Top 10 Cities with the Worst Traffic in North America
The Insider Monkey team did some research to find out which are the top 10 cities with the worst traffic in North America. Millions of people across America take a look at their daily commute and think “this is unbearable”, but it turns out, there are other cities out there where drivers have it worse than you do. Our analysts compared data from different metrics provided by Numbeo, Google Maps, and TomTom. The 10 cities that made it into our list have been ranked according to a weighted average that took into account each data source’s value and its ranking for every city.
For more information about how we prepared this article, scroll down below to read our methodology. Check also how much gas costs in these cities!
10. San Diego
Population in 2016: 1 300 000
Population in 2010: 1 272 302
Average time spent in traffic every day: 42 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2012: 861 407
According to TomTom, San Diego has an average commute time of 31 minutes. TomTom’s data shows that the annual congestion cost for drivers comes up to $1 629. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that San Diego is the 10th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
9. Seattle
Population in 2016: 6 249 021
Average time spent in traffic every day: 42 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2011: 527 449
According to Google Maps, Seattle has an average commute time of 35 minutes. According to TomTom, the annual congestion cost for drivers in this city comes up to $1 502. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that Seattle is the 9th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
8. San Jose
Population in 2016: 1 045 404
Average time spent in traffic every day: 47 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2013: 568 980
According to TomTom, San Jose has an average commute time of 32 minutes. TomTom’s data shows that the annual congestion cost for drivers comes up to $1 915. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that San Jose is the 8th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
7. Detroit
Population in 2016: 672 978
Average time spent in traffic every day: 36 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2011: 2 049 818
According to Google Maps, Detroit has an average commute time of 29 minutes. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that Detroit is the 7th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
6. Chicago
Population in 2016: 9 358 670
Average time spent in traffic every day: 40 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2009: 5 756 165
According to TomTom, Chicago an average commute time of 34 minutes. TomTom’s data shows that the annual congestion cost for drivers comes up to $1 814. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that Chicago is the 6th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
5. Washington
Population in 2016: 6 891 979
Average time spent in traffic every day: 46 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2009: 4 366 110
According to Google Maps, Washington has an average commute time of 36 minutes. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that Washington is the 5th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
4. Toronto
Population in 2016: 2 631 800
Average time spent in traffic every day: 44 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2006: 1 532 630
According to TomTom, Toronto has an average commute time of 30 minutes. According to Numbeo, the annual cost for drivers due to congestion comes up to $1 989. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that Toronto is the 4th worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
3. Los Angeles
Population in 2016: 3 871 574
Average time spent in traffic every day: 51 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2009: 7 120 180
According to Google Maps, Los Angeles has an average commute time of 40. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that Los Angeles is the 3 rd worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
2. San Francisco
Population in 2016: 870 311
Average time spent in traffic every day: 55 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2013: 537 734
According to Google Maps, San Francisco has an average commute time of 41 minutes. According to TomTom’s data, the annual congestion cost for drivers comes up to $1 997. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that San Francisco is the 2nd worst city with the worst traffic in North America.
1. New York City
Population in 2016: 8 632 400
Average time spent in traffic every day: 56 min
Number of registered vehicles in 2009: 1 653 438
According to TomTom, New York City has an average commute time of 38 minutes. The annual congestion cost for drivers comes up to $1 473. With all these metrics taken into account, our analysts found out that the city with the worst traffic in North America is… New York City! Congrats!
Conclusion:
So now you know what is the city with the worst traffic in North America. As our analysis shows, New York City tops the list of cities with the worst traffic. Congrats to that!