Washington, D.C. Tops U.S. Traffic Congestion Rankings

Washington, D.C. has surpassed Los Angeles as the U.S. city with the worst traffic, with D.C. commuters averaging 33.4 minutes per trip and spending 6.5 hours in weekday congestion, totaling 71 days in traffic annually. Los Angeles now trails D.C. despite having nearly eight hours of daily congestion, amounting to 85 days per year, due to its shorter average commute time. Miami, San Francisco, and Atlanta are also among the top five cities with the worst traffic, while Rochester, Salt Lake City, and Cleveland are noted for minimal congestion. Experts suggest that heavy traffic often reflects economic growth, as prosperous areas attract more drivers. The worsening traffic in D.C. is attributed to general return-to-office mandates and slow public transit recovery post-pandemic. Despite increased gridlock, D.C. has a lower fatal car crash rate compared to other major metros.