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Where IS the Washroom? America's Public Restroom Access Ranked
Philadelphia, August 20th, 2025 - Clean, accessible public restrooms aren’t a luxury; they’re a basic need. Yet across the U.S., there's growing concern over just how few truly public bathrooms are available. These are free-to-use facilities that anyone can access and that aren’t attached to private businesses such as restaurants, shops, and malls.
This shortage affects everyone: commuters, travelers, parents, delivery workers... But it’s especially tough for people with conditions like incontinence, who depend on quick bathroom access to manage their needs and stay comfortable.
New Jersey ranked No. 7 for cleanliness and No. 3 for discoverability in the study.
Technology plays a significant role in determining the accessibility of these bathrooms. In our increasingly digital world, being able to locate something on map apps matters. Even if a public restroom exists, if it isn’t listed online or properly tagged, it can be difficult to find, particularly when you’re in a hurry.
TENA, a leading incontinence care brand, has ranked U.S. states and cities based on how easy it is to access public restrooms by measuring discoverability on popular map apps, density per population, cleanliness ratings, and wheelchair accessibility.
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The top 5 states for restroom access are:
Wyoming takes the top spot with an average of 118 public bathrooms discoverable on map apps. Many listings include accessibility information, and 84% of reviews score 4-stars or higher, praising cleanliness and upkeep. Travelers also benefit from well-placed facilities, with 37 public restrooms along major highways. The bottom 5 states for restroom access are:
Kentucky ranks last, with just 20 restrooms discoverable across the state, equating to only 0.04 facilities per 100,000 residents. More than half of reviews rated them 3-stars or below, pointing to issues with maintenance and overcrowding. The top 5 cities for restroom access are:
Small but mighty, Pierre leads the city rankings. Every public restroom reviewed scored 4-stars or above, and more than one-third are wheelchair accessible. With facilities well distributed and a modest population, overcrowding is rare – making it one of the best for overall bathroom access. The bottom 5 cities for restroom access are:
Several cities, including Evansville (with a population of 113,971), have no public restrooms listed on map apps at all, creating what TENA calls "sanitary deserts." This lack of visibility makes it difficult for residents and visitors alike to find basic facilities – indicating more work needs to be done. Hazel Villarreal, Marketing Director at TENA says: "With the U.S. already struggling for public bathrooms, unproper tagging or capping of search results on maps app such as Google Maps or CityMapper can make it even harder to find the restrooms that do exist, leaving US citizens unable to access basic sanitary facilities when they leave their homes." For further insights, please visit the TENA website. About TENA - Essity Essity is a global, leading hygiene and health company. Every day, our products, solutions and services are used by a billion people around the world. Our purpose is to break barriers to well-being for the benefit of consumers, patients, caregivers, customers and society. Methodology: We have compiled a list of all 50 U.S. states, along with three populous cities from each state, for a total of 150 cities. For each state and city, we have provided 4 ranking metrics (discoverability, density, accessibility, cleanliness) with scores out of 10. Full methodology and list of sources can be found here. |
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