The Best and Worst Cities for Biking in 2026 — Is Yours on the List?

Biking is great exercise, an environmentally friendly choice for transportation, an affordable way to get around, and a recreational activity. Unfortunately, bike safety concerns can discourage people from riding. One block may have a protected lane or quiet side street, while the next puts cyclists beside faster traffic with little separation.

Separate analyses from PeopleForBikes and ConsumerAffairs offer two ways to look at biking in U.S. cities. PeopleForBikes evaluates bike-network quality, while ConsumerAffairs examines cyclist fatalities.

Learn which large U.S. cities stand out for bikeability and cyclist fatality risk.

Highest-Rated Large U.S. Cities for Biking

These are the five highest-rated large U.S. cities in the 2026 PeopleForBikes City Ratings:

1. Brooklyn, New York
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota
3. Seattle, Washington
4. Queens, New York
5. San Francisco, California

PeopleForBikes says higher-rated communities tend to have connected, low-stress infrastructure, including protected bike lanes, off-street paths, and quieter streets. Brooklyn and Queens appear separately because the ratings treat New York City’s five boroughs individually to account for differences in their bike networks.

“A city’s score represents how well its bike network connects people to jobs, schools, healthcare, shopping, recreation, and other everyday destinations,” according to PeopleForBikes.

Cities With the Highest Cyclist Fatality Risk

ConsumerAffairs ranked these five cities as having the highest cyclist fatality risk:

1. Stockton, California
2. New Orleans, Louisiana
3. Tampa, Florida
4. Sacramento, California
5. Tucson, Arizona

ConsumerAffairs found that cyclist danger can stem from several factors, including limited bike infrastructure, aggressive or reckless driving, and road designs that prioritize faster vehicle traffic. Its analysis also found that some of the highest-risk cities are clustered in California and the Sun Belt, while other cities reported no cyclist fatalities during the same year.

“Reckless drivers, high speed limits and crumbling — or absent — infrastructure can all contribute to a hostile environment for those trying to walk, run or roll in a city. But the responsibility is shared by the vehicles on the road, too,” according to ConsumerAffairs’ report.

What the Rankings Actually Measure

PeopleForBikes and ConsumerAffairs measure different parts of cycling conditions, so the rankings shouldn’t be read as direct opposites. PeopleForBikes uses its Bicycle Network Analysis to examine how well low-stress routes connect riders with everyday destinations.

ConsumerAffairs uses National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fatal-crash data to compare cyclist fatality rates among the 100 most populous metropolitan areas.

A city can have a strong, connected bike network and still experience serious crashes, while a place with fewer cyclist deaths may have gaps in its bike infrastructure. Street design, network continuity, traffic conditions, and driver behavior can all affect what riders encounter on a particular trip.

“Be focused and alert to the road and all traffic around you; anticipate what others may do, before they do it,” according to the NHTSA. “This is defensive driving—the quicker you notice a potential conflict, the quicker you can act to avoid a potential crash.”

Sources

• PeopleForBikes, “2026’s Best Places to Bike”
• PeopleForBikes, “2026 City Ratings Methodology Updates: What Is Changing and Why It Matters”
• ConsumerAffairs, “Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians and Cyclists 2026”
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)”
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Bicycle Safety”

The post The Best and Worst Cities for Biking in 2026 — Is Yours on the List? appeared first on Family Handyman.

Article source here: The Best and Worst Cities for Biking in 2026 — Is Yours on the List?