Most Americans are familiar with driving or taking public transportation as part of their commute or to get to various destinations. However, that is quite the opposite in New York City. The city’s compact and dense layout means that for many, walking is still the best option for getting around. Many New Yorkers will either walk solely to their destinations or combine their walk with taking public transportation, renting a Citi-Bike and biking, or calling for a ride-share service. As a result, New Yorkers spend a lot of their time walking around city blocks on a daily basis. To estimate how much the average New Yorker spends walking, we’d have to first answer the question, “How long is a city block”?

How long is a city block?

New York City is composed of a grid system, where blocks running east to west are called streets and those running north to south are called avenues. This system runs mostly in the borough of Manhattan, but Brooklyn and Queens also have their own grid systems with some additional variations. 

The NYC Grid System

The New York City Grid System was established in the early 1800s through the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811. The city grid itself took over 60 years to complete. The design of the grid system covered everything north of Houston Street and south of 155th Street. Unlike other cities, the blocks in New York were designed to be rectangular in consideration of the natural dimensions of the island. Although the size of individual lots within the block was never specified, the planners did want a consistent grid format to ensure that lots could be easily bought and sold in the real estate market. Due to this, a standard lot became 100 feet deep (half of the block depth) and 20 or 25 feet wide, depending on the location. 

The planners maintained a uniform grid system throughout the city, except for a few locations designated for public spaces, such as Madison Square Park. Interestingly enough, the design for Central Park was not included in the original Commissioners’ Plan of 1811. Discussions about adding the park began in the 1840s and were formally approved in 1853. The park itself was completed in 1876. 

Plans for the rest of Manhattan above 155th Street were finally done in 1868 by Andrew Haswell Green’s Central Park Commission. This portion of the grid system took into consideration the natural topography of the land. Overtime, the city grid system slowly expanded northward into the Bronx where the city’s grid system was adapted but modified to allow for greater space between the streets. Today, the city’s numbering system for streets extends all the way up to 263rd Street in North Riverdale.

How far is a block?

In Manhattan, a street is about 264 feet long. That’s relatively short in comparison to the standard adopted by other US cities. For example, in Chicago, a typical city block is 330 feet long. The length of an avenue is harder to pinpoint, but in general, some say that an avenue is about three streets long. However, this distance can vary depending on the part of the city. Some avenues are as short as 750 feet, while some are as long as 920 feet.

Where are the longest and shortest NYC blocks? 

At just 63 feet long, the shortest block in the city is Edgar Street, located at Trinity Place. Other small and noteworthy streets in the city include:

• Jones Street in the West Village. It’s been included in a multitude of movies. 
• Minetta Street is one of the oldest street in New York and is located in Greenwich Village. Not to be confused with Minetta Lane which it intersects with. This street and the lane were both named after the Minetta Brook which used to run through the neighborhood. You may also recognize this street as the set of the Al Pacino film, Serpico.
• Gay Street was originally an alley for horse stables. In 1833, it was converted into a street and is a popular tourist destination today. 
• Grace Court Alley was originally home to the horse stables of the Remsen Family. It was eventually converted into a side street in Brooklyn Heights. Today, the carriage houses that surround this street all sell for millions of dollars. 
• Pomander Walk, which was built in 1922 between 94th and 95th Streets. 

As for the longest NYC block? You can usually find them between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, where the block length of a street generally runs up to 920 feet. 

How long is a block in miles? 

Now that we know how long a street is in Manhattan. We can calculate how many blocks it takes to make up a single mile. In Manhattan, you’ll need to walk about 20 streets or about 6 to 7 avenues to hit a mile. In comparison, in Chicago, you’ll only need to walk about 16 streets or 8 avenues to reach a mile. 

How many miles long is Manhattan?

Manhattan is about 13.4 miles long. It measures about 2.3 miles at its widest point on 14th Street and 0.8 miles at its narrowest point towards the north of Manhattan, in Inwood. That means that you’ll need to walk close to 268 streets to navigate from the southern to the northern tip of Manhattan. In contrast, you’ll only need to walk about 13 to 16 avenues from Manhattan’s east to west side.  

Today, the longest avenue in New York City is Broadway. Broadway stretches from the southern tip of Manhattan and extends all the way into the capital of New York, Albany! Fun fact, Broadway is also the longest street in the world!

How much does the average New Yorker walk in a day?

According to average daily step count data from Fitbit, New York is one of the most active states in America. New Yorkers take about 6000 to 9000 steps per day, which is the equivalent of 3-6 miles per day. While that may seem like a lot, it’s actually quite easy to accumulate those steps. You just have to choose walking as a primary method of commuting. You can easily accumulate those miles by walking across a few avenues on your way to work and on your way back home.