2018’s Best & Worst States to Drive in

Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It makes you late, and causes many people’s tempers to flare up. But it’s also quite bad for your wallet – in fact, congestion costs the average driver $1,400 per year in the U.S., which has 11 out of the world’s 25 worst cities for traffic.

Congestion isn’t the only concern on the road, though. People want to know that they will be driving on safe, well-maintained roads before heading out. The U.S. has a fairly good track record in these regards, but certainly doesn’t top the list. For example, the World Economics Forum only places the U.S. at rank 13 of 138 when it comes to road quality.

Road conditions naturally aren’t consistent across the entire country. To identify the states with the most positive driving experiences, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 23 key indicators of a positive commute. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to share of rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality. Read on for the results, additional commentary from a panel of experts, and a full description of our methodology.

Main Findings

 

Best & Worst Driving States

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	‘Cost of Ownership & Maintenance’ Rank	‘Traffic & Infrastructure’ Rank	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Access to Vehicles & Maintenance’ Rank
1	Texas	63.68	12	21	23	2
2	Kansas	63.56	16	2	27	32
3	Nebraska	63.09	20	1	29	31
4	Iowa	62.48	19	8	25	19
5	North Carolina	61.72	3	23	26	11
6	Oregon	60.86	8	17	21	25
7	Georgia	60.70	2	30	30	8
8	Alabama	60.53	1	13	46	23
9	Arkansas	59.77	9	7	39	33
10	Illinois	59.36	37	34	5	5
11	Minnesota	58.89	29	27	8	22
12	Idaho	58.52	25	5	32	41
13	Virginia	58.33	5	36	19	13
14	Oklahoma	58.31	30	11	24	28
15	Indiana	58.25	4	19	40	15
16	Arizona	58.23	7	16	37	30
17	Kentucky	58.06	22	22	15	29
18	Tennessee	57.75	11	20	35	18
19	Florida	57.35	33	29	33	3
20	South Dakota	57.02	13	10	38	39
21	North Dakota	56.37	23	4	45	44
22	Ohio	55.94	17	32	42	7
23	Montana	55.91	18	3	49	40
24	Wisconsin	55.89	31	28	22	16
25	West Virginia	55.61	14	40	9	38
26	Utah	55.40	15	15	41	36
27	Louisiana	55.16	36	26	12	27
28	Missouri	54.70	10	25	47	14
29	Mississippi	54.53	24	12	44	34
30	South Carolina	54.33	6	18	48	26
31	Wyoming	54.04	21	9	43	47
32	Colorado	53.24	32	31	28	20
33	New Mexico	52.74	27	6	50	42
34	Pennsylvania	52.61	44	38	14	6
35	Maine	51.75	34	37	10	35
36	Nevada	51.70	39	14	31	48
37	New Hampshire	51.42	26	43	13	37
38	Vermont	51.39	38	33	11	45
39	Delaware	50.74	28	35	20	49
40	Michigan	50.13	46	41	7	10
41	New York	49.99	48	47	1	4
42	New Jersey	49.56	42	49	6	12
43	Rhode Island	49.49	41	44	2	46
44	Massachusetts	49.19	40	50	4	9
45	Alaska	48.69	43	24	17	50
46	Connecticut	48.67	47	45	3	24
47	California	48.60	49	42	18	1
48	Maryland	48.31	35	48	16	21
49	Washington	44.08	45	39	36	17
50	Hawaii	31.83	50	46	34	43

 

Ask the Experts

Future improvements to the safety, condition and congestion of roads rely on cooperation between drivers, lawmakers and private industry. With that in mind, we asked the following key questions to a panel of experts. Click on the profiles below to read the experts’ bios and see their answers.

1. What tips do you have for keeping car ownership costs low?
2. Should states offer tax or other incentives to encourage people to purchase electric vehicles? What can else can states do to support the use of low-emissions vehicles (e.g. building charging stations for electric vehicles)?
3. In your opinion, when will self-driving cars be readily available? What are the regulatory or policy issues?
4. How can states reduce the number of traffic fatalities?
5. Which are some efficient steps that state authorities can take to improve the quality of roads and bridges?

Methodology

To help drivers identify the states that provide the best commuting conditions, WalletHub compared the 50 states across four key dimensions: 1) Cost of Ownership & Maintenance, 2) Traffic & Infrastructure, 3) Safety and 4) Access to Vehicles & Maintenance.

We evaluated those dimensions using 23 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best for drivers.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the following scores to rank-order our sample.

For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

Cost of Ownership & Maintenance – Total Points: 30

• Average Gas Prices: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Average Annual Car Insurance Premium: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Auto-Maintenance Costs: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Total Extra Vehicle Operating Costs per Driver: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
  Notes: Additional vehicle operating costs (VOC) are the “result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and the costs of traffic crashes in which roadway features likely were a contributing factor,” according to transportation research firm TRIP.

Traffic & Infrastructure – Total Points: 30

• Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
  Note: This metric refers to the share of urban interstates experiencing congestion during peak hours.
• Number of Days with Precipitation: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Number of Icy Days: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the mean number of days with a minimum temperature of 32 degrees F or lower.
• Average Commute Time by Car (in Minutes): Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Road Quality: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Bridge Quality: Half Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Roadway Miles per 1,000 Persons: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)

Safety – Total Points: 30

• Traffic Indiscipline: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
  Note: This is a composite metric that measures incidents due to poor behavior: phone use, speeding, aggressive acceleration, harsh braking, and poor turning.
• Traffic Fatality Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Car Theft Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Larceny Rate: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Strictness of DUI Punishment: Half Weight (~2.50 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI” ranking.
• Strictness of High-Risk Driving: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “States with the Highest & Lowest Insurance Premium Penalties for High-Risk Drivers” ranking.
• Driving-Laws Rating: Half Weight (~2.50 Points)

Access to Vehicles & Maintenance – Total Points: 10

• Car Dealerships per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Auto-Repair Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Car Washes per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Gas Stations per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Parking Lots and Garages per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

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Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Council for Community and Economic Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, National Centers for Environmental Information, American Automobile Association, The Road Information Program, Federal Highway Administration, QuinStreet Insurance Agency, EverQuote and WalletHub research.

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