How Many U.S. Adults Walk for Transportation or Leisure? 2022

Walking is one of the easiest ways to be physically active. The 2022 National Health Interview Survey asked adults about two kinds of walking in the past seven days:

• for transportation — to and from work, running errands or getting from place to place;
• for leisure — for fun, relaxation, exercise or walking the dog.

What it found

• 16.2% of adults aged 18 and older had walked for transportation in the past week.
• 58.7% had walked for leisure.
• Urban residents were more likely than rural residents to do both.

Urban areas are metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget in February 2013, each with at least one urban area of 50,000 people or more; places under 50,000 were counted as rural.

Percentage of adults who walked for transportation and for leisure in the past 7 days, by urban–rural residence, National Health Interview Survey, 2022. Error bars show 95% confidence intervals. CDC, MMWR.

The estimates come from household interviews with a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population.

Sources

• Adjaye-Gbewonyo D, Briones EM. "QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Walked for Transportation and Walked for Leisure in the Past 7 Days, by Urban-Rural Status — United States, 2022." MMWR 73(28). CDC.