Was Portland recently named the most walkable US city? | Fact brief
No.
Portland was not recently named the most walkable city in the U.S.
In May, food website EatingWell included Portland among seven winners on its 2026 Best Wellness Towns list. It named Portland “Best for Exploring on Foot,” based partly on a “walkability score” of 100.
EatingWell considered 21 “healthy towns,” not every city, and did not publish a walkability ranking. Other destinations were cited for having different perks, such as being outdoor- or fitness-friendly.
On June 1, travel publication Travel + Leisure amplified the Portland finding with a headline calling it the nation’s “most walkable destination.”
But the cited walkability score of 100 applies to a specific location in downtown Portland, not the city as a whole. Walkability website Walk Score rates individual addresses based on proximity to amenities; its page describes 100 as the score for “this location,” while listing Portland’s average Walk Score as 62.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Maine Trust for Local News partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- EatingWell: 2026 Best Wellness Towns
- Travel + Leisure: This Coastal City Was Just Named the Most Walkable Destination in the U.S.
- Walk Score: Walker’s Paradise: Portland, Maine
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