Which cities have the worst traffic?

Traffic across America’s metros

Five cities with the worst traffic

The link between economic activity and traffic appears to hold true for our ranking: The cities with the worst traffic in America are among the cities with the highest economic output. Geographically, the top-ranked cities are clustered in two regions: Three of the worst cities for traffic are in the South, and the remaining two are located in California.

These five cities have the worst congestion of the nation’s major metros:

1. Washington, D.C.

To find the worst traffic in America, look no further than our nation’s capital: Washington, D.C., took the top rank from Los Angeles this year as the city with the worst traffic. The average commute to work in D.C. is 33.4 minutes — the longest in the U.S. On an average weekday in the capital, traffic congestion lasts more than 6.5 hours. That’s the equivalent of spending 71 days in traffic each year, the second-worst total among the cities we studied.

There’s one bright spot in Washington’s data, though: The metro ranks in the bottom 10 for fatal car crash rates, with just under six fatal crashes per 100,000 residents. (This tracks with our 2024 analysis of where the worst drivers live, which ranked Washington in the bottom third of nearly 330 cities in dangerous driving.)

Key metrics:

• Average daily commute time: 33.4 minutes (highest)
• Average length of weekday congestion: 6 hours, 35 minutes (second highest)
• Annual rate of fatal car crashes: 5.95 per 100,000 people (ninth lowest)

2. Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles takes the second rank overall, switching places with Washington, D.C., relative to last year’s ranking. However, the City of Angels still has the longest weekday congestion, averaging nearly eight hours — the equivalent of 85 full days stuck in traffic each year.

Manville noted that LA’s urban form exacerbates its infamous congestion: The city is never quite dense enough to make walking and public transportation effective, but it’s never sufficiently low-density to make driving a pleasant experience, either. “There’s just no escaping the traffic,” he said. “There’s always enough people there to crowd the roads.”

Key metrics:

• Average daily commute time: 30.5 minutes (sixth highest)
• Average length of weekday congestion: 7 hours, 51 minutes (highest)
• Annual rate of fatal car crashes: 7.33 per 100,000 people

3. Miami, Florida

Miami ranks third worst for traffic, a significant leap from No. 12 in our 2024 analysis. The average daily commute is just over 29 minutes, the 12th highest among the cities we compared. The duration of congestion in Miami is even worse: more than 6.5 hours on the average weekday. That’s the equivalent of 70 full days each year, the third-worst total for congestion in the country.

Studies indicate that, generally, traffic congestion tends to decrease the likelihood of fatal crashes during peak morning and evening times. (More congestion tends to force vehicles to travel at lower speeds, which makes crashes less likely to be fatal.) However, our analysis indicates a more complex relationship in Miami: The city ranks 11th worst for the rate of fatal car crashes. Among the 10 cities with the worst traffic overall, Miami is the only city that scores worse than the national average for this metric. Fatal crashes can be a cause of increased traffic congestion, as officials block off streets or close highway lanes to respond to or investigate collisions.

Key metrics:

• Average daily commute time: 29.2 minutes (12th highest)
• Average length of weekday congestion: 6 hours, 31 minutes (third highest)
• Annual rate of fatal car crashes: 11.40 per 100,000 people (11th highest)

4. San Francisco, California

For the second year in a row, San Francisco ranks fourth worst for traffic. It’s the only metro in the top 10 to hold its rank steady. (This may surprise some locals who’ve seen traffic worsen in certain parts of San Francisco — namely, in the Sunset district, after the March 2025 closure of a segment of the Great Highway.)

At more than 32 minutes, San Francisco has the second-longest average daily commute of all the cities we examined. While these commutes are long, they’re perhaps less dangerous than those in other major metros: San Francisco ranks 46th out of 50 for crash fatalities, with just over five fatal car crashes per 100,000 residents. That’s the lowest rate among the top 5 cities with the worst traffic overall.

Key metrics:

• Average daily commute time: 32.1 minutes (second highest)
• Average length of weekday congestion: 5 hours, 31 minutes (ninth highest)
• Annual rate of fatal car crashes: 5.24 per 100,000 people (fifth lowest)

5. Atlanta, Georgia

Rounding out the top five cities for terrible traffic is Atlanta. With an average daily commute of more than 31 minutes, the Peach State’s capital city climbed the ranks this year from eighth worst in 2024 to take the fifth position from New York City.

