logo
This City Has the Worst Traffic in the U.S.—and It's Not in California or New York

This City Has the Worst Traffic in the U.S.—and It's Not in California or New York

Traveling the open road can be a peaceful journey—or a gridlocked nightmare.
And the chances of being stuck in traffic misery go up when driving through the nation's capital, according to a new report from ConsumerAffairs, a consumer review platform. That's because when it comes to driving in Washington, D.C., the city experienced average commute times of more than 33 minutes, the longest in the country.
In fact, traffic typically lasts more than 6.5 hours on average weekdays in the capital. But the good news is driving in Washington, D.C. is relatively safe with less than six fatal crashes reported per 100,000 residents.
Road warriors won't be surprised Los Angeles ranked No. 2 on the list of cities with the worst traffic. Drivers there experienced an average daily commute of more than 30 minutes with the most weekday congestion, which averages nearly eight hours.
Drivers in Miami, which ranked third on the list, also face heavy traffic with a daily commute of just over 29 minutes. That was followed by San Francisco (with a commute of more than 32 minutes) and Atlanta (with a commute of more than 31 minutes) to round out the top five.
"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," according to the report.
Drivers looking to breeze through the fast lane should consider planning a commute in Rochester, New York, which has the least traffic of any major city, according to the report. In fact, an average commute in Rochester will set you back just over 21 minutes.
Rochester was followed by Salt Lake City, Utah; Cleveland, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; and St. Louis, Missouri. To compile the data, ConsumerAffairs looked at commute times, traffic duration, and car crash rates across the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States.
The traffic study comes as a record number of Americans are traveling by car this summer. More than 61 million Americans were projected to travel by car over the recent Fourth of July holiday weekend, an increase of more than 1 million compared to 2024.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

1986 Ford Ranger on Bring a Trailer Is the Definition of an Honest Pickup
1986 Ford Ranger on Bring a Trailer Is the Definition of an Honest Pickup

Car and Driver

time44 minutes ago

  • Car and Driver

1986 Ford Ranger on Bring a Trailer Is the Definition of an Honest Pickup

Compact pickups used to be everywhere, but the survival rate of this hardworking breed is low. This Ford Ranger somehow escaped the fate of its brethren. Its combination of a manual transmission and a V-6 engine is desirable, even though you wouldn't call this a sport truck. A compact pickup truck is kind of like a lawn mower: It's a tool for a job, not something you expect to show up in a museum. It might not be subject to the same abuse as a full-size pickup on fleet duty, but it's expected to pull its weight. A few might have a gentle first owner with a penchant for around-the-house DIY, but after a decade or so, a second or third owner will beat the absolute tar out of them. Bring a Trailer Thus, an original-condition survivor is a bit of a rarity. Here's one such unicorn: a 1986 Ford Ranger regular cab with just 31K miles on the odometer, and it's up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). Ordered with a five-speed manual and a V6, it was an unusual spec from the factory and has only become rarer as its fellows have been used up and sent to the scrapyard. 1986 is a good year for a Ranger. It's the first generation of the truck but also the first year you could get it with fuel injection, making it a little more pleasant to drive. This example has only the basics: power steering and power brakes, but no air conditioning. It's a truck. Just roll down the window. Bring a Trailer Originally a mid-level trim for the F-Series, the Ranger was launched as a standalone compact pickup truck in the early 1980s. It replaced the Courier, a Mazda-built badge-engineered mini-pickup that was a response to the success of Toyota and Datsun small pickups. Ford will happily sell you a Ranger today, but it's a much larger, more sophisticated, and more expensive offering. Its humble progenitor was not built for off-road capability, like the high-flying Ranger Raptor, but rather to ferry home a load of bark mulch or lumber, or get loaded up with landscaping tools. Including, yes, a lawnmower or two. Bring a Trailer Under the hood is a 2.9-liter V-6 making 140 horsepower, which was also available in the contemporary Bronco II. The five-speed manual wakes things up a bit, but this is a pretty grunty little six, good for 170 pound-feet of torque below 3000 rpm. Disc brakes up front add a further level of daily drivability. Bring a Trailer This is not a potential off-road rig like a contemporary Marty McFly–style Toyota pickup, nor is it the basis for a minitruck-style showpiece like a Nissan/Datsun might be. It's an honest survivor, a relic from a time when genuinely compact pickup trucks were plentiful and cheap. Settle into that vinyl bench seat, load up the bed with a cooler and maybe a folding chair, and cruise on over to the lake with the windows rolled down. Most Rangers of this era were worked to death. This one deserves a bit of a summer vacation. The auction ends on August 6. Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio

