Here’s where drivers lose the most time to traffic in the US

(NEXSTAR) — Nobody enjoys being caught in traffic, whether it is caused by construction, weather delays, or seemingly nothing. Unsurprisingly, where you are commuting can have an impact on how many hours you waste sitting in traffic.

Data and analytics firm INRIX, which specializes in transportation, recently released its Global Traffic Scorecard. The report lays out the most traffic-congested cities in the world — many of which are in the U.S. — and the busiest stretches of roadways nationwide.

Impacted by the influx of people working from home during the pandemic, and then the return to the office many of those individuals underwent, the average time U.S. drivers “lost” to traffic has varied greatly in recent years.

The latest report shows that, in 2024, drivers “lost” an average of 43 hours to traffic. That’s up an hour from 2023 but down eight hours over 2022 when the average time “lost” was 51 hours. In 2021, the benchmark sat at 36 hours “lost.”

Cities where drivers “lose” the most time to traffic

When it comes to the total number of hours lost to dense traffic, New York City and Chicago tied at 102 hours — that’s more than four days wasted on congested roadways. Per INRIX, this marks a one-hour increase for New York City and a six-hour increase for Chicago over 2023.

Both cities ranked among the five most congested urban areas worldwide, coming in just behind Istanbul. There, the average driver loses 105 hours to traffic.

Traffic on Tenth Avenue in New York City on June 5, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In total, 10 U.S. cities ranked among the 25 most congested worldwide. In addition to New York City and Chicago, that includes Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Atlanta, the District of Columbia, and Seattle.

While it missed the global top 25, Denver saw the largest increase in worsening traffic in the U.S. According to INRIX, the average driver in the Mile High City lost 44 hours to roadway delays, up from 37 hours in 2023. As bad as that may sound, it’s close to pre-pandemic traffic levels in Denver.

Here are the 25 most congested cities in the U.S., according to INRIX, and the average number of hours lost to delays:

New York City (102 hours)
Chicago (102 hours)
Los Angeles (88 hours)
Boston (79 hours)
Philadelphia (77 hours)
Miami (74 hours)
Houston (66 hours)
Atlanta (65 hours)
District of Columbia (62 hours)
Seattle (63 hours)
Nashville, Tennessee (63 hours)
San Juan, California (58 hours)
Baltimore (48 hours)
San Francisco (46 hours)
Denver (44 hours)
Dallas (41 hours)
Stamford, Connecticut (47 hours)
Pittsburgh (43 hours)
Honolulu (45 hours)
Charlotte, North Carolina (41 hours)
San Antonio (39 hours)
Austin, Texas (39 hours)
Portland, Oregon (38 hours)
New Orleans (39 hours)
Tampa, Florida (34 hours)

Only four major U.S. cities saw traffic density decline, INRIX found. Nowhere was that more apparent than in Boston, which saw a 10% decrease in delays — from 88 hours in 2023 to 79 in 2024. Others that saw traffic improve were Los Angeles (1%), the District of Columbia (2%), and Portland (3%).

The busiest corridors of 2024

Commuters know some sections of their drives are more prone to experience traffic-related slowdowns than others. INRIX found that to be especially true in certain “hotspots,” the majority of which are in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The busiest, however, was in Stamford, Connecticut, on southbound Interstate 95. Between Westport and Indian Field Road, INRIX found those traveling during the 8 a.m. hour encountered the worst delays. A driver commuting on that stretch of roadway during that time every weekday lost roughly 150 in 2024 alone. Thankfully, no other Stamford-area traffic corridor ranked among the 25 busiest in the U.S.

In only one other area did INRIX find a driver, commuting every weekday, would lose more than 100 hours to traffic congestion: southbound Interstate I-93, from Charles River to Pilgrim’s Highway, in Boston — specifically during the 3 p.m. hour.

BOSTON, MA- AUGUST 09, 2019: Cars commute through Savin Hill on I-93. Neponset Circle to Boston is one of the most congested traffic areas. August 09, 2019 (Staff Photo By Faith Ninivaggi/ Boston Herald/ Media News Group) ( Photo by Faith Ninivaggi/Boston Herald/Median News Group/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

In total, seven of the busiest stretches of roadway were in New York City while five were in Chicago. Four were in Los Angeles.

While traffic conditions worsened across much of the U.S. (and the world) in 2024, INRIX reported that overall growth in traffic has slowed.

That trend may continue, especially in New York, which recently rolled out congestion pricing in an effort to cut back on vehicular traffic. The company also believes other cities could “look to remove cars from downtowns and city centers to promote livability.”

“Therefore, cities are likely to experience continued growth in trips in 2025, barring economic, political, or social outcomes,” INRIX said. “Cities are likely to be handling many more commuters in new modes, on different days, and at different times than in years past.”

You can view INRIX’s full study here.

Another recent analysis, conducted by navigation and GPS company TomTom, found nearly every city saw traffic congestion worsen in 2024. Overall, the study found that those in 90 large and mid-sized U.S. cities were stuck in traffic more often and for longer than in 2023.

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