Top 10 cities with the worst traffic in the world
The US has 5 of the top 10 spots in the list of cities with the worst traffic in the world. Congestion on the road costs American drivers $1,415 on average.
Drivers in cities around the world lose valuable time and money sitting in traffic on congested roads. The upside is that the number of hours lost during commutes by car today is less than before the pandemic for most. However, as companies call their workers back to the office, the return to normal is seeing that number increase once again.
The time wasted sitting idle or just crawling along on the road is costly, sapping $81 billion out of the US economy alone in 2022. This was the finding of INRIX, a US transportation analytics company which released its 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard earlier this year.
The company identified and ranked traffic congestion as well as mobility trends in more than 1,000 cities across 50 countries. It then compared commute times to and from major employment centers during peak and off-peak hours to form its list of the cities with the worst traffic in the world.
How much does congestion cost the US?
According to INRIX, the typical American driver lost 51 hours last year stuck in traffic, that’s up 15 hours from the year before, but only half of the number of hours in 2019. Still, that added up to $869 in lost time and another $546 in fuel on average in the United States.
Currently, of the 295 urban areas analyzed across the nation more than 60 percent remained below pre-pandemic levels. Vehicle-miles traveled during weekdays remained 9 percent below what they were in 2019.
Of the top ten most congested US cities in 2022, only two had surpass their traffic levels in 2019, Chicago and Miami, by 7 percent and 30 percent respectively. San Francisco is on par with levels from before the pandemic.
| 2022 Rank | Urban Area | 2022 Delay (2021) | Change from 2019 | Cost per Driver | Cost per City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago, IL | 155 (104) | 7 % | $2,618 | $9.5bn |
| 2 | Boston, MA | 134 (78) | -10 % | $2,270 | $4.3bn |
| 3 | New York, NY | 117 (102) | -16 % | $1,976 | $10.2bn |
| 4 | Philadelphia, PA | 114 (90) | -20 % | $1,925 | $4.5bn |
| 5 | Miami, FL | 105 (66) | 30 % | $1,773 | $4.5bn |
| 6 | Los Angeles, CA | 95 (62) | -8 % | $1,601 | $8.6bn |
| 7 | San Francisco, CA | 97 (64) | 0 % | $1,642 | $2.6bn |
| 8 | Washington DC | 83 (44) | -33 % | $1,398 | $3.5bn |
| 9 | Houston, TX | 74 (58) | -9 % | $1,257 | $3.7bn |
| 10 | Atlanta, GA | 74 (53) | -10 % | $1,257 | $3.1bn |
Top 10 cities with the worst traffic in the world
While the United States has five cities among the top ten in the world having the worst traffic with Chicago leading the pack, London took the top spot for worst traffic in the world once again in 2022. Respectively, drivers in the two cities with the worst traffic lost 155 hours and 156 hours due to congestion on the road. Paris came in third with drivers there wasting 138 hours grumbling about the traffic while in their cars. Of the cities in the top ten, Miami and Toronto saw major increases but Boston saw the biggest increase in traffic congestion year-over-year.
| 2022 Rank | 2021 Rank | Urban Area | 2022 Delay | Change from 2021 | Change from 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | London, UK | 156 | 5% | 5% |
| 2 | 6 | Chicago, IL | 155 | 49% | 7% |
| 3 | 2 | Paris, France | 138 | -1% | -16% |
| 4 | 18 | Boston, MA | 134 | 72% | -10% |
| 5 | 5 | New York City, NY | 117 | 15% | -16% |
| 6 | 8 | Bogota, Columbia | 122 | 30% | -36% |
| 7 | 22 | Toronto, ON | 118 | 59% | -13% |
| 8 | 13 | Philadelphia, PA | 114 | 27% | -20% |
| 9 | 32 | Miami, FL | 105 | 59% | 30% |
| 10 | 9 | Palermo, Italy | 121 | 11% | -12% |