Worst Traffic Cities in the United States 2026
City | State | Average Congestion↓ | Average Speed (mph) | Average Distance Driven In 15Min (mi) | Annual Time Lost During Rush Hour (hrs) | Highway Trip Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Los Angeles | California | 59.8% | 24.05 | 6.03 | 83 | 63.2% |
 | Honolulu | Hawaii | 50.5% | 17.77 | 4.47 | 88 | 40.6% |
| San Francisco | California | 49.7% | 12.55 | 3.17 | 116 | 30.3% |
 | New York | New York | 48.8% | 11.81 | 2.98 | 125 | 34.1% |
 | Miami | Florida | 46.8% | 21.00 | 5.28 | 72 | 43.4% |
 | Chicago | Illinois | 46.1% | 19.64 | 4.91 | 79 | 51.7% |
 | Seattle | Washington | 44.9% | 21.81 | 5.47 | 69 | 53.2% |
 | Atlanta | Georgia | 44.3% | 27.90 | 6.96 | 61 | 64.7% |
| Tampa | Florida | 41.5% | 29.76 | 7.46 | 57 | 64.6% |
 | Houston | Texas | 40.8% | 28.89 | 7.21 | 56 | 58.6% |
| San Jose | California | 40.7% | 29.95 | 7.52 | 52 | 61.3% |
| Dallas | Texas | 40.6% | 27.71 | 6.96 | 56 | 58.3% |
| Austin | Texas | 40.5% | 25.17 | 6.28 | 60 | 47.2% |
| Oxnard | California | 40.5% | 23.61 | 5.90 | 47 | 34.3% |
| Riverside | California | 39.2% | 36.91 | 9.26 | 39 | 72.5% |
 | Baton Rouge | Louisiana | 38.5% | 29.76 | 7.46 | 47 | 55.7% |
 | Nashville | Tennessee | 38.1% | 24.36 | 6.09 | 57 | 51.3% |
 | Baltimore | Maryland | 37.7% | 18.70 | 4.66 | 71 | 39% |
 | Denver | Colorado | 37.6% | 27.78 | 6.96 | 51 | 55.2% |
 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 37.5% | 17.27 | 4.35 | 72 | 39.8% |
 | Washington | District of Columbia | 37.3% | 19.14 | 4.78 | 72 | 41.8% |
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 37.3% | 22.93 | 5.72 | 61 | 45.5% |
 | Portland | Oregon | 37% | 27.71 | 6.96 | 51 | 58.9% |
| Cape Coral | Florida | 37% | 26.59 | 6.65 | 42 | |
 | Columbia | South Carolina | 36.6% | 18.33 | 4.60 | 58 | 4.7% |
 | Providence | Rhode Island | 36.2% | 23.86 | 5.97 | 60 | 54.5% |
| Fort Myers | Florida | 36% | 30.01 | 7.52 | 39 | 26.2% |
| Greenville | South Carolina | 35.9% | 24.42 | 6.09 | 44 | 29% |
| Long Beach | California | 35.6% | 33.86 | 8.45 | 39 | 65.1% |
| Charleston | South Carolina | 35.5% | 23.30 | 5.84 | 48 | 34% |
 | Charlotte | North Carolina | 34.8% | 27.84 | 6.96 | 49 | 44.9% |
 | Las Vegas | Nevada | 34.1% | 26.41 | 6.59 | 43 | 47.4% |
| McAllen | Texas | 34.1% | 25.10 | 6.28 | 40 | 29% |
| Anaheim | California | 33.5% | 36.91 | 9.26 | 37 | 69.4% |
 | New Haven | Connecticut | 33.4% | 24.67 | 6.15 | 48 | 52.9% |
| Sacramento | California | 32.8% | 33.86 | 8.45 | 38 | 68.7% |
| Allentown | Pennsylvania | 32.3% | 20.51 | 5.16 | 49 | 25.3% |
| San Diego | California | 31.9% | 33.62 | 8.39 | 38 | 61.8% |
| New Orleans | Louisiana | 31.3% | 20.69 | 5.16 | 54 | 41% |
 | Louisville | Kentucky | 30.7% | 32.75 | 8.20 | 31 | 52% |
 | Anchorage | Alaska | 30.6% | 21.75 | 5.47 | 42 | 1.3% |
 | Phoenix | Arizona | 30.5% | 40.02 | 10.00 | 34 | 72.4% |
| El Paso | Texas | 29% | 29.27 | 7.33 | 30 | 55.2% |
 | Portland | Maine | 28.9% | 23.49 | 5.90 | 37 | 38.8% |
| Fort Worth | Texas | 28.3% | 37.03 | 9.26 | 30 | 65.3% |
| Tucson | Arizona | 28.3% | 31.69 | 7.95 | 29 | 45.7% |
 | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 28.3% | 29.20 | 7.33 | 39 | 61.6% |
| Orlando | Florida | 27.9% | 33.99 | 8.51 | 29 | 62.5% |
 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | 26.8% | 28.21 | 7.08 | 37 | 53.9% |
| Colorado Springs | Colorado | 26.5% | 31.19 | 7.83 | 26 | 46.1% |
| Jacksonville | Florida | 26.3% | 34.73 | 8.70 | 31 | 58.3% |
 | Indianapolis | Indiana | 26.1% | 28.96 | 7.27 | 40 | 61.1% |
 | Virginia Beach | Virginia | 26.1% | 31.19 | 7.83 | 24 | 42.5% |
| Greensboro | North Carolina | 26% | 28.27 | 7.08 | 28 | 36.6% |
| Raleigh | North Carolina | 25.7% | 33.55 | 8.39 | 29 | 51.5% |
 | Albuquerque | New Mexico | 25.6% | 35.73 | 8.95 | 29 | 62.5% |
 | Columbus | Ohio | 25.5% | 31.50 | 7.89 | 31 | 59.4% |
 | St. Louis | Missouri | 25.3% | 30.51 | 7.64 | 30 | 62.5% |
| Bakersfield | California | 25% | 37.03 | 9.26 | 21 | 56.7% |
