The who and where of bicycle commuting in U.S.

If you regularly ride your bicycle to work, then the League of American Bicyclists report “Where We Ride: Analysis of Bicycling in American Cities” is all about you.

Bike to Work Day, Seattle, 2009

The report by the LAB staff digs into the results of the 2012 American Community Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September.

You might remember the report found that cities with a population of 65,000 or greater had a 9.6% increase in bicycle commuting between 2011 and 2012. That’s 0.64% of all commuters ride a bicycle.

What the “Where We Ride” analysis does is compare all 50 states, male and female commuters, bike commute share in cities by region and by population, and more.

Some facts

Here’s a smattering of facts gleaned from dozens of charts in the report:

— Oregon has the highest percentage of population that bikes to work (2.5%), but Maryland had the biggest growth since 2005 (112%). Arkansas had the lowest rate of bicycle commuting at 0.08% (and also the biggest rate drop since 2005 at 54%).

— Among the 70 largest cities, Portland, Oregon, had the highest share of bike commuters (6.1%), while Plano, Texas, had the lowest (0.1%). Buffalo, New York, had the biggest increase since 2005 (270%).

— Of all cities over 65,000, Davis, California, has the highest share of bike commuters (19.1%), followed by Boulder, Colorado (12.1%) and Palo Alto, California (9.5%).

— The big city with the highest growth of bicycle commuting since 1990 is Detroit, Michigan, at 464%. At that, only 0.6% of workers commute by bicycle.

— Among cities with the youngest average population, Davis leads in bike commuting. Eugene and Portland lead cities with a population in the 30s, and Palo Alto leads “oldest cities”.

— Spokane Valley, Washington, has the highest rate of female bike commuters. Two out of three people who commute by bike there are women.

— Among cities with the most precipitation, Miami (58.5 inches per year) has the highest rate of bicycle commuters at 5.06%. Among cities with the coldest and snowiest weather, Madison, Wisconsin, leads with 6.23%.

I could go on like this all day. You can read more about the report yourself at League of American Bicyclists, or download the report.