21 Top Time-Saving Cities

According to our survey, the living is surprisingly easy in these urban areas.

The Survey

Takeout on every corner. Easy access to a doctor. Timed traffic lights. These conveniences can ease even the most chaotic days. To assess which places help you make the most of your precious hours, we sorted through reams of data on dozens of large American cities, ranked each on various criteria in five categories (see below) on a scale of 1 to 5, and added up those categories to get an overall score.

 Category 1: Getting Around

Includes average commute, walkability, traffic congestion, airport on-time performance.

 

Category 2: Health and Safety

Includes average wait to get a doctor’s appointment, physicians per capita, response times of emergency medical services.

 

Category 3: Information and Technology

Includes broadband and wireless availability, bookstores and libraries per capita, helpful resources such as 311 hotlines.

 

Category 4: Green Time-Savers

Includes recycling access and cost, number of farmers’ markets and community gardens, bike friendliness.

 

Category 5: Lifestyle

Includes number of personal trainers and organizers, restaurants offering takeout per capita, miscellaneous time-saving services.

Read on to learn our winners nationwide, starting with the highest scorer.