Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It makes you late, and causes many people’s tempers to flare up. But it’s also quite bad for your wallet – in fact, congestion cost U.S. drivers $87 billion in 2018, as well as an average of 97 hours of their time. The U.S. also has three out of the world’s 25 worst cities for traffic, and 18 of the worst 25 in North America.
Congestion isn’t the only concern on the road, though. People want to know that they will be driving on safe, well-maintained roads before heading out. The U.S. has a fairly good track record in these regards, but certainly doesn’t top the list. For example, the World Economics Forum only places the U.S. at rank 17 of 141 when it comes to road quality.
Road conditions naturally aren’t consistent across the entire country. To identify the states with the most positive driving experiences, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 31 key indicators of a positive commute. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to share of rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality. Read on for the results, additional commentary from a panel of experts, and a full description of our methodology.
