This Is America's Worst City to Drive In

California's Oakland is a driver's nightmare, per WalletHub
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 12, 2024 5:30 AM CDT
This Is America's Worst City to Drive In
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/undefined undefined)

Driving remains the transportation option of choice (or necessity) for many Americans on their way to work, school, and recreational activities, and in some cities, the commute behind the wheel is as close to a dream as commuting can get—in others, not so much. WalletHub took a peek at the nation's 100 most populated cities using 30 metrics in four main categories: cost of ownership/maintenance, (including gas, insurance, and vehicle prices); traffic and infrastructure (average commute times, road and bridge quality, etc.); safety (rate of car thefts, traffic fatality rates, and the like); and access to vehicles and maintenance (car dealerships, auto repair shops, and gas stations per capita, among others). Here, the top and bottom cities:

Best cities

  1. Raleigh, North Carolina
  2. Boise, Idaho (No. 1 in "Safety" category)
  3. Corpus Christi, Texas
  4. Greensboro, North Carolina (No. 1 in "Cost of Ownership & Maintenance" category)
  5. Jacksonville, Florida
  6. Orlando, Florida
  7. Scottsdale, Arizona (No. 1 in "Traffic & Infrastructure" category)
  8. Wichita, Kansas
  9. Tampa, Florida
  10. Plano, Texas

Worst cities

  1. San Jose, California
  2. Seattle
  3. Washington, DC
  4. New York (last in "Traffic & Infrastructure" category)
  5. Chicago
  6. Detroit
  7. Los Angeles
  8. San Francisco
  9. Philadelphia
  10. Oakland, California (last in "Cost of Ownership & Maintenance" category)
See how other cities ranked here. (Louisiana has the most aggressive drivers in the nation.)

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