Socioeconomic variations in walking rates in the United States: Recent evidence from the 2022 National Household Travel Survey

Ralph Buehler · John R. Pucher

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Urban Transport and Accessibility Transportation Planning and Optimization Physical Activity and Health

Abstract

We use the 2022 National Household Travel Survey for the USA—the first since the peaking of the COVID-19 pandemic—to examine variations in walking rates related to differences in socioeconomic characteristics. Our analysis provides the most recent national estimates of socioeconomic variation in walking, by far the most important form of daily physical activity in the USA. We used graphical bivariate analysis and multiple regressions to explore the relationship between each of the socioeconomic variables and the following daily walk rates: the number of walk trips, time walked, and distance walked. We also analyzed three binary variables indicating whether a person made at least one walk trip during the travel day, achieved the equivalent of 150 min of walking per week, and walked on five or more days during the previous 30 days. Higher education levels, not owning a car, not having a driver's license, not working, working from home, and high density are strongly related to higher levels of walking. We found no significant differences or mixed results for gender, age, race, and income. Because the 2022 NHTS incorporated significant changes in methodology, sample size, survey questions, and variable definitions, its estimated trip rates cannot be compared directly to the 2017 NHTS—the last survey prior to COVID. Moreover, the 2022 NHTS greatly underestimated walk trips because—unlike previous NHTS surveys—it omitted the trip diary as well as multiple prompts to remember short trips, especially walk trips. The relationships we estimated between various walk rates and the nine socioeconomic variables for 2022 were generally consistent with the results of previous studies, including those examining the 2001, 2009, and 2017 NHTS. That suggests that these relationships have remained stable over time—even if absolute rates of walking have changed, as indicated by other studies.

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References

2010Travel and the Built Environment 2004Understanding environmental influences on walking 2009The development of a walkability index: application to the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study 2017The neighbourhood physical environment and active travel in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis 2015What is a walkable place? The walkability debate in urban design 2013What Are the Health Benefits of Active Travel? A Systematic Review of Trials and Cohort Studies 2016Reducing car dependence in the heart of Europe: lessons from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland 2011Validating walkability indices: How do different households respond to the walkability of their neighborhood?

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