These U.S. Cities Have the Best Public Transportation

Europe and Asia are often heralded for their public transportation systems, but certain cities in the U.S. are catching on — offering train and bus systems that are easy to use, affordable, and safe. According to the American Public Transportation Association, public transportation use increased by 16 percent from 2022 to 2023, boasting a ridership of 7.1 billion total trips in 2023.

Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin that helps people determine how walkable or public-transport accessible an address is, analyzed 130 U.S. cities with a population of 200,000 or greater. It then ranked the city’s public transportation system on a 100-point scale, taking into account things like route frequency, the distance between stops, and the mode of transit, with trains weighted higher than buses. The source data comes from 2021 but the analysis still provides a relatively up-to-date look at U.S. public transportation today.

At the top of the list was New York City with a Walk Score transit rating of 88.8 out of a possible 100. The New York Subway is both affordable ($2.90 a ride, for most) and accessible (there are 472 stations in total). It is bolstered by 238 bus routes along with two commuter metro systems: the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), more than 3.6 million people on average rode the New York City subway on weekdays in 2023, while more than one million used the bus system. Gothamist reported that in 2024 to date, “the subway has already carried more than 4 million daily riders on 38 different days so far this year.”

New York City’s transit system is so good, that the No. 2 city on the list, San Francisco, is a full 11.5 points behind it with a transit score of 77.1. The West Coast destination is known for its cable cars, which are supported by buses and trains operated by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni). 

San Francisco is one of just two West Coast cities that made the list; Seattle is No. 9.

The Walk Score list is otherwise heavily dominated by East Coast cities, including Boston; Jersey City, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia. Chicago is the only Midwest city on the list.

The full list is below:

1. New York (Transit Score: 88.6)
2. San Francisco (Transit Score: 77.1)
3. Boston (Transit Score: 72.4)
4. Jersey City, New Jersey (Transit Score: 70.5)
5. Washington, D.C. (Transit Score: 68.7)
6. Philadelphia (Transit Score: 67)
7. Newark, New Jersey (tie) (Transit Score: 65)
8. Chicago (tie) (Transit Score: 65)
9. Seattle (Transit Score: 59.6)
10. Arlington, Virginia (Transit Score: 58.6)