Are North Carolina’s cities the least walkable in America?

North Carolina has sprawling cities. The suburban-esque landscape of our metropolitan areas repels some would-be residents and attracts others. But a viral TikTok posted earlier this week lays out just how unwalkable our cities really are.

The TikTok, shared by user Owen Maupin, had more than 1.8 million views and 220,000 likes in the first three days after it was uploaded. In the video, Maupin counts down the ten least walkable cities in America based on the website Walk Score. Of the 10 cities he mentions, four of them — Durham, Greensboro, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem — are in North Carolina.

Maupin’s ranking doesn’t include all 130 cities in the database, which includes Canadian cities. He left out some of the smallest metropolitan areas on Walk Score, likely by accident or to bring the 108 U.S. municipalities to an even 100. For example, Maupin lists Winston-Salem as the second lowest score, a ranking that actually belongs to Fayetteville, NC.

Walk Score gives the municipalities a score out of 100 based on the distance it would take to walk to an amenity. Then, it considers the walkability of every city block and weighs the population based on density. On Walk Score’s full list of 130 municipalities in the U.S. and Canada, North Carolina has six cities considered. None of them make it out of the bottom 20, even when you factor out the 22 Canadian cities.

The highest-scoring city in North Carolina is Raleigh with a Walkscore of 31.3, making it the 94th most walkable city in the United States. Raleigh falls 17 points below the average Walk Score in the U.S. and Canada. (The average walkability of North Carolina cities is more than 22 points lower than the national average.)

This is not a surprise to people who live in these cities across the state. I have to get in my car to go almost anywhere in Durham. When I walk somewhere, I have to worry about running out of sidewalk - or the lighting on the roads and greenway if I plan on being out after dark.

A walkable city isn’t just about how close you are to amenities. It also means having sidewalks and crosswalks so that walking is a safe option for people. In Raleigh, 255 people were struck by cars from January to November 2022r. Twenty-five of those people, including a 12-year-old girl, died.

What’s just as interesting as the scores themselves (and maybe more concerning for North Carolina) is the video’s popularity on TikTok. The app is dominated by users between the ages of 16 and 34. This is a group that is also more likely to care about climate change and therefore seek alternatives to driving. They are also less likely to drive on average: fewer 16-year-olds get licenses compared to teens in the 1980s.

My 21-year-old sister sent me the video, which came up on her For You Page through the app’s algorithm. When I asked whether this would affect her future decisions to stay in the state, she said yes — gas is expensive, her car is old and she doesn’t enjoy driving.

North Carolina has prided itself on being able to attract the best and brightest to the state, especially to Research Triangle Park. Although Chapel Hill is not included on this list, there are a variety of measures — free bus systems, bike lanes, and the variety of businesses on Franklin Street — that make it a desirable place to live for people who don’t have cars.

Transportation isn’t usually factored into “best cities for young professionals” rankings, but it is something that affects how easy it is for a person to make North Carolina their home. A teenager looking at colleges or a recent graduate looking for jobs may be more likely to consider cities where they have access to alternative means of transportation. North Carolina politicians and business owners need to consider this when they talk about attracting young people to our state.