What does this distance to passenger rail ranking show?

It orders states by Miles to the nearest passenger rail station. It is a comparison of this one published measure, not an overall ranking of where to live.

Where do these figures come from?

Amtrak via ArcGIS supplies this measure. States without a comparable published value are shown as not ranked rather than estimated.

How should I use this ranking?

Use it to narrow a search, then open a state or county profile for the underlying figures, source dates and caveats. A statewide number may not describe every neighbourhood.

Rankings · Transportation

Lowest distance to passenger rail by state

Miles to the nearest passenger rail station.

Straight-line distance from the county's population-weighted centre to the closest Amtrak station, so it measures from where people live rather than the county's geometric middle. A county with no station of its own can still sit twenty minutes from one.

How to read this ranking

District of Columbia has the lowest published distance to passenger rail in this comparison, at 1.0 mi. The next states shown are Rhode Island (5.1 mi) and California (7.4 mi).

The table orders 51 states by miles to the nearest passenger rail station. It describes one published measure, not an overall judgment about where to live.

Use the result as a starting point, then compare the underlying source, dates, and local county figures before making a decision. Straight-line distance from the county's population-weighted centre to the closest Amtrak station, so it measures from where people live rather than the county's geometric middle. A county with no station of its own can still sit twenty minutes from one.

1District of Columbia1.0 mi
2Rhode Island5.1 mi
3California7.4 mi
4Connecticut7.5 mi
5Massachusetts8.7 mi
6Vermont9.6 mi
7Maryland11 mi
8Washington11 mi
9New Jersey11 mi
10Illinois12 mi
11New York13 mi
12Virginia14 mi
13South Carolina17 mi
14Pennsylvania20 mi
15New Hampshire21 mi
16North Carolina21 mi
17Oregon22 mi
18Michigan23 mi
19Florida26 mi
20Arizona26 mi
21Mississippi27 mi
22Delaware28 mi
23Indiana28 mi
24Nebraska28 mi
25West Virginia29 mi
26Colorado29 mi
27Louisiana29 mi
28Utah30 mi
29Kansas30 mi
30Minnesota31 mi
31Missouri32 mi
32Georgia36 mi
33Ohio37 mi
34Texas39 mi
35Wisconsin39 mi
36North Dakota40 mi
37New Mexico42 mi
38Maine45 mi
39Alabama50 mi
40Oklahoma59 mi
41Arkansas60 mi
42Iowa60 mi
43Nevada71 mi
44Kentucky78 mi
45Tennessee94 mi
46Montana117 mi
47Idaho155 mi
48Wyoming173 mi
49South Dakota186 mi
50Alaska1,315 mi
51Hawaii3,845 mi

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Frequently asked questions

What does this ranking show?: It orders states by Miles to the nearest passenger rail station. It is one measure, not an overall verdict on where to live.
Where do the figures come from?: Amtrak via ArcGIS. States without a comparable published figure are listed as not ranked rather than estimated.
How should I use it?: Use it to narrow your search, then open a state or county profile for the source date, caveats and local context.

Put this map on your own site

Free to use. The chart names its source and links back, so it stays honest wherever it ends up.

<iframe src="https://movermath.com/embed/distance-to-passenger-rail" width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Miles to the nearest passenger rail station by state"></iframe>

Source: Amtrak via ArcGIS. · How this is built

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