The 25 Worst American Cities for Driving

Wallethub.com put together a study on finding the best and worst cities for driving in 2018. The findings are based on commute time, congestion, maintenance costs, safety, and infrastructure quality. Out of the 100 metropolitan areas examined, these are the worst of the worst.

via CarScoops

Most Americans might not think of Albuquerque when it comes to traffic, but a combination of low safety and infrastructure ranks it 25th worst in the country.

Buffalo borders Canada, and represents New York's Western-most metropolitan area.

Hialeah is a tightly packed suburb right outside Miami. Make sure your A/C works before you go out there and get stuck in traffic.

New Orleans is a major thru-point for travelers in the Southern part of the country, which means it sees more driving issues than you might expect.

Stockton, which is outside of San Francisco, has enough surrounding congestion to land this city on the list.

Aurora is just Southeast of Denver, which means there are a lot of commuters.

Like Chicago, Milwaukee borders Lake Michigan, and acts as a port inlet for much of Wisconsin.

Jersey City is directly across the Hudson River from New York City, meaning traffic has to funnel through both to get over into Manhattan. It's also growing rapidly, with tons of construction and new residents, making it tough to get around.

It may host an IndyCar race every year, but when race cars aren't hitting the streets of Long Beach, it's a bit more congested.

Cleveland has the highest car theft rate in the nation, which is just one of many contributing factors that landed it a spot on this list.

Hawaii may be a paradise, but driving in its capital isn't always as carefree.

San Bernardino lies East of Los Angeles, and sees its fair share of congestion thanks to drivers coming from further in the state.

San Jose is the Southern-most city in the San Francisco Bay area, meaning it gets its share of commuters and Silicon Valley-related bustle.

Since Baltimore is between DC and Philly, there are a lot of people driving through. Also, the roads, at least the last time I was there, were not in the best shape.

Our nation's capital has a reputation for bad traffic and constant construction, so it's no surprise to see it on the list.

The Windy City ranked second to last in traffic and infrastructure, earning it the first spot on this list.

LA is famous for its hours-long eight-lane wide traffic jams, so it's no surprise to see it here. Honestly, we're shocked it's not further up the list.

Thanks to its close proximity to New York City and its ever-buzzing international airport, Newark beat out both Chicago and Los Angles for spot number eight.

New York City's main borough, Manhattan, is a small island that eight million people flock to every day. Despite multiple bridges and tunnels, it's still a painful commute. And don't even get me started on Friday evening rush hour.

Boston is very old, so some of its road designs are confusing and illogical. That, paired with a harsh winter every year, gives it the number six spot.

Downtown Seattle is surrounded by a collection of lakes and peninsulas, meaning a lot of choke points for drivers trying to get places.

Philadelphia borders New Jersey via the Delaware river, which means commuters driving into the city have to find a way to cross it every day. When there's only a few lanes getting you into a city, you're going to get slowed down.

Oakland is the city across the bay from San Francisco, which means anyone traveling from the east has to go through Oakland to get there. That, plus the mountainous terrain, explain why it's so far up the list.

Unsurprisingly, San Francisco comes out right on top of Oakland. It's built on a Peninsula, so land access is limited to the south and a handful of bridges. It doesn't help that all the roads are incredibly hilly.

Thanks to its high average cost of ownership, high-ranking traffic congestion, and low safety rank, Detroit ranks as the absolute worst city in the US to drive in, according to Wallethub.com.