Walking is a minority commuting mode in the countries covered here, but its share varies widely by place. Australia recorded 306,045 employed people who walked to work in 2021, while England and Wales recorded 2.1 million usual residents travelling on foot. The United States reported 4,048,560 workers walking to work in the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimate.
Contents
- Australia-wide baseline
- Australian state and territory counts
- Australian shares and change since 2016
- England and Wales
- Work-travel modes beyond walking
- Journey distances in England and Wales
- United States estimates
Australia-wide baseline
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported 306,045 employed people who walked to work in 2021. That was 2.5% of the Australian workforce. The same release counted 12 million employed people on Census day, providing the population base in which the walking figure was reported. These figures come from Transport: Census, 2021.
Australia’s national percentage conceals a substantial geographic range. The Northern Territory had the highest walking-to-work share in 2021, at 7.6%, representing 8,115 people. This was more than three times the national share, although the territory’s total number of walkers was much smaller than the totals recorded in the largest states.
The Australian measure needs careful interpretation. Australian Census QuickStats reports the method used on Census day and permits respondents to report up to three methods. The “Walked only” category is therefore not directly equivalent to England and Wales’s single main-mode measure or the United States’ usual-commute measure. The comparison is useful, but the definitions are not identical.
Australian state and territory counts
The 2021 state and territory counts show where the largest absolute groups of people who walked only to work were recorded. New South Wales had the largest total at 92,368, followed by Victoria at 72,373 and Queensland at 63,580. The remaining reported totals were below 30,000.
| Australian jurisdiction | Walked only to work, 2021 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 92,368 | 2021 NSW QuickStats |
| Victoria | 72,373 | 2021 Victoria QuickStats |
| Queensland | 63,580 | 2021 Queensland QuickStats |
| Western Australia | 28,115 | 2021 WA QuickStats |
| South Australia | 20,575 | 2021 SA QuickStats |
| Tasmania | 10,785 | 2021 Tasmania QuickStats |
| Australian Capital Territory | 9,988 | 2021 ACT QuickStats |
| Northern Territory | 8,115 | 2021 NT QuickStats |
The count ranking primarily reflects the size of each jurisdiction’s employed population, so it should not be read as a ranking of walking propensity. For that purpose, the percentage figures are more informative. The Northern Territory’s 8,115 walkers produced the country’s highest share, while much larger New South Wales recorded 92,368 walkers at a 2.5% share.
The figures also show why both counts and shares matter for commute planning. A large state may contain more people walking to work in absolute terms, which affects demand for footpaths and pedestrian crossings. A smaller jurisdiction may have a higher share, which signals a different level of walking’s role in the overall commute mix.
Australian shares and change since 2016
In 2021, the walking-only share was 2.5% in New South Wales, 2.3% in Victoria, 2.6% in Queensland, 2.5% in South Australia, and 2.2% in Western Australia. Tasmania recorded 4.2%, the Australian Capital Territory 4.0%, and the Northern Territory 7.6%.
Every Australian jurisdiction listed in the supplied historical comparison had a lower walking-only share in 2021 than in 2016. The New South Wales share moved from 3.9% in 2016 to 2.5% in 2021; Victoria moved from 3.2% to 2.3%; and Queensland moved from 3.3% to 2.6%.
The other comparisons were South Australia, from 2.8% to 2.5%; Western Australia, from 2.8% to 2.2%; Tasmania, from 4.8% to 4.2%; the Australian Capital Territory, from 4.5% to 4.0%; and the Northern Territory, from 8.5% to 7.6%. These are published historical comparisons, not independently recalculated estimates.
| Jurisdiction | 2016 share | 2021 share |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 3.9% | 2.5% |
| Victoria | 3.2% | 2.3% |
| Queensland | 3.3% | 2.6% |
| South Australia | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Western Australia | 2.8% | 2.2% |
| Tasmania | 4.8% | 4.2% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 4.5% | 4.0% |
| Northern Territory | 8.5% | 7.6% |
The associated 2016 counts were 130,956 in New South Wales, 87,797 in Victoria, 70,471 in Queensland, 20,698 in South Australia, 31,909 in Western Australia, 10,440 in Tasmania, 9,306 in the Australian Capital Territory, and 8,682 in the Northern Territory. Because the percentages describe each jurisdiction’s employed population, a count can move differently from a share.
