More than 2,500 cities around the globe have been ranked based on their bike-friendliness. The ratings aim to highlight communities that are investing in safe and accessible bike infrastructure by improving the quality and connectivity of their bike networks and commitment to create more places to ride safely.

The top scoring small, medium, and large cities in the U.S. were: Mackinac Island, Michigan; Davis, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to 2,300 cities in the United States, the ranking includes 89 cities in the United Kingdom, an additional 46 European cities, and 44 in Australia.

Those are the main findings of the new 2024 City Ratings released on Tuesday by PeopleForBikes, a nonprofit advocacy and trade association based in Boulder, Colo., representing more than 325 bicycle industry suppliers and nearly 1.4 million people.

The PeopleFor Bikes’ City Ratings is an annual assessment to identify, evaluate, and compare the best cities and towns for bicycling.

“While hundreds of U.S. cities are committed to improving the efficiency and safety of their transportation systems through policy statements and plans,” Rebecca Davies, City Ratings program director for PeopleForBikes said in a statement, the rankings acknowledges leaders who “follow through on those aspirations by redesigning their streets to make bicycling safer and more accessible to people of all ages and abilities.”

Each city receives a score on a scale of 0 to 100. High-scoring cities typically perform well across six factors: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space for biking and walking, intersection treatments, network connections, and reliable data.

This year's analysis found that cities that reach a score of 50 or higher seem to experience a tipping point. “Cycling becomes a more viable option,” the report noted, “leading to a self-perpetuating cycle of increased ridership, further infrastructure investment, and even more residents choosing bikes.”

Cities that improved their score in recent years were highlighted. These include Salt Lake City (46 in 2020, 52 in 2024); Ames, Iowa (40 in 2020, 66 in 2024); Ann Arbor, Michigan (40 in 2020, 46 in 2024); Madison, Wisconsin (50 in 2020, 58 in 2024); Cambridge, Massachusetts (36 in 2020, 72 in 2024); and Austin, Texas (13 in 2020, 34 in 2024).

In Madison, WI, for example, the city’s staff recognize the importance of bikes and bike infrastructure. The mayor, traffic engineer, and transportation director are all on their bikes every day, according to PeopleForBikes. “This buy-in from leadership has allowed the city to bring bike projects to the forefront.” The city has invested in bike networks that connect the city, “ so everyone can get where they need to go safely by bike.”

Some 2024 Best Places to Bike, followed by their scores:

Small U.S. Cities (less than 50,000 population)

1. Mackinac Island, Michigan: 99

2. Provincetown, Massachusetts: 96

3. Harbor Springs, Michigan: 92

4. Springdale, Utah: 89

5. Washburn, Wisconsin: 89

6. Fort Yates, North Dakota: 88

7. Crested Butte, Colorado: 87

8. Blue Diamond, Nevada: 85

9. Murdock, Nebraska: 84

10. Sewanee, Tennessee: 83

Medium U.S. Cities (50,000-300,000 population)

1. Davis, California: 78

2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: 72

3. Berkeley, California: 71

4. Boulder, Colorado: 70

5. Corvallis, Oregon: 70

6. Ankeny, Iowa: 70

7. Ames, Iowa: 66

8. Anchorage, Alaska: 64

9. Hoboken, New Jersey: 62

10. Grand Forks, North Dakota: 61

Large U.S. Cities (more than 300,000 population)

1. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 71

2. Seattle, Washington: 65

3. San Francisco, California: 64

4. St. Paul, Minnesota: 61

5. Portland, Oregon: 59

6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 58

7. New York City, New York: 56

8. Arlington, Virginia: 53

9. Washington, D.C.: 46

10. Denver, Colorado: 46

International Cities

1.The Hague, Netherlands: 89

2.Brussels, Belgium: 87

3.Paris, France: 87

4.Lyon, France: 86

5.Utrecht, Netherlands: 86

6.Leuven, Belgium: 85

7.Munich, Germany: 85

8.Amsterdam, Netherlands: 85

9.Almere, Netherlands: 85

10.Eindhoven, Netherlands: 85

By documenting annual improvements in the quality of cities’ bike networks, Martina Haggerty, senior director of local innovation at PeopleForBikes, said in a statement, “we help decision makers prioritize critical projects like protected bike lanes and shared use paths and the policies behind them.”

For more information and to view the full report and ratings, click here and here.