Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.
Taking walks can give you and your pup a new leash on life — at least until the sidewalks end or where cars pose a hazard.
Which cities offer the most ideal environment for roving with Spot?
To mark National Walk Your Dog Month, LawnStarter ranked 2023’s Best Cities to Walk Your Dog.
We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on walkability, safety, pup-friendly trail access, and professional dog walking availability.
See how your city stacks pup below.
1. San Francisco, CA
- Overall Score: 59.80
- Access Rank: 21
- Quality Rank: 1
- Professional Walking Rank: 54
- Safety Rank: 57
2. Colorado Springs, CO
- Overall Score: 56.72
- Access Rank: 1
- Quality Rank: 74
- Professional Walking Rank: 24
- Safety Rank: 151
3. Glendale, CA
- Overall Score: 54.24
- Access Rank: 101
- Quality Rank: 2
- Professional Walking Rank: 134
- Safety Rank: 13
4. Portland, OR
- Overall Score: 54.16
- Access Rank: 2
- Quality Rank: 7
- Professional Walking Rank: 87
- Safety Rank: 169
5. Oakland, CA
- Overall Score: 53.98
- Access Rank: 10
- Quality Rank: 3
- Professional Walking Rank: 131
- Safety Rank: 118
6. Los Angeles, CA
- Overall Score: 52.27
- Access Rank: 12
- Quality Rank: 6
- Professional Walking Rank: 148
- Safety Rank: 73
7. San Diego, CA
- Overall Score: 51.07
- Access Rank: 8
- Quality Rank: 25
- Professional Walking Rank: 72
- Safety Rank: 44
8. Boise, ID
- Overall Score: 50.67
- Access Rank: 4
- Quality Rank: 68
- Professional Walking Rank: 64
- Safety Rank: 66
9. Fremont, CA
- Overall Score: 50.05
- Access Rank: 44
- Quality Rank: 16
- Professional Walking Rank: 43
- Safety Rank: 24
10. Naperville, IL
- Overall Score: 50.04
- Access Rank: 136
- Quality Rank: 17
- Professional Walking Rank: 11
- Safety Rank: 8
11. New York, NY
- Overall Score: 49.92
- Access Rank: 18
- Quality Rank: 14
- Professional Walking Rank: 167
- Safety Rank: 26
12. Las Vegas, NV
- Overall Score: 49.52
- Access Rank: 6
- Quality Rank: 51
- Professional Walking Rank: 3
- Safety Rank: 125
13. Pasadena, CA
- Overall Score: 49.50
- Access Rank: 114
- Quality Rank: 5
- Professional Walking Rank: 56
- Safety Rank: 47
14. Seattle, WA
- Overall Score: 49.18
- Access Rank: 34
- Quality Rank: 11
- Professional Walking Rank: 73
- Safety Rank: 65
15. Yonkers, NY
- Overall Score: 48.15
- Access Rank: 54
- Quality Rank: 47
- Professional Walking Rank: 101
- Safety Rank: 5
Behind the Ranking
For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we gathered publicly available data on more than a dozen factors that we grouped into four categories: Access, Quality, Professional Walking, and Safety.
Next, we calculated weighted scores for each city in each category.
Finally, we averaged the scores for each city across all categories.
The city that earned the highest average score was ranked “Best” (No. 1).