are gaps in the network. A high score (80-100) indicates that most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes.

With a steady 73 points, Brooklyn took first place among large cities with populations over 300,000, followed closely by Minneapolis, Minnesota (scoring 72), Seattle, Washington (66), and our very own Queens, New York, with a score of 63. To our mild shock, even Manhattan—wrought with wild traffic—made the cut for top ten.

Despite its size and population density, Brooklyn is on par with medium metropolises like sunny Berkeley, California (also clocking at 73) and sprawling Boulder, Colorado (70); however, it seems there’s simply no competing with small cities like picturesque Provincetown, Massachusetts (97 points!) and glorious Mackinac Island, Michigan, the latter of which took home a perfect score of 100. 

“City Ratings data proves what we’ve known all along: building great bike infrastructure leads to better, safer places to ride,” said People for Bikes President and CEO Jenn Dice. “With 234 U.S. cities now scoring 50 or above—up from just 33 in 2019—it’s clear that dedicated investments deliver real results. By tracking projects from idea to implementation, we’re helping communities focus their efforts and accelerate change. Every city can become a great place to ride — we’re here to help them get there.” 

Check out the complete rankings of Top U.S. Cities for Bicycling in 2025 from People for Bikes:  

Large Cities (>300,000 population)

1. Brooklyn, New York: 73
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 72
3. Seattle, Washington: 66
4. Queens, New York: 63
5. San Francisco, California: 63
6. St Paul, Minnesota: 62 
7. Portland, Oregon: 61 
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 59 
9. Washington, DC: 52 
10. Manhattan, New York: 51

Medium Cities (50,000–300,000 population)

1. Davis, California: 81
2. Berkeley, California: 73
3. Corvallis, Oregon: 71
4. Boulder, Colorado: 70
5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: 68
6. Ankeny, Iowa: 65
7. Hoboken, New Jersey: 65
8. La Crosse, Wisconsin: 65
9. Anchorage, Alaska: 64
10. Ames, Iowa: 64
    

Small Cities (<50,000 population)

1. Mackinac Island, Michigan: 100
2. Provincetown, Massachusetts: 96
3. Sauk City, Wisconsin: 90
4. Springdale, Utah: 89
5. Washburn, Wisconsin: 89
6. Fayette, Missouri: 89
7. Murdock, Nebraska: 89
8. Fort Yates, North Dakota: 88
9. Crested Butte, Colorado: 87
10. Perrysville, Ohio: 85