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Drivers in the D.C. region spend more time dealing with traffic than any other city in the nation, according to a new ranking from Consumer Affairs which looked at traffic data from the 50 biggest metropolitan areas in the nation.
The D.C. region knocked Los Angeles off its throne to claim the top spot, and did that with an average commute of 33.4 minutes and traffic congestion in the region which lasts 6 hours and 35 minutes.
“D.C. drivers have a tougher experience overall, and that is the combination of brutal commute times and daily gridlock,” said Lauren Jobe with Consumer Affairs. “When you add that up over the year, that’s about 71 days worth of just sitting in traffic.”
Now, Los Angeles still takes the checkered flag for the most congestion, with almost eight hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic each day, but the average commute time in the City of Angels is just over 30 minutes.
Jobe said return-to-work orders after the pandemic are also playing a part in more congestion on the roads.
“We see that a lot and other major metros as well, Seattle, D.C. being one of them, too,” Jobe said.
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The D.C. region did rank below Los Angeles when it comes to the number of fatal crashes with almost six deaths per 100,000 people. But Jobe said while lower, the region did see an increase in deadly crashes since last year’s ranking.
“It’s definitely something that’s a little bit concerning and showing that it’s not going in the right direction,” Jobe said.
Miami, Florida, ranked third for the worst traffic, followed by San Francisco and Atlanta.
Jonathan Roush of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is not surprised by the findings, saying traffic in the D.C. region “stinks.”
“I schedule my work hours accordingly so I can avoid the traffic,” Roush told WTOP.
Matt Spurgeon, of Damascus, said he was surprised by the results.
“I’m a little surprised after COVID and with all the remote work that people are spending (about 6 hours in traffic) on average, but I guess it kind of fits with the amount of traffic that I’ve been sitting in,” he said.
If you’re looking for both a better commute and to live in a larger metropolitan city, you’ll either need to take Roush’s advice or move to Rochester, the New York metro that ranked the best for traffic with a commute time of around 21 minutes.
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