Interestingly, Atlanta’s congestion on an average weekday doesn’t last as long as in some of the other top-ranked cities. A typical weekday sees just under five hours of congestion. That ranks 12th worst out of the 50 cities we studied, but it’s the lowest rank among the 10 cities with the worst traffic overall.

Key metrics:

• Average daily commute time: 31.3 minutes (third highest)
• Average length of weekday congestion: 4 hours, 57 minutes (12th highest)
• Annual rate of fatal car crashes: 10.75 per 100,000 people (17th worst)

Why traffic happens

Each city has unique patterns of rush-hour congestion, but what causes traffic in the first place?

It’s multifactorial, said Manville of UCLA, but ultimately, it comes down to the sheer volume of cars on the road.

“Congestion is oftentimes a sign of economic prosperity,” he said. A region with a growing economy provides a lot of opportunity, so people want to work there, or when they grow up there, they don’t have reason to leave, he explained. Those economic and job opportunities bring population growth, which means more households and more cars.

“Because we don’t do anything to regulate access, the roads in an area with a booming economy become overloaded and congested,” Manville added.

Which major cities have the least traffic congestion?

In some metros, traffic is surprisingly mild — or at least, relatively bearable. Rochester, New York, earns the title of having the least traffic in the country: The average commute is just over 21 minutes, the shortest among the cities we analyzed.

The 10 major metros with the least traffic are as follows:

1. Rochester, New York
2. Salt Lake City, Utah
3. Cleveland, Ohio
4. Hartford, Connecticut
5. St. Louis, Missouri
6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. Fresno, California
9. Kansas City, Missouri
10. Buffalo, New York

While Rochester occupies the top rank overall, fifth-ranked St. Louis, Missouri, scores best for daily congestion duration. On an average weekday, roads are congested for just one hour and five minutes. (It’s worth noting, however, that this is a sizable increase from last year’s data, when the city had only 28 minutes of daily congestion — shorter than the daily commute in many cities.)

Broadly, the cities with the least traffic are places that have struggled for a long time with urban decline, particularly with regard to population loss in city centers, said Manville of UCLA. Some may have “excess infrastructure” relative to their current population and traffic volume. Take Cleveland, for example: The city has the same borders it did in 1950, but just one-third of the population, Manville said.

“(Several of these cities) still have the physical footprint of places that were once centers of industry, but they are no longer. It’s not surprising that they have much more road space for vehicles than Los Angeles or New York,” Manville said.

How does your metro’s traffic rank?

Compared with our 2024 analysis, this year’s ranking saw some significant shuffling, as some cities scored better and worse in various traffic metrics. Columbus, Ohio, saw the greatest year-over-year improvement in traffic congestion, cutting its time by nearly 40% since last year.

Regionally, some signs indicate that traffic may be worsening in the South’s major metros. Of the 18 Southern cities we analyzed, just one improved in ranking from 2024: Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Curious how your city’s rush hour compares with the rest of the nation’s? Check out the full dataset below.

Methodology

The ConsumerAffairs Research Team analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas across three weighted metrics to identify the cities with the worst traffic.

• Average travel time to work (45 points): We looked at the most recent (2023) data from the U.S. Census Bureau for travel time to work among commuters 16 and over who didn’t work from home.
• Hours of congestion (45 points): We examined the number of congested hours in metropolitan areas, as reported by the Federal Highway Administration. The most recent Urban Congestion Report is for the period from January 2025 to March 2025. Congested hours are defined by the FHWA as “the average number of hours during specified time periods in which road sections are congested — speeds less than 90% of free-flow speed (e.g., 54 mph if free-flow speed is 60 mph).” Congested hours are reported on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Fatal car crashes per 100,000 people (10 points): The number of fatal car crashes per 100,000 residents was sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Data is from 2023.

In each metric, the metro with the highest figure was given the maximum number of points, with others getting relative scores. We added the category scores together to get an overall score, which is out of 100 points.

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Questions?

For questions about the data or if you'd like to set up an interview, please contact rsowell@consumeraffairs.com.