Washington, DC — The League of American Bicyclists has released its 2024 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings, a comprehensive evaluation of state efforts to improve conditions for bicycling. This year’s rankings shed light on significant progress in some areas, such as bike planning and safety laws, while also exposing persistent challenges, including a record number of people being killed while biking and the lack of leadership at the state level to address this traffic violence.
-
Infrastructure like the Bay Trail in the San Francisco Bay Area helped California stay at number 4 in the League of American Bicyclists Bike Friendly States program. Photo by Dave Iltis - The Bicycle Friendly State Rankings measure state performance on the League’s five Bicycle Friendly Actions and across key categories: Infrastructure, Safety, Funding, Planning, Laws, #EveryRideCounts, and Capacity & Support. Each category reflects the policies, resources, and practices that contribute to safer and more accessible biking for everyone.
“Creating a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone starts with leadership at the state level,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “In the states at the top of the list, we see places where advocates, lawmakers, and decision makers are united in their belief that better bicycling benefits everyone. This year’s rankings celebrate the progress some states have made, but the record number of bicyclist deaths is a stark reminder that more must be done to protect people who bike.”
Key Findings from the 2024 Rankings Report
- Record Bicyclist Fatalities: Preliminary estimates indicate 1,149 bicyclists were killed in 2023, the highest number ever recorded, continuing an alarming trend. Nationwide, roads owned by state Departments of Transportation account for more bicyclist deaths than any other type of roadway owner. These roads often have higher posted speed limits than locally owned roads.
- New Focus on Safe Speeds: The League introduced a new scoring category this year, assessing state laws that enable communities to adopt safer speed limits. Nineteen states received credit for implementing policies allowing and/or promoting 20 mph speed limits.
- Infrastructure Investment: States have spent record federal funds on biking and walking projects thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. However, as a percentage of overall transportation spending, biking and walking investments did not increase much as other roadway investments.
- Every Ride Counts: The category in which states scored the lowest reveals a troubling lack of comprehensive efforts to count and understand bicycle ridership, underscoring the need for better data.
Notable States:
- Washington reclaimed the #1 ranking from Massachusetts on the strength of a signature youth education initiative and perfect scores in the Planning and Infrastructure categories. It was the only state with top ten scores in every category.
- Kansas improved its ranking more than any other state. Keys to this improvement included adopting a new statewide bike plan, creating a program to help communities access the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program, and state DOT staff being recognized for their efforts by the Association for Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.
- New Hampshire had one of the ten largest ranking improvements thanks to being the only state recognized for taking two Bicycle Friendly Actions it had not taken in our last ranking by adopting a new statewide bike plan and spending more than 2% of its federal transportation funds on bicycling and walking.
- Kentucky had the largest ranking improvement of any southern region state on the strength of a new statewide bike plan and strong performances in our Policies and Capacity & Support categories.
- Maine, Oklahoma, and South Carolina adopted or shortly will adopt their first-ever statewide bike plan! Currently, only five states have never adopted a statewide bike plan.
- Utah fell to number 14 from number 10 in 2022. Utah received low scores for Safety and for Laws but high marks for Infrastructure and Capacity and Support (“the workforce capacity for bicycling programming at each state DOT and the support for working with outside advocacy groups”).
- Wyoming continues to rank low in 44th spot with low marks across the board in Funding, Infrastructure, Laws, Planning, Capacity and Support, Safety, and Every Ride Counts.
- Montana ranks only a place higher at 43rd with poor marks for everything except infrastructure.
- Idaho comes in at number 36 with mediocre marks for everything but Infrastructure. For laws, they received only a 9/100.
- Nevada ranks 38th with mediocre marks for everything except Laws.
- New Mexico ranks 35th with ok marks for Infrastructure and Planning but poor marks otherwise.
-
The Animas River Trail in Durango is a multipurpose trail that is part of Colorado’s success in spot 6 in the League of American Bicyclists Bike Friendly States program. Photo by Dave Iltis
Top 10 States:
#1 – Washington
Bicycle Friendly Communities: 16
Bicycle Friendly Businesses: 32
Bicycle Friendly Universities: 3
#2 – Massachusetts
BFC: 14
BFB: 26
BFU: 8
#3 – Oregon
BFC: 12
BFB: 19
BFU: 4
#4 – California
BFC: 59
BFB: 118
BFU: 21
#5 – Minnesota
BFC: 34
BFB: 104
BFU: 7
#6 – Colorado
BFC: 21
BFB: 70
BFU: 8
#7 – Delaware
BFC: 3
BFB: 1
BFU: 0
#8 – Florida
BFC: 27
BFB: 167
BFU: 7
#9 – Maryland
BFC: 8
BFB: 25
BFU: 3
#10 – Michigan
BFC: 13
BFB: 31
BFU: 7
The 2024 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings are not just a report—they are a roadmap to building a more Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. The League encourages state leaders and advocates to:
- Benchmark Progress: Use the rankings to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
- Celebrate Successes: Look to leading states’ successes for inspiration.
- Take Action: Engage with state decision-makers to advocate for better policies, programs, and investments.
“This year’s findings show that progress is possible, but it requires commitment and collaboration,” Nesper emphasized. “Now is the time for state leaders to take action—by enacting better laws, investing in safe and connected infrastructure, expanding access to bicycling education, and prioritizing proven safety measures—to reverse troubling trends and build a safer future for everyone who bikes.”
Read the Bike Friendly States Report
For more information about the individual 2024 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings, visit: bikeleague.org/states
The League of American Bicyclists comes out with the rankings every couple of years, the last edition was in 2022. Since 1880, the League of American Bicyclists has been people-powered, with a goal to make bicycling safer and easier as a means of transportation and recreation. Today, the League continues to improve lives and strengthen communities through bicycling. We are more than 200,000 members and supporters strong with more than 1,000 state and local advocacy groups and bike clubs as well as thousands of businesses, universities, and communities together leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.
