Ohio among top 10 states with best highway systems in country, report says
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio's highway system is among the top 10 best in the country, a recent report found.
The Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, ranks all 50 state highway systems annually. Rankings are based on a slew of metrics relating to highway systems' conditions and cost effectiveness, including pavement conditions, traffic fatalities and administrative costs. The data included in this year's report is sourced from 2022, and collected from entities such as state highway agencies, the National Bridge Inventory and American Community Survey.
'States with high rankings typically have better-than-average system conditions (good for road users) along with relatively low per-mile expenditures (also good for taxpayers),' the report reads.
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In the Reason Foundation's 28th annual report released this month, Ohio's highway system ranked as the 10th best in the United States. The Buckeye State jumped seven spots from its ranking of No. 17 in the organization's previous report.
When it comes to what specific categories Ohio did well in, the Buckeye State ranked among the top 10 for the condition of pavement on major rural roads, the fatality rate on rural roads, and the costs associated with building or expanding bridges.
However, Ohio did rank lower in some categories, including the fatality rate on minor arterial and local roads (No. 31).
'In terms of improving in the road condition and performance categories, Ohio should focus on improving its urban pavement condition – both arterial and Interstate. The state ranks in the bottom 20 in both categories,' said Baruch Feigenbaum, the lead author of the report.
Ohio ranked better than its neighboring states, including Kentucky (No. 11), Indiana (No. 20), Michigan (No. 23), West Virginia (No. 33) and Pennsylvania (No. 37).
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North Carolina was the state with the best highway system in the country according to the report, followed by South Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota, Utah and Missouri.
The lowest-ranked highway systems were those in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Washington, Louisiana, New York, Vermont, Colorado, Rhode Island and Delaware.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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