Traffic Got You Down? You Might Want To Get Outta Town

Unfortunately, those ghostly, traffic-free roads that we all experienced during the first year of the pandemic are very much a thing of the past. And if you’ve had a sneaking suspicion that your daily commute has gradually gotten worse after many of us have headed back to the daily grind, you’re not wrong. According to the mobility analytics firm Inrix, congestion cost the average U.S. driver $869 in time lost in 2022. In comparison, we lost just $305 in 2021. Regardless, the increase is particularly unwelcome news for those of us who hate waiting around in traffic (i.e. everyone on the planet).

The United States, however, is massive and there’s no way that congestion in a major metropolis on one coast would be perfectly identical to an equally large city 3,000 miles away. To settle the age-old debate of who has it worse when it comes to traffic, we turned to the 2022 data compiled by TomTom Traffic Index. The company analyzed stats pertaining to 390 cities across 56 countries on six continents (so yes, they have international traffic data as well); among those, TomTom surveyed 80 U.S. cities.

Spoiler alert: Of all the cities surveyed, New York City won this competition. New Yorkers drive at an average of just 12 mph during rush hour. That means it will take about 24.3 minutes to drive a short six miles. This very annoying reality probably won’t be too shocking to virtually anyone, since New York City is notable for its dense population (among other things).

Additional East Coast cities dominate the top of the list, with appearances from Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. The West Coast has two appearances in the top 10 thanks to San Francisco and Seattle, while the Midwest makes a sole appearance because of Chicago. Considering that these are all major destinations, one would realistically expect the traffic to be abysmal in these areas.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the infamously car-reliant city of Los Angeles didn’t make the top 10. Instead, L.A. ranks as number 12 — below Columbia, South Carolina. L.A.’s ranking seems to reveal that the size and infrastructure of a city may fiddle with results. Admittedly, however, Los Angelenos don’t seem to feel like their commutes are particularly swift.

Additionally, the least congested city that TomTom surveyed is San Diego — San Diegans can expect to spend about 80 hours of the year stuck in congestion, which is pretty easy-breezy when compared to a New Yorker’s expected 236 hours. So if you’re considering revamping your whole life to settle down in San Diego, be sure to note “hassle-free drives to the beach” in your pros and cons list.

Check out America’s top 10 most congested cities and the top 10 least congested cities below:

Top 10 Cities With the Worst Traffic in the U.S.

Top 10 Cities With the Least Traffic in the U.S.