Walking distance is an important concept in the fields of transportation and public health. A distance of 0.25 miles is often used as an acceptable walking distance in U.S. research studies. Overall, research on the distance and duration of walking trips for different purposes and across different population groups remains limited.
This study examines the prevalence of walking and distances and durations of walking trips for different purposes among U.S. residents.
People with lower versus higher household income walked longer distances for work but shorter distances for recreation.
Only a small fraction of respondents walk, but trips longer than 0.25 miles are common. There is substantial variability in the distance and duration of walking trips by purpose and population subgroups. These differences have implications for developing strategies to increase physical activity through walking.
Walking is associated with features of the built or social environment1–5 including proximity to destinations6, 7 as well as social features like safety or the presence of other walkers.8, 9 In the U.S., over the past 2 decades, 400 meters (0.25 miles or a 5-minute walk) has sometimes been assumed to be the distance that "the average American will walk rather than drive”,10 and has been used as the value of acceptable walking distance in studies.10–15 However, research has also suggested that walking trips longer than 400 meters may not be uncommon, and features of buffers larger than 400 meters have been linked to walking. For example, destinations within 1500 meters were found to be associated with transport-related walking.12 The mean walking-trip length and duration in the U.S. population were estimated to be 0.62 miles and 16 minutes in 200116 and 0.61 miles and 12 minutes in 2009.