Mom of 8 Was Born a Tour Company Heiress and 'Broke' by 52. Here's What She Learned by Losing Millions (Exclusive)
Mom of 8 Was Born a Tour Company Heiress and 'Broke' by 52. Here's What She Learned by Losing Millions (Exclusive)

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Mom of 8 Was Born a Tour Company Heiress and 'Broke' by 52. Here's What She Learned by Losing Millions (Exclusive)

After two divorces, the death of her parents, cancer and financial trouble, mom Linda Perillo tells PEOPLE she always knows how to "find a solution"NEED TO KNOW Linda Perillo was born into fortune as the daughter of Mario Perillo, owner of Perillo Tours, but her life wasn't as idyllic as some may assume Now, she's detailing all of her soaring highs and crushing lows in her new memoir, Your Payment Method Has Been Declined Despite the challenges she's faced, Linda tells PEOPLE she's learned how to persevere and always "find a solution"Linda Perillo was born into an "amazing childhood" as the daughter of Perillo Tours founder Mario Perillo. But inevitably life became more complicated — and after her father's death, she says she ended up entering a "financial situation that would emotionally and physically exhaust me and rip me to shreds up to this day." Through it all, she had one mantra: Plan B. "You gotta always have to think of how to suffocate the bad situation and find a solution," Linda, 57, tells PEOPLE. Linda details the highs and lows of her life — from becoming a mom of 8 to weathering two divorces — in her new memoir, Your Payment Method Has Been Declined, released earlier this month. Linda was raised in New Jersey by parents she describes in her book as "a combination of 24k gold and dusted with really amazing Italian dark chocolate and covered in M&Ms." As a child, she traveled so often thanks to her father's work that she thought going on a vacation every couple of weeks was just the way life worked. And whenever her parents pulled her out of Catholic school to travel around the world she says, "the nuns would always say, 'You know what? Travel is education,' and they were right." While Linda enjoyed an idyllic childhood, her own start to parenthood was marked by a significant loss: that of her mother Olga, who died of breast cancer complications just five weeks after Linda, then 28, welcomed her first child, son Devin. Years later, in 2003, her father Mario died of lymphoma — and the next year, Linda was diagnosed with kidney cancer. "The cancer diagnosis threw me for a loop. You realize you can die," Linda tells PEOPLE. "It stopped me from getting emotional about stupid things." Another shift that happened after her father's death was that Linda started having major money troubles. Although her father left money for Linda and her three half-siblings, her situation was complicated by the involvement of trustees. (While Linda is unable to say how much money she lost because of legal restrictions, she says the figure is in the millions.) "There was a fortune I couldn't touch, smell or get a screenshot of unless some other person told me I could," she writes in her memoir. "I was told how much of it I could see or use and on what." Linda also admits she struggled with "handling money," writing, "I gave it away to make others happy all the time." Unfortunately, she became "broke by the time I was 52." Her financial instability resulted in some uncomfortable situations. For instance, she claimed that a landscaper who had been working on her home once showed up at her door with his father — and demanded payment in the form of Linda's engagement ring. "I had the reputation as being a giver," she says. "And when you can't do that anymore, when you run into a hole and you try to explain this to them, they're like, 'Wait a minute — don't you have a million dollars in your mattress?' " "It's been a horribly frustrating thing to go through," she adds. As a result of her finances, Linda says she's been unable to provide certain experiences for her kids to the level she'd like — like taking them on shopping trips or throwing them graduation parties. "Those things that used to be so simple are not anymore," she says. Through all of the changes she's been through, Linda tells PEOPLE her children have always been a key motivator for her. "In the last couple of years, things have changed: I got divorced, I moved and I sold my house. You're changing your mindset and you're almost in a panic," she says. "But everything I have done from the time I had Devin until today has been about them, trying to make our lives easier financially so I can give to them." When it comes to treating herself, the self-professed "girly-girl" who loves makeup and fashion, says that she still does what she can. "I love Shein," she says with a laugh. "I found great drugstore makeup instead of going to Sephora. So I managed to keep myself whole by making little tweaks here and there." These days, Linda has been happily remarried since January 2024 to man she describes as "very supportive," has a great relationship with her children and feels less anxious. As for her financial situation, she says that it's "definitely not where I want it to be," but that she's hopeful "things will get better through hard work and a change of trustees yet again." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Despite all the hardships she's faced, Linda maintains a positive outlook and insists, "You have to take everything day-to-day." "I used to think too much into what's gonna happen Wednesday and what if this doesn't get done, and what if that doesn't get done?" she says. "Now I just say, I'm dealing with the issue today, and let's figure it out." Her advice for others facing similar troubles? While she knows it sounds cliché, Linda advises, "Don't give up." Your Payment Method Has Been Declined is now available to purchase on Amazon. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store