England and Wales
The Office for National Statistics reported that 2.1 million usual residents aged 16 and over in England and Wales travelled to work on foot in 2021. That represented 7.6% of people in employment. The walking-to-work share was 7.6% in England and 7.1% in Wales.
Regional variation was also visible within England. The South West had the highest walking-to-work share among English regions in 2021, at 9.2%. These figures come from Travel to work, England and Wales: Census 2021.
The ONS cautioned that Census 2021 was collected during COVID-19 restrictions. That timing matters when interpreting the results because the recorded travel pattern describes that census period, rather than a general measure of every year’s commuting behaviour. It also uses a different methodology from the Australian “Walked only” category and the ACS measure used in the United States.
Work-travel modes beyond walking
Walking sits within a broader set of non-car commuting modes in England and Wales. In 2021, 5.5 million employed usual residents used a main work-travel method other than driving or riding in a car or van. This was 19.8% of employed usual residents.
Almost 1.2 million people travelled to work by bus, minibus or coach, equal to 4.2%. About 569,000 travelled by bicycle, equal to 2.0%, while about 529,000 travelled by train, equal to 1.9%. These categories are reported by the ONS in the same 2021 travel-to-work release.
The figures should not be added to create a walking total or a combined alternative-transport estimate without accounting for the source’s category definitions. Walking is one main travel mode in the release, while the 19.8% figure describes a wider group whose main method was not car or van travel.
Journey distances in England and Wales
The ONS also reported straight-line distances to workplace postcodes for employed usual residents in England and Wales. In 2021, 3.1 million people travelled less than 2 kilometres to work, equal to 11.0% of all employed usual residents. Another 3.5 million travelled at least 2 but less than 5 kilometres, equal to 12.6%.
For longer short-to-medium journeys, 3.3 million people travelled at least 5 but less than 10 kilometres, equal to 11.8%. A further 2.9 million travelled at least 10 but less than 20 kilometres, equal to 10.5%.
| Straight-line distance to workplace postcode | People, 2021 | Share of all employed usual residents |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 2 km | 3.1 million | 11.0% |
| At least 2 km but less than 5 km | 3.5 million | 12.6% |
| At least 5 km but less than 10 km | 3.3 million | 11.8% |
| At least 10 km but less than 20 km | 2.9 million | 10.5% |
These are straight-line distances, not walking-route distances. They therefore describe the geographic separation between home and workplace postcodes, rather than the exact distance a person would cover along streets, paths, or crossings. The distance figures should also be read alongside the COVID-19 collection context of Census 2021.
United States estimates
U.S. figures come from the ACS and are survey estimates. The 2023 ACS 1-year release reported 3,966,159 people walking to work, described as over 2% of people in the United States. The 2024 ACS 1-year B08006 estimate was 4,048,560 workers who walked to work. These two 1-year figures are separate annual estimates and should not be treated as a precisely measured trend without additional context. The 2023 1-year figure is cited in Fun Facts: Earth Day - April 22, and the 2024 table is B08006: Sex of Workers by Means of Transportation to Work, 2024 ACS 1-Year Estimates.
The 2023 ACS 5-year B08006 estimate was 3,785,388 workers who walked to work, with a 90% margin of error of plus or minus 18,195. Its sex breakdown estimated 2,017,062 men, with a 90% margin of error of plus or minus 13,824, and 1,768,326 women, with a 90% margin of error of plus or minus 10,643. The detailed figures are available in B08006: Sex of Workers by Means of Transportation to Work, 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates.
The 1-year and 5-year ACS products answer slightly different statistical needs. The 1-year releases provide annual estimates, while the 5-year table provides the reported multi-year survey estimate and its margins of error. The 2023 5-year total and the 2023 1-year total should therefore remain distinct rather than being combined or presented as duplicate counts. The 90% margins of error also indicate that the detailed ACS values are estimates with sampling uncertainty.