A new report shows the typical U.S. driver lost 42 hours to traffic congestion last year, equivalent to a full work week, and resulted in $733 worth of time lost.
Drivers in New York had it the worst -- not just in the United States but the entire world, according to the 2023 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard.
New York City tops the list of the most-congested areas in world, according to the scorecard. The typical driver in the Big Apple lost 101 hours to traffic jams in 2023, down from 105 hours in 2022. Financially, this cost the urban area more than $9.1 billion in lost time. The New York Urban Area is more congested than it was pre-pandemic, where drivers lost an average of 91 hours to traffic jams.
NYC may be the most jammed up city, but it's not the only location seeing more traffic lately. Of the urban areas studied in the report, 78% saw increased traffic delays over 2022, while 19% experienced a reduction. Compared to pre-COVID times, 54% of urban areas experienced more delay in 2023 than in 2019. About 41% of urban areas are still below pre-COVID levels in terms of traffic, while just 5% are at similar levels.
These are the 25 most congested cities in the country, along with how many hours the typical driver lost last year, per INRIX:
1. New York City, NY -- 101 hours lost
2. Chicago, IL -- 96 hours lost
3. Los Angeles, CA -- 89 hours lost
4. Boston, MA -- 88 hours lost
5. Miami, FL -- 70 hours lost
6. Philadelphia, PA -- 69 hours lost
7. Washington, D.C. -- 63 hours lost
8. Houston, TX -- 62 hours lost
9. Atlanta, GA -- 61 hours lost
10. Seattle, WA -- 58 hours lost
11. San Juan, PR -- 57 hours lost
12. Nashville, TN -- 56 hours lost
13. San Francisco, CA -- 45 hours lost
14. Baltimore, MD -- 44 hours lost
15. Pittsburgh, PA -- 43 hours lost
16. Charlotte, NC -- 41 hours lost
17. Dallas, TX -- 38 hours lost
18. Honolulu, HI -- 42 hours lost
19. Portland, OR -- 39 hours lost
20. Samford, CT -- 40 hours lost
21. Austin, TX -- 38 hours lost
22. Denver, CO -- 37 hours lost
23. King of Prussia, PA -- 53 hours lost
24. New Orleans, LA -- 37 hours lost
25. San Antonio, TX -- 35 hours lost