Elk Grove Less Walkable Than Many Nearby Towns

Don't expect to ditch your car for a pair of Keds anytime soon: Elk Grove has a lower than average walkability rating, according to Web analysts Walk Score.

On Walk Score's scale of 1 - 100, Elk Grove ranked a 42, the lowest of any Sacramento-area neighborhood that has a Patch site. Many other towns in the region also scored in the 'car-dependent' category.

By comparison, national leaders New York and San Francisco rank around 85.

"With rising gas prices, Americans are looking for alternatives to long commutes and driving around town to complete their errands," a press release quoted Walk Score CEO Josh Herst as saying. "The latest real estate trends show that homes and apartments in walkable areas are in higher demand and are worth more than their less-walkable counterparts."

While Elk Grove has an extensive system of recreational walking trails, they likely didn't do much to boost the town's walkability score.

Walk Score awards points based on how far residents have to travel to get to amenities like grocery stores, parks and schools. Towns are also docked points for having streets that are unfriendly to pedestrians, like those with long blocks or fewer crosswalks.

'Walk score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking,' the website reads.

Elk Grove did, however, manage to best some smaller towns like nearby Galt (40) and northern neighbors Lincoln (26) and Granite Bay (23).

The above map shows the walkability ranking of Sacramento-area neighborhoods that have Patch sites. Their ratings are:

Click here to see the full list of California towns and their walkability ratings.