Every year, U.S. drivers waste countless hours sitting in traffic congestion. In 2023, the average American driver lost 42 hours to traffic jams, roughly equivalent to an entire workweek, according to the 2023 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard.
The chart below highlights the 15 U.S. cities with the worst traffic congestion in 2023, based on data from INRIX. The figures represent the average number of hours each driver lost to traffic during peak commute hours compared to off-peak hours.
Which U.S. Cities Have the Worst Traffic?
Here are the top 15 U.S. cities with the worst rush hour traffic in 2023, ranked by the number of hours lost to congestion:
| City | State | Hours Lost to Traffic in 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | NY | 101 |
| Chicago | IL | 96 |
| Los Angeles | CA | 89 |
| Boston | MA | 88 |
| Miami | FL | 70 |
| Philadelphia | PA | 69 |
| Washington | DC | 63 |
| Houston | TX | 62 |
| Atlanta | GA | 61 |
| Seattle | WA | 58 |
| Nashville | TN | 56 |
| San Francisco | CA | 45 |
| Baltimore | MD | 44 |
| Pittsburgh | PA | 43 |
| Charlotte | NC | 41 |
In 2023, drivers in New York City lost an average of 101 hours to traffic congestion, costing more than $1,700 in lost time and productivity.
Following New York, Chicago and Los Angeles had the highest hours lost in traffic, showing that the three most populous cities in the U.S. also faced the worst traffic issues. Notably, Chicago ranked higher than Los Angeles despite the latter's reputation for sprawling highways and notorious traffic jams.
Most of the cities suffering from the worst traffic congestion are major economic hubs, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco. These cities not only have large populations but also host a high concentration of businesses and daily commuters.
In January 2024, the California Department of Transportation took a proactive step to tackle traffic congestion by seeking proposals from technology companies to develop a generative AI tool aimed at reducing traffic jams.