| Thousand Oaks | California | 24.7% | 42.56 | 10.63 | 20 | 74.6% |
 | Detroit | Michigan | 24.5% | 31.94 | 8.02 | 28 | 59% |
 | Birmingham | Alabama | 24.2% | 32.44 | 8.14 | 31 | 56.8% |
| Syracuse | New York | 23.9% | 26.10 | 6.52 | 30 | 50.5% |
| Cincinnati | Ohio | 23.8% | 31.69 | 7.95 | 29 | 58.2% |
| Richmond | Virginia | 23.6% | 30.14 | 7.52 | 33 | 62.7% |
| San Antonio | Texas | 23.5% | 37.10 | 9.26 | 29 | 68.9% |
| High Point | North Carolina | 22.7% | 34.67 | 8.70 | 20 | 35.1% |
| Knoxville | Tennessee | 22.5% | 34.86 | 8.70 | 25 | 61.2% |
| Rochester | New York | 22.4% | 27.15 | 6.77 | 25 | 49.1% |
 | Salt Lake City | Utah | 21.8% | 40.51 | 10.13 | 24 | 67.6% |
| Cleveland | Ohio | 21.2% | 32.06 | 8.02 | 24 | 59.6% |
| Grand Rapids | Michigan | 21% | 34.98 | 8.76 | 24 | 61.8% |
| Mesa | Arizona | 20.7% | 42.38 | 10.63 | 17 | 64.8% |
| Fresno | California | 20.6% | 42.25 | 10.56 | 19 | 70.3% |
| Winston-Salem | North Carolina | 20% | 35.85 | 8.95 | 21 | 68.6% |
| Buffalo | New York | 19.7% | 26.59 | 6.65 | 26 | 46.4% |
| Kansas City | Missouri | 19.6% | 32.99 | 8.26 | 21 | 60.7% |
| Memphis | Tennessee | 19.4% | 33.62 | 8.39 | 19 | 49.1% |
 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | 18.2% | 41.45 | 10.38 | 20 | 74.4% |
 | Des Moines | Iowa | 17.9% | 31.63 | 7.89 | 17 | 47.3% |
 | Little Rock | Arkansas | 16.5% | 40.14 | 10.07 | 19 | 67.6% |
| Dayton | Ohio | 16.4% | 35.73 | 8.95 | 16 | 58% |
| Akron | Ohio | 16% | 36.60 | 9.13 | 15 | 66.1% |
 | Omaha | Nebraska | 14% | 40.70 | 10.19 | 14 | 63.2% |
| Tulsa | Oklahoma | 13.6% | 41.76 | 10.44 | 12 | 73.2% |
 | Wichita | Kansas | 13.6% | 41.32 | 10.31 | 12 | 71.2% |
| Council Bluffs | Iowa | 13.3% | 41.26 | 10.31 | 12 | 61.4% |
Traffic is one of the world’s most common and worst headaches. Traffic is the slow movement, or no movement, of vehicles on a roadway due to congestion, accidents, or other obstructions on the road.
Traffic is likely to occur during what is known as “rush hour,” the periods where the most people tend to be on the road. Rush hour is typically much longer than an hour, and commonly occurs between 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 8 pm. Rush hour times vary from city to city and season to season.
While everyone hates traffic, everyone has to deal with it – especially if you live in or around a large metropolitan area.
America’s Most Congested Cities
What city has the worst traffic in America? INRIX, a transportation data firm, collects data on the delay caused by traffic congestion and adjusts for the population to determine the worst traffic cities in its annual scorecard.
According to INRIX, the city with the worst traffic congestion is Boston, where residents spent an average of 164 hours in traffic in 2018. The cost of this congestion for the city was about $4.1 billion and $2,291 per driver. These levels of congestion have been attributed to population growth, the increase in the use of Uber and Lyft, public transportation problems, and the fact that Boston roads are old, and therefore are unequipped to handle the volume of drivers.
Commuters in Washington D.C., the second-worst city for traffic, spend about 155 hours in traffic per year. The average commuter wastes 38 gallons of gasoline per year sitting in traffic. The cost of congestion for the city is $4.6 billion and the cost per driver is $2,161. One of the problems in D.C. is that people are giving up mass transit options for Uber or Lyft.
The third-, fourth-, and fifth- worst cities for traffic in the United States are Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles, with the average commuter spending 138, 133, and 128 hours in traffic, respectively.
Top 10 Most Congested Cities
The ten worst cities for traffic in the United States are:
- Boston, MA
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago, IL
- New York City, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- San Francisco, CA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portland, OR
